Welcome! Blog post #1

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my stretching blog! My name is Lianna and I'm currently in my first year of teachers college at Brock University. I’ve created this blog for a school project called Genius hour. This is a great way of encouraging students to study what they want to, and learn about things that make them happy. I’m thankful to be able to have Genius Hour in my busy teachers college life. This gives me a little mental break from all my other education courses. For those of you who don’t know- Genius Hour is a student-driven research project where students pursue a topic they feel passionate about and work on it for 1 hour a week.

What are my goals for this project you might ask? Well, for this project, my goals are to spend more time on my mental health and well being. When I think of mental health and well being, I think of stretching, meditation, and yoga. I want to feel at ease and more calm, especially during the stressful school year. How can this happen? How can I “calm down”? For the next few weeks I’ll be trying to figure just that out. Throughout a serious of blog posts, videos, and photos, I’ll be bringing you viewers along for my overall verdict.

My Genius Hour question: What would happen to my body, mind, and soul if I stretch for 20 minutes per day? Will stretching daily, better my study habits and create for a less stressful school year? I am an active person; I go to the gym every day and take my 75 pound monster of a dog on long walks. I know that I should be stretching before and after these activities, but I simply just don’t. But now, my curiosity has taken over and I want answers. I’m not a perfect student, I make mistakes, I miss due dates, I cry when tests are hard, and I stress about assignments. When talking about my school problems, it’s always the same suggestions; why don’t you relax a little- stretch, breathe it out, listen to relaxing music, rest a little. And I’d always kicked those suggestions to the curb. But now, I’m ready to finally open my eyes, dive in, and try something new.

-S-I-M-P-L-Y- -S-T-R-E-T-C-H-

See you all soon! Lianna