Let’s Try Yoga!
Posted August 29, 2018
I recently attended a workshop that challenged students to map out short-term and long-term goals in three areas of life: professional, personal and health. Most college students put in a lot of time and effort towards their professional and personal goals. But, if you are anything like me, you might not have considered health goals to be as important as the others.
Health can range from mental to physical and also spiritual well-being. Some suggest all three are equally important to balance. I have had some experience with yoga, but the realization that I need more balance in the three areas of health has inspired me to start practicing yoga more frequently.
Mental Health
If nothing else, yoga can offer an hour however frequently you want to just turn off everything you have going on outside of the studio. That means an hour without technology distractions, an hour away from the library, and an hour to just simply focus on yourself and your well-being. Sounds pretty nice, right?
Physical Health
Yoga has obvious physical benefits like improving your strength and flexibility. The great thing about yoga is it is customizable to your experience level and physical ability so classes are great for beginners, experts and everyone in between. Yoga is a great way to break up your gym routine and expose your body to new exercise!
Spiritual Health
Without the spiritual element, yoga is just a stretch class or group fitness activity. Yoga allows you to take time to connect with yourself deeply. The spiritual element of yoga allows you to just simply be, which is an opportunity rarely offered.
You might think I am crazy to suggest adding another activity to your plate. But really, yoga allows you to optimize your health needs contributing to your mental, physical and spiritual well-being all at once.
Author: Ashley Cameron, senior, applied communication studies