Sandra Briseno 

ENG 101  

2 April 2015

Zen Place 

      Being in the present moment is when you are completely centered on the here and now. Living in the present is essential to your emotions. It can influence how you feel when you are somewhere. It allows you to deeply feel what is happening in that exact time and space. Similar to being in the present moment is mindfulness. It’s a non-judgmental focus that allows you to feel every sensation in that current moment. Mindfulness determines my level of connection to the space in which I am in. If I am not fully there I do not feel as connected or in tune with the sensations that arise. The yoga studio is a place where I prefer practicing mindfulness, especially because I naturally feel so connected to this place and see it as a safe space. However, everyone can feel connected to different places, places where they can freely practice mindfulness and feel safe. In Henry David Thoreau’s case, he felt such a deep connection to the woods that he decided to spend a few years living there. He wrote every detail he noticed over the course of the seasons, in particular he focused on the transition from Winter to Spring. Bringing your awareness to the thoughts, and sensations felt in a place or moment decide the connection to your emotions or pathos. Henry David Thoreau uses pathos in his chapter, “Spring”, to deepen his argument of how close he feels to the woods and the transition to spring. The yoga studio promotes the same rhetorical similarity, providing me with the tools to use pathos to compare the intense heartfelt emotions felt in a place where you can mindfully feel a connection; the woods and the yoga studio.

      There are many connections between the yoga studio and Thoreau's "Spring”. The emotions or pathos I feel at my yoga studio are different than any other place I have ever been to. I feel so deeply connected to this place mentally, physically and even spiritually. It’s the one place I can let go of all my worries, stress and really just focus on being present for each and every moment. Similarly to David Henry Thoreau when he practiced mindfulness in the woods; in “Spring”, he says, “One attraction in coming to the woods to live was that I should have leisure and opportunity to see the Spring come in. ” With the use of pathos he expresses his deep connection to the woods. In a sense he is saying that he has felt such a strong connection that he decided to live in the woods and watch the seasons change. Likewise, I spend a lot of time at the yoga studio. I attend school there Mondays and Wednesdays, equaling a total of six hours a week. I often go take class on different days and at different times of the day. I have had the pleasure of observing and growing with this place since September of last year. I have seen it change from summer to winter and now back to spring. Although, in Arizona season  changes aren't very noticeable, this place has had significant changes that are easily noticed. 

       Outside, the yoga studio is constantly changing. While I'm practicing yoga I mindfully get lost in nature and the view of the pond that is outside, comparably to Thoreau's description of the woods. 

The yoga studio has a beautiful pond and grass area that easily captures anyone’s attention. These past few weeks I have been spending a lot of time there allowing myself to feel all the sensations that come with all the changes. Since the Spring is now coming the changes are so evident. Henry David Thoreau said, "Fogs and rains and warmer suns are gradually melting the snow;the days have grown sensibly longer." I have observed similar things, of course no snow but the days are getting longer. The sun is rising at an early time while it is setting later every day. There seems to be more birds than usual. The colors are brighter, the grass is greener, and the water seems clearer. The sun shines brighter on the pond creating a beautiful reflection, while the ducks and birds spend more time bathing in the water. There are more people walking around and bigger smiles on every strangers face. Every one just seems more awake and present. Every day continues to get a little warmer, the sun shines a little brighter, and the days elongate. The night time is occasionally a little chilly but it's perfect weather for a short walk around the pond. The air outside smells a little fresher. Every day is beautiful at the studio and every day there's a small transition into spring.

     Inside the yoga studio where I spend a lot of time, the air is on now, and it feels a little cooler. The floors feels a little colder on my toes, and the fans are on. The sound of the air conditioning turns on at different times causing the small fountain outside to sound more distant. Through the windows you can see that swans occasionally show up in pairs of two. Beautiful white swans that just freely swim around the pond. I often meditate while getting lost in the season change outside. Now more than ever my attention is on the slow changing nature. “The change from storm and winter to serene and mild weather, from dark and sluggish hours to bright and elastic ones, is a memorable crisis which all things proclaim.” (Spring: Paragraph 3). In the woods Thoreau witnessed dark days changing into bright ones due to the transition to Spring. As well as the shift from rainy days to tranquil weather where everything just flows smoothly. He says that it is a beautiful thing, as well as a beautiful feeling. Just like the strong emotions of happiness, calmness, and everlasting bliss that I feel when I’m at the studio, watching the days change. 

      In addition to just watching the seasons and days adapt to brighter ones, mindfulness grants me the pleasure of sitting in silence and transforming into a better person with the days. With so much beauty surrounding me I can truly just sit, focus, and feel every sensation that I need to feel in that present moment. The silence helps me hear every noise I need to hear and often connects that sound with pathos. Thoreau had an identical experience in the woods. While he was mindfully sitting in silence and coming in tune with every emotion in his body he heard a an incredibly beautiful sound and realized it was a bird. “ I heard a robin in the distance, the first I had heard for many a thousand years, methought, whose note I shall not forget for many a thousand more -- the same sweet and powerful song as yore.” (Spring: Paragraph 15). He says he waited thousands of years for this sound and a thousand more could go by yet he would not forget the vibrant sound. It’s as if he was waiting for this beautiful sound to remind him of how deeply connected he was to the woods. He was also so present that this sound resonated so deeply within him. Immediately making him feel pure bliss, happiness, and gratitude for the woods. Overall, serving as a reminder that mindfulness is an important factor in feeling connected to a space. 

      In conclusion, Henry David Thoreau used pathos in his chapter, “Spring” to express what he felt, as well as I used the same rhetorical term to bring about similarities between the woods and the yoga studio. I found a lot of comparisons between the two, which helped me learn a lot as well as it helped me be more attentive to places I do not instantaneously feel attracted to. In a sense being mindful helped me observe things more closely and gave me permission to feel the emotions that my body had been asking to feel. Thoreau spent a long period of time in the woods, feeling, and observing the seasons change. At the studio I did some observing of my own and found that there are many emotions that can come up when you are actually present. I have grown as a person drastically just by creating a still mind and watching nature take its own personal course. I believe the same happened to Thoreau, especially in his case where he spent years living a space in which he effortlessly became so in tune with. The inside of the yoga studio continues to change, as well as the outside does, one day at a time getting closer and closer to the summer. The same way that the woods are forever transitioning from one way to another. All these changes, and all these observations come to remind us that, mindfulness is fundamental to the feelings that you will encounter in a given place.