Minqi Kong | Co-Executive Editor | mkong@mail.smcvt.edu
St. Michael’s College is offering free yoga classes for community members starting on March 20 and will end on May 3 at the Tarrant Sports Center on the second floor of the dance studio. Carla Hesler, head of the field hockey coach and recreational sport coordinator organized the classes in collaboration with the Sangha Studio, a local nonprofit, donation-based yoga studio.
I think this is a time when it’s always can be stressful, can be challenging for students to want to wrap up the year on a good note and good time for them to spend some time maybe meeting people also and making connections with people who have similar interests and developing some good habits leading up into the end of the semester.” Hesler said.
Yoga allows one to relax, become aware of possible unhealthy pitfalls in one’s body, adjust the breath, and ultimately release stress. “It could bring more awareness of their posture and their breath and give them a chance to link movement to the breath,” said Hanna Satterlee, a Yoga instructor. “A chance to listen to their body and see if there’s anything going on that they’ve been ignoring.” The environment of the yoga room is quiet, and is filled with a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere.
In the last month of the semester, there are many things that can disturb students and make them feel restless. Examples include upcoming exams, the submission of papers, and the completion of graduation work. With the academic rush comes some of the same irritability that the temptation from social media can cause. Yoga can help alleviate this restlessness, at least during this one-hour yoga session. “There’s the energy of a community and you get to feel like it’s happening, and you’re all there together and there’s no phones, there’s no distractions. It’s, like, easier to stay present.” Satterlee said.
A chance to listen to their body and see if there’s anything going on that they’ve been ignoring.
According to a study from Johns Hopkins Medicine website, yoga can improve strength, balance and flexibility. Yoga also can benefit heart health and help manage stress.
Laura Selin, the Sangha Studio manager said: “The more that people can find ways to kind of drop into their bodies and to allow for their mind to only focus on sensation and their breath. It’s a really good resource to kind of build on mindfulness. Mindfulness is just being able to recognize what’s going on in the present moment, whether that’s in your physical body or in your mind.”
Relieve the end-of-term lethargy, quiet your mind, clear your brain and relax with free yoga classes every Monday and Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m. for Core Flow Yoga session. Core Flow Yoga session is a session focusing on the body core muscles practice, it is helping support the spine according to an article “What is Core Flow?” from the IAM yoga website. Tuesday from 5 to 6 p.m. for Yoga flow session, this session will teach basic yoga moves. These two session types will be held in the dance studio on the second floor of Tarrant Sports Center from March 20 to May 3.