Cultural Convergence at High School: Spanish Yoga and Chinese New Year

Cultural Convergence at High School: Spanish Yoga and Chinese New Year
Bearkat Student Scoop with Josey G. '22

A chopstick relay at our new MDC pavilion.

Personal freedom is a goal many people aim to achieve. In his book, Los Cuatros Acuerdos (The Four Agreements), Don Miguel Ruiz, a Mexican author, coaches his readers on how to do this. 

Throughout the semester, Post Oak’s eleventh and twelfth-grade Spanish students read Ruiz’s book to learn how to achieve each of the “agreements,” as they are called, to grant ourselves more personal freedom. The agreements all work together to create a happier, healthier life and include the following:

  • Be impeccable with your words

  • Don’t take anything personally

  • Don’t assume anything

  • Always give your maximum effort

Although these may sound simple at first, integration into daily life can be overwhelming. My fellow students and I took a virtual yoga and mindfulness class to begin the process. In this 75-minute session, we were guided through the different agreements. We practiced how to pause our reactions in order to assess when we fall short of being impeccable with our words. We were asked to notice when there is tension in our throats. And we exercised greater awareness about when we take things personally, in order to be less reactive in the future.

We were joined by dragon dancers who shared a traditional performance.

Yoga and meditation in Spanish are just some of the many interesting intersections of language and culture currently being explored here at the high school.

On Thursday we celebrated Chinese New Year! A group of students enrolled in the Chinese language classes with Mr. Zhou organized a traditional celebration. This consisted of a high stakes chopstick relay, traditional dragon dance, and Chinese luncheon. Through this event, students were able to show off their competitive sides, experience some aspects of a traditional Chinese New Year celebration, and of course, enjoy some delicious food!

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