(This was before quarantine)
As the school year is coming to an end, studying for the exams gets quite stressful and this is when it’s important to consistently work out or keeping your physical health in check. In addition to personal fitness with some of my classmates on Friday afternoon, I have also been doing Yoga in the mornings every other day before school. Although I don’t have a supervisor and it will not be part of my CAS experience, doing this alongside the fitness workouts on Friday has really helped me mentally as well.

(Present time)

I took my yoga sessions more seriously after the lockdown because this was my main source of movement while staying at home.

I usually do Yoga on the terrace of my apartment, on the 8th floor. The cold breeze refreshes you from the core, whether I slept for 12 hours or not at all, the darkness steals my laziness momentarily. If no stars can be seen, you’ll smell the musky earthy scent of the petrichor as your body pushes it into the veins of your body. The comfort and warmth associated with that scent are indescribable, it’s more of a feeling that connects you from the present to your past life; in the compound running towards the playground to dance around in the rain as a child or on the beach near the hills as the thunder roars across the island. If not cloudy, you’ll see at most 20 stars, a bit more if your lucky which is a constant reminder of the damages we have done and continue to do. 8 is not high enough to take you away from the sounds of the busy city life on the main roads, however at 5:30 in the morning, all you hear are the sounds of the birds chirping from all directions. The silent but existent waves hiss from the east, birds seem to grow louder as the sunlight begins to dominate the sky. As the darkness of the night slowly surrenders, the city begins to wake up. The horns between me and the sea completely silence their hisses. The wind doesn’t change, it is as powerful as it was 20 minutes about, it is powerful yet kind, it is able to take away the mat with its power but it gives me power. Close your eyes and you’ll almost fly, the loss of sight gives you more freedom. It takes you places away from here, away from the congestion, away to something special like an emerald. A change of sound to consistently loud melodic comes from in front of me; interrupting my train of thought. It’s the bloody alarm to leave the terrace, 6:20 am, I gather my journal, mat, and phone. I rush down 2 floors to my apartment thinking about all the things that can go wrong today. At the end of the day, I feel grateful that most things went right even though I long to be in emerald. The tedious dull DLP school day lies ahead, the unhappy changing cycle continues. In the beginning, I was able to use the gym downstairs or the terrace for Yoga in the morning.

Recently, my parents don’t want me to go outside the doors for safety reasons even if it’s in the apartment. I still follow my schedule and do Yoga or a good workout in the morning before our classes. It’s not really fun to do a time-lapse in an enclosed space, but I still follow the same time as it works best for me. I still find space and motivation to move around because it is important for my health and I am fully responsible for that.

Learning Outcomes:

• This whole experience shows my commitment to my physical and mental health which I am responsible for.
• Not being able to go to the terrace or the gym downstairs was an obstacle but I overcame this by doing the same things, maybe a little differently in my room. There was not a lot of space but it was enough to get some things done.
• There are weaknesses such as my upper body, I have started training with small weights to strengthen up my shoulders and arms.
• I was able to initiate this CAS experience at home. It was not only to have a regular involvement and active engagement in CAS, but it was also for my health. Sitting around all day through our online classes and having little to no movement throughout the day is not good for you. So it was important to initiate this experience.