My experience with Yale’s Project on Wellness and Performance Enhancement (YPWPE) has been nothing short of amazing. It is hands down one of the most meaningful experiences that I have had at Yale. When I first embarked on the journey, I had no idea where it could take me. I knew that I was unnecessarily and exceedingly stressed, unbalanced, and trying to just make it to the next day. I knew that something needed to change. I only have four years at this wonderful institution and wishing days away (even if they were filled with deadlines, exams, and papers) was not something I wanted to be doing.
YPWPE has given me the skills to reduce my sense of urgency with trivial matters. It has also helped me to reduce my need to fulfill other people’s expectations, and instead ask myself: How can I enrich my life and the lives of others while remaining happy, healthy, and balanced and doing what I want to do? Throughout the course of our readings and studies, I have started to find some interesting approaches to answering this question. Obviously, my questions are not all answered, but I know that for one, it is significant that I have started thinking about these questions, and that I am also heading in the right general direction. The YPWPE provided me the space to start asking these questions and seeking out answers in a positive, meaningful forum where I could sit in community with other individuals who wanted to ask the same questions.
The program could not have been half as meaningful without the wisdom and guidance of our leaders, specifically Cornelia. I feel truly blessed to have worked with such a knowledgeable and passionate leader. Through Cornelia’s example, I have started to work on setting boundaries in my relationships with others and limits on the number of things that I commit to. For a long time, I have struggled with these two aspects of my life and personality, but through my experiences this semester and the tangible skills that I now own; I feel comfortable doing these things for myself. It feels good to have boundaries, time for personal reflection, and an appreciation for simplicity.
With the practices and philosophies that I have been introduced to throughout the course of the semester, I have learned to approach my days differently than I did before I started. While I have an extremely long way to go before I could claim to truly be living well, I do feel that I am implementing the things I have learned into my daily routine. I find myself altering my thought patterns and reframing the way that I think about many things. Instead of “I have to study for this test, and it is going to be so terrible!”; I think more along the lines of “focus now, do what I can to prepare myself, and appreciate the experience”. This thought process is admittedly quite challenging and is not always the way I think about my tasks, but being conscious of trying to reframe my thoughts feels like a start.
In addition to the daily practices that I have integrated into my life, I have taken many other things from my experience this semester. It was powerful for me to discuss and engage with other traditions and sacred practices from other cultures and philosophies. My experience increased my appreciation and respect for other views and cultures. I am a Christian, but through my experience with the YPWPE I have seen and experienced some of the underlying fundamental qualities that transcend all religious or spiritual beliefs and connect us all; namely respect and care for people and the power of community, among many others.
On that note, it was remarkable to see how in such a short period of time, our group could come to connect with one another on such a powerful level. We are from all different walks of life and hold many different beliefs; regardless, we were able to find a way to sit in a respectful, sharing community with one another. If we could apply this idea of community and connectivity on a broader scale; classrooms, universities, towns, cities, nations, and perhaps even the world would be better suited to embrace the power of today, focus on the underlying fundamental human qualities that connect us all, and we could all move towards engaging in a broader and more respectful worldwide (or in our case, a university-wide) community.
The depth of knowledge that Cornelia, Dean Flick, and guest speakers brought to our circle of discussion was invaluable. From the philosophy of yoga, to self expression through literature, to learning the “way of the council” from Cornelia who put the principles into practice to win a gold medal; I ended up with a more powerful experience than I could have ever imagined. I look forward to continued involvement in a program with such immense potential to affect change in the world.
