By Rachael Schultz
There are a lot of misconceptions about yoga: it’s just stretching, it’s only for women, it’s a religion, you have to be flexible to do it, you have to be skinny to do it, it’s not a real work out.
The truth about yoga is that anyone can do it, and everyone should do it. Especially college students, because what’s the foremost factor in our lives? Stress.
We’re stressed because we have to draw a life-sized portrait, because we need to get a summer internship, because we went out last night instead of studying for an exam. We’re stressed for these reasons and a lot more.
Three classes jammed into ten weeks is just promising to be nonstop stress.
Conveniently, yoga is one of the best ways to relieve stress. In a study done at the University of Australia, participants who did yoga for one hour a week for ten weeks found that they were less stressed, less anxious and more relaxed.
Who doesn’t want that?
The benefits of yoga are endless. Besides the better posture and the mean, lean body you’ll get, yoga reduces stress, anxiety and hostility—say against that teacher who failed you on your A-worthy project. It improves your blood circulation which increases your memory, and the attention it takes to maintain proper breathing with proper form increases your overall concentration.
Low anxiety, increased memory and improved concentration? All of these elements seem to be adding up to you acing your next exam.
I can go on and on about why you should do yoga, but you’re not going to realize how beneficial it is until you actually do it. So go do it.
I’ve never met any one who went to a yoga class and didn’t like it. You don’t have to be stick-thin or gymnast-flexible. I’ve been doing yoga for five years and I still can’t put my hands flat on the floor during a forward fold. But I’ve definitely gotten a lot closer to that floor after five years and I’m going to keep trying until I can.
The thing about life is that there will always be someone better than you at what you’re doing. No matter what.
The great thing about yoga, though, is that no one cares who’s the best. Yoga’s not competitive whatsoever because everyone’s bodies are so different. No one is going to judge you because you can’t go as deep into a pose as they can. Yoga is a personal practice, so everyone is focusing on how deep they can go and how it makes them feel. They won’t even notice if you can’t touch your toes.
Club SCAD has free yoga classes, so the excuse of being broke won’t fly. If you don’t mind shelling out a couple of bucks, Savannah has some really great yoga studios, including Savannah Yoga Center, the Yoga Co-op and Yoga Room, and they’re worth the money for how good they’ll make you feel.
With finals coming up, do yourself a favor and drop by a class. You’ll feel relaxed and ready to take on any final project or exam that comes your way.
