Mind, body and spirit combine to form a relaxing trio for college students searching for the perfect stress reducer. Elena Keegan, Baton Rouge Yoga Company instructor and University alumna, said the Company is considering bringing yoga classes to some of the University’s residence halls to help students monitor and release their stress. Amy Sparrow, assistant director of University Recreation’s Healthy Lifestyle program, said students can receive the benefits of yoga from a variety of classes at UREC. Sparrow said expanding such services to residence halls would be successful because it provides a more convenient exercise outlet for students. Keegan said yoga can help college students’ stress levels, which create a variety of imbalances in the body. Baton Rouge maintains a strong yoga industry outside campus with places such as The Red Shoes on Government Street and Anahata Yoga Center on Perkins Road. Keegan said there is a growing popularity with yoga because young adults are attracted to health trends. Jenny Liford, University School of Veterinary Medicine student, said yoga has always been popular, but it has recently spread to college crowds. Keegan said research shows meditation is the most effective and beneficial form of exercise, and it keeps the body’s immune system intact. Keegan said each yoga session improves the entire body from flexibility to circulation to hormone levels. She also said the mental component of yoga is the perfect stress reducer. “You learn to breathe to access the parts that deal with stress,” she said. She also said controlled breathing helps participants to capture the moment instead of focusing on other tasks and obligations. For some, the quietness of yoga only motivates more time for thinking. Liford said yoga relaxes her, but she still concentrates on her duties. “I’m going over my grocery list in my head during the quietness,” she said. Christina Johnson, psychotherapist and nondenominational minister who used to teach at The Red Shoes, said breathing is key to connecting one’s spirit and body. “When the connection happens, the body is really in prayer,” Johnson said. Keegan and Johnson said yoga helps define one’s spirituality, which is vital to daily life. “We all have inner power, but we don’t always use it,” Keegan said. Liford said yoga’s effects differ with people’s levels of spirituality. “It is not spiritual for me personally,” she said. Johnson said the root of many people’s problems is they are not in touch with their own bodies. She said today’s young people forget about the importance of expressing themselves. “It brings an awareness to oneself,” she said. Johnson said athletics is the most common form of physical expression, but it is often expressed through competition, which eliminates spiritual release. Johnson said yoga has increased her self-awareness. “It has brought me to a heightened feeling as a feminine source,” she said. “When I finish a movement, I feel more complete.” Johnson also said males can get the same effect. “Men feel a strong force from doing yoga,” she said. Prem Vidhana, Tai Chi instructor, said Tai Chi is the Chinese version of yoga, which requires self-respect. “You have to have an appreciation and gratitude for your body,” he said. Johnson and Vidhana said today’s generation is too confined to the work desk. “We need to come out of the tech trance,” Johnson said. Sparrow said yoga helps reform people’s typical hunched over posture. “It helps bring balance from the front of the body to the back of the body,” she said. Vidhana said the unifying aspect of yoga is the most important because it calls for a sense of wholeness with the mind, body and spirit. “Without a good body, you cannot have a good mind,” he said.
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