In true summer fashion, I had to produce a sequel. I caught up up with Janet Tsai, 26 year old engineer/yogi goddess to see what's new in her world...
Janet Tsai is a Ph.D.candidate in engineering education and mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Janet Tsai is also a Nicki Minaj fan. While writing her first professional paper for a conference recently, she listened to this song:
When I meet Janet at a bar in Boulder to watch Game 4 of the Bulls-Heat series, it’s with the intention of talking about her work. I'm curious about her newly acquired grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), undoubtedly the biggest change in her world since February (see Forces In Yoga). We get to it, but not before talking about the sex appeal of individual pro-basketball players, the awkward encounters she’s had with the guy at her neighborhood bagel shop and the likelihood that a pregnant woman’s single exposure to secondhand marijuana smoke will affect her unborn fetus. Janet says she’s been listening to the Sean Garrett/Nicki Minaj song on repeat. I vow to look it up.
The Heat are running away with it and we get in a few work-related words. Janet has been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship. The NSF awards 2,000 of these a year, each of which affords its recipient a sizeable educational allowance, annual living stipend and networking opportunities galore. Its former recipients include the co-author of Freakonomics, the founder of Google and current Secretary of Energy. Janet’s plan is to use this upcoming year to develop her curriculum for her pilot program. The following year she’ll implement the curriculum in one school; the year after in multiple schools. She admits her fear that it might not work. Boozer and the Bulls completely fold in overtime and we part ways.
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Four days later I’m stuck in heavy traffic in the outskirts of Boulder, trying to make it to Janet’s Saturday yoga class by noon. I’m listening to a radio program about how psychopaths don’t feel emotions when they see pictures of dead animals or people--all the while screaming at every slow-moving/non-rushed entity with which I come in contact. If I were to “accidentally” hit someone/thing in this emotional state, would I be exempt from psychopathic branding? I sneak into Janet’s class thirty minutes late, welcome and invited to unwind.
Janet’s theme for the day is sustainability--the importance of getting basic postures right in order to ensure overall better alignment and healthy structures. I’ve missed her introduction (which she designed over an awkward bagel at her neighborhood bagel shop that morning) and am flopping through postures. She swoops in to correct me. She pushes my shoulders down to melt more. She pulls my saggy hip to be more powerful. Her cadence is low and the lights dim. The whole setting is incredibly relaxing.
Afterwards we get coffee one bustling Boulder block away from the studio. I ask her more about her teaching style. Janet admits that she‘s not sure she always connects with her students, though she is confident that she’ll grow into her individual style over time. She stays on this subject of connection, drawing similarities between her worlds of engineering and yoga. Both, she says, encourage students to be in constant search of connectedness. She uses tetanus--sustained muscle contraction--to flesh it out.
“The nerve signals are what are controlling the rate of the muscle fibers‘ firing,“ she says, describing a scenario in which muscles are shaking to stay in a pose. “The idea with yoga is that we train our muscles to act together to such a great degree so that even the neurons, the signals beings sent, are totally cohesive." As in, those shaking elvis legs will eventually steady as each muscle fiber within the large muscle learns to act in tandem with each of those around it, increasing strength and dexterity.
“I think common questions in any yoga class are how engaged can we be, and how can we participate fullest in this moment? A lot of yoga is being in the moment. Engineers talk about it too.”
She shrugs. She’s got a lot of work before her, but also a whole bunch of moments ahead to figure it out.
Follow Janet’s cool projects, including her Forces in Yoga teaching research, on her blog: http://www.forcesinyoga.com/
