Throughout my work this year, I have been able to define what exactly community engagement is: a thought-out process with the specific purpose of working with identified groups of people that are connected by common interest, location, or identity. This semester, I was able to incorporate my work and community engagement by reaching out to the yoga community. I was able to create a challenge and go to my first yoga class after practicing for about three years, alone. My challenge was posted on Instagram and those who participated, used the hashtag: #wind_water_fire_yoga. Using the hashtag, participants were allowed to see other yoga pictures and how other people progressed through the course of two weeks.
At first, I didn’t think I used research when doing any of my projects. During Seminar and Studio, I realized I constantly used research, but in a more informal manner. When trying to find information for my yoga project, I used other famous Instagram yoga accounts, Facebook, Pinterest, and friends to discover poses, lifestyle, quotes, and what exactly attracted a group of people to follow their account. I have had my yoga account for about two years now and was able to have already gained about 900 followers and after doing research I now have over 1300. I think research is very effective during a project, whether its formal or informal. Having some information to help you prosper and go farther within your project or paper will allow you to have a more successful outcome.
