The room is softly lit by the warm glow of electric candles, and serene instrumental music is playing in the background. A variety of UT Martin students are spread throughout the room sitting on yoga mats facing the mirrored wall and the yoga instructor.
College students have a lot of stress as they balance classes, assignments, work, extracurriculars and a social life, and a good way to help manage this stress is having a hobby like yoga. UT Martin offers free yoga classes for its students on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. and Tuesdays at 3 p.m. at the UT Martin Recreation Center.
Allana Petsch, a UT Martin yoga instructor and Nursing major, says yoga is a body and mind practice that utilizes a combination of physical poses, specific breathing techniques and meditation. Some yoga instructors, like Petsch, includes a little bit of Pilates in the classes as well. Petsch recommends that you to wear comfortable clothes that enable easy mobility and to not wear any shoes.
For beginners, Petsch says, “Well, being a beginner myself, I think beginners should know that it’s not scary, and no one will judge you. It is just a good way to release any tensions and stress.”
Petsch says there can be several benefits to doing yoga, such as increasing strength, balance, flexibility and mobility. Another major benefit is how yoga can help manage stress and calm the mind.
Orlandis Williamson, a Civil Engineering major, has been attending yoga classes every Wednesday for about three weeks and says, “It’s chill, takes stress off of football and everything.”
Yoga is also a great way to meet new people and get out of your comfort zone.
Jonathan Ort, a Psychology major, has been attending classes two to three times a week since the start of the semester, and he says that meeting new people is one of the main reasons why he enjoys yoga.
Petsch says a few poses that are good for beginners are downward dog, child’s pose, warrior poses, tabletop, cat, cow and chair pose. Child’s pose is usually a favorite for beginners.
Ort says his favorite position is child’s pose “because that means that we are about to go into meditation, which is super relaxing.”
You do not have to go to the classes to be able to enjoy the hobby. Yoga can be done at home with a comfortable surface, or a yoga mat; a quiet room and YouTube videos.
“Anybody should start doing yoga because it is stress relieving and calming for the body and mind,” Petsch says.
