The Independent Field Trip: A Yoga Retreat

It was ten weeks into our yoga class, and now Rose and I were finally going to a REAL yoga setting.  The place is called the Shoshoni Yoga Retreat in Rollinsville, CO. Some guest can stay for overnight retreats, but our class was just going for the day retreat trip. Rose and I planned to carpool together in her Subaru, which was much better for the mountains than my little Camry. Rose picked me up at 7am on a sunny Saturday morning with the donuts, and I brought the coffee.  We were like cops! After a drive that was about an hour long though the winding mountain roads, we finally made it up there before 9am to meet up with our instructor and classmates. There were also about roughly forty other people on the retreat.

Of course the scenery was beautiful, and the weather, for early April, wasn’t too bad. What was cool about Shoshoni though was that it was as if India has just transported into the Rockies. Just like how one might see in India. There were the temples, but there were no pink blossom trees, with the exception of a little blossom tree plant inside one of the temples. On the site, they had gardens, chicken coops, and even a ceramic studio, as well as the yoga studio. The morning started off with a tour of some of the temples and the garden, and then we went to the yoga studio.  In the studio, we had a two hour class on wood floors, unlike the carpet floor we have in our classroom, and we were taught by one of the instructors there. Instead, our instructor was in the class with us. But she couldn’t do many of the poses because she was still recovering from her car accident before the semester.

The retreat ended with having a completely vegetarian lunch.  The food was great, but what was the most interesting to me, were the handmade bowels we ate a part of the meal in. Getting a close look at them I could see they were made on a ceramic wheel, and glazed only on the inside. They clay used might have been organic material too. When I finally ate out of the bowel and stopped analyzing it, Rose and I were told that we could leave if we wanted to. And that was our day at Shoshoni.

Refeltion of Doshas

During the fifth week of the yoga class we learned about the yoga lifestyle, otherwise known as Ayurveda. Ayurveda is based on a yoga healing science, one branch being doshas. The three doshas are: Kapha, Pitta and Vata. Every person has a bit of each dosha in them, but they are dominant in only one. People who are Kapha tend to have a somewhat heavier figure, slow metabolism, and a good appetite. They like relaxation, and keeping life in at an easy-going pace.  Pitta people tend to be of average height and weight, and always on the go. Their lives are busy, and like to stay on top of everything. A Vata person will tend to have lower than average body weight. They are people who can have mood swings, they can be sensitive, and get nervous, but they also have a very creative side to them.

 After the class my friend Rose and I thought this was a pretty strange concept.  There could be other reasons why I’m creative, and that’s because I’m left handed, not necessarily because I’m part Vata.  Later I took a quiz online to see what my dosha was. I found out I’m what is called “tri-doshic”. I’m slightly more dominant in Pitta, but well balenced with Kapha and Vita. And I guess tri-doshics are rare. What was once a strange concept to me (and still somewhat is) now suddenly seems to be very interesting when I find out I am a unique dosha, funny how that works. My view of doshas I can now summarize like this: a person should try to aspire to have the heart of a child, the body (or health) of a young adult, and the mind of an old wise person. I think by the end of Bilbo’s journey he is perfectly balanced in being Kapha, Pitta, and Vata.  

Creative Non-Fiction Topic

Recently I’ve been reading a few chapters from the book Keep it Real, edited by Lee Gutkind.  This now leads me to my creative non-fiction topic, which oddly enough isn’t about The Hobbit. (I know crazy right!) A few ideas, or aspects, from Keep it Real gives a few ways to help me write my creative non-fiction piece.  So far my topic will be on the yoga class I’ve taken this semester at my local community college, and my experience in trying something so new for me.  In Gutkind’s book he mentions “frame”. How, or in what order, the story is told.  I think for this one I will start at the beginning of how I came to sign up for the class, or start with a description of a typical day in the class. The next aspect that has helped me is “Gunkholing: Finding a Story”. One thing that would prevent me from writing on this topic is the interest level. How many people want to hear about a college girl’s yoga class experience?   But Gutkind points out that one has to find what is interesting in the topic, and write about that. It will be a challenge, but I’m not going to let it stop me from writing about a topic that I feel I can (and will) make interesting.  Gutland also talks about “Influence”.  I’m not sure what or how I will influence my audience, but I feel like something will unfold as I go about the process of creating this story.

I feel that there are some compelling and/or quirky stories in my topic. One is what led me to sign up for the class. I never ever thought I would participate in an activity like yoga, but somehow my friend convinced me. Woody Harrelson’s nephew happens to be in the class. Harrelson, if you didn’t know already, is a lead actor in the recent HungerGames and many other movies.  And his story checks out. Woody Harrelson has two brothers and my classmate’s late name (according to the class list) is Harrelson.  It’s a Claim to fame! There is also a pregnant woman in the class. Prenatal is good for women, but there are a lot of poses and position that she cannot participate in or it will harm the baby.  One last thing that is interesting is that on the first day of class we all noticed that our instructor had an accent. I guessed that it was Swedish, but she is actually German and I think she brings a lot to the class that would be different from an American instructor.

Post Paper

 

Now done with writing my assigned researched paper, I am very content with the results and can gladly say I did this work with my best effort. I found in my research for this paper more reasons why The Hobbit is such a great story.  Below I have attached images of my paper for anyone who would like to read more on my findings. One thing that I have learned in my research is that I can never truly find all the messages/morals behind this story. Then again, I do have my entire lifetime to find out and now I do know a good amount of them.

