Naomi Potter
Reporting Student
So many college students around the country have the same issue when enrolling for classes. They want to know how they will fill up the extra space in their required credit hours. As a freshman, my scholarship required I have a total of 15 credit hours. All the required credit hours for my major were not enough hours by themselves. As I scrambled to find classes to fill up those hours, one of them I had chosen was math, which I failed about nine weeks in. The other was English, which I easily passed despite sleeping in class for the majority of the time.
The last class I chose was yoga. It was just filler in my mind. I thought I would finish it, and by winter break I would have gained nothing from the experience. I did not expect the results I received from yoga or the importance of taking just a couple of minutes a day to let my mind and troubles rest. I came away from the class with so much more than I thought I would.
I recall walking into the chilly and dimly lit dance studio where my yoga class would be held for the first time. It had the same awkward and reluctant atmosphere as any first day of a new class. But now, not only was I surrounded by complete strangers, we were all sitting on a floor together without the familiar separation and organization of desks and chairs. It bothered me the entire time, as though it was too close and personal. We quickly learned the main focus of the class, and yoga as a whole was to improve balance, strength, flexibility and peace of mind.
In terms of balance, I do not believe I benefited greatly from the yoga class. I have never had a great sense of balance, even putting on my socks while standing is a great and epic battle of wills. So, attempting the poses which involve standing firmly on one foot was something I could do for about all of a grand two seconds. I do not think I gained much from yoga in terms of strength either. The class was surprisingly easy at first, the poses were simple and I could do most of them easily without breaking a sweat. Even the more difficult poses were not too bad.
Yet, as the class went on, it got progressively tougher, and I do not think my body got the memo. The strength in my arms, especially seemed to decrease as the class went on. Eventually they were shaking after most every lesson, and I found myself to be more lethargic than energized after my classes. I assume part of this is my fault, however. I was not exactly in great athletic shape before the class began, and I had only done yoga for two days a week for only a few months. Seeing the true benefits of yoga requires more dedication and practice than what I was willing to offer. Persistence is often key with most all physical efforts. I believe I am a lost cause in balance and strength, anyway.
Even if I was not born with strength or a good sense of balance, I was always naturally flexible. Interestingly, yoga did actually help with my flexibility. I was barely able to touch my toes with my longest fingers when I stretched. Now, my thumbs can touch the floor. It had also taught me patience. Yoga classes move slowly as not to stress anyone out. They are quiet and not very exciting or much of a spectacle to behold, but I was never truly bored. I taught myself every week to slowly make my way through each pose even if I wanted to run out the door and leave because I knew in the long run it would be beneficial to my health and my state of mind. At the end of each class, we would lay on our mats and close our eyes to clear our minds, but I fell asleep every time, so I suppose yoga did not teach me how to stay awake.
However, throughout all of this, I benefited more from yoga on a mental level, rather than a physical level. The stress of the first semester of college is much greater than the second. Transitioning and trying to figure out how to adjust to college life and the ever-changing responsibilities can be quite difficult on a lot of people. I was no exception to this. I can recall the challenges of understanding my classes and exactly what my teachers wanted from me. It can be an issue even now, along with other difficult aspects of college life.
In yoga, people learn to breathe with their spine straight and elongated, to have long and deep breaths and to make sure their exhales are longer than their inhales. This is a technique used to relax and clear the mind and it had saved me in the midst of panic attacks many times. It is as though when the mind is clear and prepared, then the body follows. So it is possible if I kept doing yoga, I would have experienced more of the benefits. But as it stands, it has helped bring me peace of mind more than balance, flexibility or strength.
So, in the end, I gained some things from yoga and lacked other things. If I were to answer if it was helpful or not, I would say that it helps more to ease stress than to make someone more physically fit. If that is something any college student may need, then perhaps taking yoga would help them a great deal. Also, if anyone was wondering, I remember absolutely none of the poses.