Yoga has taken over the world due to its ability to relax the body and mind. I had always been curious as to how yoga worked , but never found myself to actually do it. This all changed when I had the opportunity to practice yoga as a Rose Scholars event. During the yoga class we performed various exercises that helped our body relaxed. Also, we closed our eyes and focused on our breathing to fully relax our mind. With the help of music and snacks the effect of relaxation was further and a very pleasant one. This experience has truly made me want to include yoga in my weekly routine.

In the midst of finals, this is exactly what I needed. Waking up, putting on a tie-dye t-shirt and striped leggings, I walked into Rose Common room. Standing up on my mat, I felt the stress of final projects, and papers, and exams momentarily faded away in the background music, and I tried to concentrate on my physical and mental presence in the room. We started out by noticing our breathing and sitting with our legs criss-crossed, then shifting into stretches and planks, I actually began to build up a sweat. In high school, I used to run really often, about 4 to 6 miles a day on average. Some days, we would have really intense workouts and sprints around the track, and other days we had relaxed runs in town, chatting and laughing with friends along the way. It was physically strenuous and rewarding, but I rarely took the time to hone in on my mental awareness of myself and my surroundings. Yoga was both physically strenuous and rewarding, but also helped me feel more calm about my worries and anxieties. Also, it is definitely not as easy as it looks — I definitely worked up a sweat! It was such a refreshing experience to be able to work on my mind and body at the same time!

Yoga has never been my thing. Before I came to Cornell, the extent of my abilities in yoga was being able to do child’s pose. I can’t say that it has changed since then, but I have gone to a couple of yoga events at Rose. It is a very different way to try and push yourself to do something that you’re not used to and, in my case, something you’re not very good at. However, I have definitely felt more relaxed after each time that I have gone to a yoga event, this time being no different.

I believe that events like yoga at Rose show the interest that the house has in promoting good mental health. Especially with an exam period coming up, it is a welcome break to be able to take the mind off of classes. For me, it was a good way to de-stress after turning a paper in that morning. While yoga is not something that I would do regularly, I do enjoy having the opportunity to do it whenever Rose offers it.

Yoga was an interesting experience. As a student-athlete, I was never challenged quite as physically and spiritually as this yoga experience. It was quite a remarkable sensation that while doing simple stretching activities something about yoga had a deeper impact within my spirituality, something that I have never encountered before even after my years of exercise and training. Yoga is something special as I felt very mentally refreshed, a great respite from all the studying and psets that Cornell throws at you in the last couple weeks of school and really was an experience that allowed me to take a break from all the stresses and worries ever present as a student. I guess yoga is so popular because of the relaxing and stress relieving qualities that it provides for its practicers and I do look forward to future opportunities to take a step back from the hustle and bustle of every day to indulge in some mental rejuvenation through activities such as yoga.

Taking time away from my daily activities to de-stress and do yoga was amazing. It was relaxing and I was able to take my mind off things like school, finals, and other toxic things. It reminded me of when I was younger and did yoga quite often after school. It is such a good way to relieve stress and focus on stretching my body, and relieving tension.

I really enjoyed this event because I was able to not think about anything stressful for a moment. I find yoga very relaxing and I really liked the five minutes at the end where we just lay down and close our eyes. I really enjoyed this yoga event because even though it didn’t require strenuous movements it was still challenging. I’m glad I was able to take some time out of my day to destress at this event.

I walked into the yoga class MAD about some phone call, SAD about a pep talk I couldn’t have, HUNGRY, and five-thousand other adjectives for “over it”. Surprisingly, I left feeling pretty good. I felt better mentally because I was redirecting my energy away from a long day. I also felt better physically. Sometime in the middle of the week, I was experiencing really bad back and chest pain, so Friday I was still recovering from that. The floor exercises (stretches, rolling) relieved me of the remaining pain. Given the quality of my day, I was fully expecting to scowl throughout, but because I tried to engage I left feeling good about myself. At the end of the class, we got our pick of a table of free kombucha, green tea, oatmeal, turmeric teas, etc. I made and ate one of the oatmeals with a banana, then took a nap. It was a great way to start off my weekend… and I’m actually kind of happy I did it because, otherwise, I could have had a very different night. Looking forward to drinking the turmeric tea, and am open to doing this class again.

On Friday, I was able to do one hour of yoga, and it was amazing. Although it was much harder than I assumed it would be, I was able to completely clear my mind and not worry about any finals, papers or studying that had to be done in that hour. I was focused on myself and how I was feeling, and after the complete hour of yoga was finished I felt refreshed and ready to take on a healthier lifestyle. Stretching, doing exercise, yoga, or just taking a walk daily can seriously uplift your spirits especially during this stressful time when everything is due.