                I’ve stated before that I feel audiences for generations have been seeking for these messages from The Hobbit.  People, in my generation specifically, have longed to hear these messages more, compared to other generations in the past, because The Hobbit is overall a simple story. Many stories today demand and claim to be the most “epic”, “powerful”, “griping”, and “spell-bounding” and then sometimes even go on to be huge action packed movies. Although there are suspending parts to the story, The Hobbit is really just an adventure you could say that is “there and back again”.  I wonder what J.R.R. Tolkien himself would think if he saw how many fans of his work still exist today.  Would he like how people have interpreted The Hobbit? Would he like the movie(s) that have been made of his book? These are unfortunately questions that I couldn’t really find through research, but I think any author would be pleased to know that people this enjoy his book forty years after he has passed away.  

Currently the DVD and Blu-ray of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has just been released, so if you haven’t seen one-third of the story it’s available in stores now!

 

 

 

A Working Thesis

As a university English and Literature professor, J.R.R. Tolkien was not a stranger to stories of fantasy. He is an example of good writer who was first a good reader. Tolkien used his life experiences, such as being in WWI, and what he studied in school, to create the world of Middle Earth. This then lead to the impact of his story today. Now audiences form all over the world can enjoy some of his books now as cinematic motion pictures. Many critics claim that Tolkien used ideas from his religion as allegories and symbols for his stories. But Tolkien never admitted to these claims. I think his intentions of this were because he didn’t want to limit his stories to be enjoyed just by those who shared the same religious views as his, but for anyone.

Behind the story that he wrote for his children, “The Hobbit” has messages of great value, not just for children, but for people of all ages.  The book hasn’t only gained a great amount of influences for the people who read the book when it was first published, but also for generations after Tolkien’s death. I’m 19, and I still aspire to be the beloved hobbit, and to find what he has that makes him who he is. His child-like heart is one that overcomes his fears in an unexpected journey to a lonely mountain. I remember sitting in the theater at “The Hobbit” midnight premiere along with MANY other hobbit fanatics and thinking, ”Dang, I’m not the only one.” People today (mainly my age) do want to hear messages that will help us have/live a better life.  

I once heard someone say, “Disney movies today are made for kids, but Disney’s movies made during his life time were made for the child inside all of us.”  Today my generation often confuses having the heart of a child with immaturity. We’re having trouble balancing growing up and staying true to ourselves. That’s why I believe people are so drawn to Tolkien’s story even 75 years after he published it. Bilbo faces his greatest fears, and still keeps his simple compassion towards life.

A Commentary on “10 reasons we still love that 'Hobbit'”

After reading an article published by USA Today and written by Deirdre Donahue. I found it very relatable to my interests and feelings about my passion, “The Hobbit”.  This source tells the top ten reasons why people still have a great fascination for this little half-ling (Bilbo), which are exactly the things I want to discover. I found Donahue’s article when I was looking up ‘Hobbit’ newspaper articles in my school’s library search system. I like this article because the author made some ready valid points about the story and I glad someone finally pointed them all out in this modern day society. For example: her sixth reason is called “friends with no benefits”. Here Donahue points out that, “For modern readers living in a sex-saturated society, The Hobbit is the asexual pause that refreshes.”  I can completely agree with that statement because “The Hobbit” is just a simple coming of age story without any means of relationship beyond friends. Today everyone’s attitude is that you must be romantically involved with someone (or something) or there’s something wrong with you. Yet, here is Bilbo Baggins, a lifetime bachelor who lives a full and complete single life in Tolkien’s stories.

In Donahue’s third reason she adds the morality side of the book. I like how she mentions that Tolkien doesn’t point fingers, but instead shows moral messages by example. She even gives an important quote from the book.  Thorin says to Bilbo, "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." Bilbo has the heart of a child, which makes him a good example of what should really be cherished in this world and it’s at the end of his life that Thorin realizes this. The only thing I would say that I don’t like about this article is that at one point Donahue compared the story to J.K. Rolling’s Harry Potter. If it has anything in common with “The Hobbit” (which I don’t believe it does) it would have been ideas taken, or inspired, by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Besides that I think that this is a great article, and suggest that ‘Hobbit’ fans everywhere should read it.

"The Hobbit"- My Passion

A recent story to hit the cinematic big screen is "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" directed by Peter Jackson.  It broke records in box-office even though it’s only one-third of a book that was published about 75 years ago! Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Hobbit” is a story that has captured the hearts of both children and adults for nearly three-quarters of a century. Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the Grey, and all dwarves are just some of the beloved characters who make the story a timeless classic. I read the book about two years ago when I was seventeen years old because I wanted to start the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy (which is the sequel to “The Hobbit”) when I turned eighteen. But I also grew-up watching the cartoon version of “The Hobbit” (made in 1977).

 I love Bilbo, I think he’s just the most adorable little hobbit, and I think his coming of age story is the best I’ve ever come across. Bilbo has two sides to him. One side, the Baggins’ side, likes to stick what is safe and comfortable to him, and doesn’t like to do anything that will make him late for dinner! Then there’s the Took (his mother’s maiden name) side of Bilbo; the side that quietly desires adventure and taking journeys to far off places. I believe that everyone can relate to the two sides of Bilbo. We can either keep to what we know, of always wonder what will happen if we just take that first step outside of our front door. And now that it’s going be a three part major motion picture, my generation will get to experience the story in a completely new and different way.  This way we are keeping Tolkien’s legacy alive by bringing his story into our homes and on our bookselves. I look forward to seeing the next two movie releases in the next eighteen months to come.