Photo by Katherine Rountree
SCAD’s Corbin Hall has served over the years as the eLearning headquarters, as an administrative building and as the center of alumni services. Now it doubles as a yoga studio and as my personal saving grace.
I found Corbin Hall last year during finals week. I had zero projects completed, zero Red Bulls left in the fridge and zero hope. That’s when, procrastinating as per usual, I stumbled into the studio—because why not pick up a new hobby in between frantic emails to professors and panicked calculations of, How low can I score on this art history exam to still make an A?
My first class was restoration yoga. My first teacher was Sue. Both were random selections, yet both are now regular parts of my life.
Sue Finkle, an instructor with SCAD and with the Savannah Yoga Center, welcomed me my first day with a mat and a bustle. Sue’s someone you just look at and smile. It’s probably because she’s already smiling herself, but it also has something to with the fact that she’s one of those people who just radiates happiness. It rolls off her in waves.
I learned early on that restoration yoga is about the calmest type of yoga you can do. My grandmother calls it “Little Old Lady Yoga.” All the same, little old lady yoga is probably one of the most rewarding kinds out there. The process is simple: sit, stretch, breathe, meditate. Once your mind is still, your breath fully under control, you begin to move.
The bustle—one of those long, heavy blue pillow things—is key here. You’re constantly moving it around your body, shifting it every few minutes or so, and then you fold, bend or stretch your body over and around it. Combined with your steady in-and-out breathing, the bustle helps to open your back and your shoulders, your neck, arms, legs and every muscle in between.
By the end what you’re left with is a body you won’t even recognize. Every inch of you is relaxed and calm and at peace. No knots, no tension, no stress, only unity and fluidity. By the end you see why Sue is so happy—it’s because her bones, muscles and mind are in sync.
But the happiness yoga instills in its practitioners goes beyond the physical. Yoga is a release in every sense of the word, which means an emotional and mental release as well. My favorite part of a session is when, seated full or half lotus, I open my hips, my legs, my body and connect everything I’ve got with the ground beneath me. Sue says it’s an exchange with the Earth. I grow roots and let out the bad, soak in the good. I’m sounding hokey here, but just go with it.
Or don’t. It doesn’t matter to me. I’ve found my release, my balance, and I invite you to do the same. Sign up for restoration yoga and other classes at SCAD Studio here.
