Yoga classes can help relieve stress
Rachel Sarafin
Issue date: 3/4/10 Section: News
Students are among the highest rates for depression and mental illness in the United States. The added stress of little sleep and high stress put students at a high risk for anxiety and other health problems. Marcie Nithang is doing her part at St. Ambrose to keep students healthy by offering weekly yoga classes to students.
"Yoga is an overall better way of dealing with the stress of college life," Nithang says, who has been practicing yoga for about nine years.
Nithang works as a mental health counselor at SAU. Though she has been counseling at SAU for a year, Nithang has been teaching yoga for about four years.
This is the first semester for yoga classes at SAU. The classes are free and open to every student, regardless of fitness level or experience. The class meets every Wednesday night from 7-8 in the Rogalski Ballroom. Students attending class can expect to leave feeling relaxed and focused.
The entire focus of yoga, according to Nithang, is to zone in on relaxation and breathing. By doing so, the student leaves behind the stresses of class and homework.
"We must turn inward and shift the focus inward to see what our body and breath is doing," Nithang says. The class spends several minutes warming up for stretches by breathing and acknowledging the stress of the day before letting it go to focus on the yoga poses.
"I get an overall stretch and it's relaxing, but I still get a workout out of it," says Joe Gaffey.
Gaffey first tried yoga about a year ago and says it felt weird at first. Now, Gaffey says he has increased flexibility. By convincing several of his roommates and other football players to try it, Gaffey now practices yoga regularly and enjoys the benefits.
Nithang hopes to see growth in the yoga class, which meets once a week. By getting more people involved, Nithang says she would like to see a class happen every day where students can come to release anxiety from the day.
"Yoga is for everyone," Nithang says. There are different ways to modify each pose, and Nithang says she always walks first-time students through the moves until they feel comfortable. By feeling comfortable, relaxed and focused, Nithang hopes that each student will gain the benefits of yoga, which include increased mental health.
"Rather than doing one-on-one counseling, this is like a class of 20 students getting counseling from yoga," Nithang says.
By teaching relaxation and stress management techniques at this age, Nithang hopes students learn how to better deal with stress for the rest of their lives.
The class will continue through the remainder of the semester, but may not always meet in the Rogalski Ballroom. If the class gets bigger, it may move to a different room to accommodate the growth. For a class that started with just a few people and now has 20 to 30 people per session, bigger numbers are better.
Newcomers are always welcome to try yoga and, "once you try it, you'll love it," Gaffey says.
"Yoga is an overall better way of dealing with the stress of college life," Nithang says, who has been practicing yoga for about nine years.
Nithang works as a mental health counselor at SAU. Though she has been counseling at SAU for a year, Nithang has been teaching yoga for about four years.
This is the first semester for yoga classes at SAU. The classes are free and open to every student, regardless of fitness level or experience. The class meets every Wednesday night from 7-8 in the Rogalski Ballroom. Students attending class can expect to leave feeling relaxed and focused.
The entire focus of yoga, according to Nithang, is to zone in on relaxation and breathing. By doing so, the student leaves behind the stresses of class and homework.
"We must turn inward and shift the focus inward to see what our body and breath is doing," Nithang says. The class spends several minutes warming up for stretches by breathing and acknowledging the stress of the day before letting it go to focus on the yoga poses.
"I get an overall stretch and it's relaxing, but I still get a workout out of it," says Joe Gaffey.
Gaffey first tried yoga about a year ago and says it felt weird at first. Now, Gaffey says he has increased flexibility. By convincing several of his roommates and other football players to try it, Gaffey now practices yoga regularly and enjoys the benefits.
Nithang hopes to see growth in the yoga class, which meets once a week. By getting more people involved, Nithang says she would like to see a class happen every day where students can come to release anxiety from the day.
"Yoga is for everyone," Nithang says. There are different ways to modify each pose, and Nithang says she always walks first-time students through the moves until they feel comfortable. By feeling comfortable, relaxed and focused, Nithang hopes that each student will gain the benefits of yoga, which include increased mental health.
"Rather than doing one-on-one counseling, this is like a class of 20 students getting counseling from yoga," Nithang says.
By teaching relaxation and stress management techniques at this age, Nithang hopes students learn how to better deal with stress for the rest of their lives.
The class will continue through the remainder of the semester, but may not always meet in the Rogalski Ballroom. If the class gets bigger, it may move to a different room to accommodate the growth. For a class that started with just a few people and now has 20 to 30 people per session, bigger numbers are better.
Newcomers are always welcome to try yoga and, "once you try it, you'll love it," Gaffey says.
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