Child’s pose–a position one would generally associate with a student who, upon having a horribly rough day, makes a conscious decision to lie in a horizontal fetal position on her bed, drenched in a puddle of her own tears, for an extremely long period of time until she realizes that it is 3 a.m. and that her essay will just have to wait another day to be completed.

 

However, for yoga enthusiasts, the position is one of relaxation.

For newfound yoga lovers, like the ones who attended Campus Ministry’s 3rd annual Yoga Retreat, child’s pose offered comfort after a terse period of strenuous stretching and holding balance positions for what seemed like hours on end.

Students met with Monica Frazier of Campus Ministry and Brother Larry Atkinson at Mang House on Friday, Sept. 22. Campus Ministry transported the students via St. Edward’s University vans to Eastside Yoga, located on 11th Street.  At their arrival, Eastside Yoga instructor Melissa Savoie greeted her class with friendliness and a warm smile.

“The environment was very relaxing,” freshman and former avid yogi Renee Cornue said.

Like the session itself, the setting was highly calming and not an overly intense workout. Upon entering the yoga studio, the refreshing scent of calming herbal cleanser overcame the room which made the experience even more authentic and helped to unwind the students from their stresses.

The first half of the session included more active moves and positions while the second half focused more on deep breathing, meditation and restorative yoga.

“Even though I’ve been practicing yoga for a couple of years, I feel like I learned so much at the retreat,” freshman Savannah Deering said. “I had never really done restorative yoga, but it was so relaxing and I know that it will be a great way to release all of the physical and mental tension that builds up from the stress of schoolwork and other activities.”

Some of the positions proved to be more difficult than expected, especially the ones that required extreme focus and balance. However, the moves were easily learned and after the session, most students felt a sense of relief of bodily tensions.

“Compared to some of the other classes I’ve taken, this one wasn’t so bad. If you’re looking for a more intense workout, I think fitness yoga was one of the more rigorous classes I’ve ever taken,” Cornue said.

Cornue previously had a difficult time balancing school, work and yoga, but plans on returning to Eastside soon.

Freshman and yoga newbie, Cynthia Cruz, did not really know what to expect.

“Yoga was a bit difficult for me, but I was expecting it to be tougher than I imagined,” Cruz said.  “I always had this image of yoga where one has to be flexible in order to do it, but it is fun, and anyone can do it!”

Eastside Yoga provides “donation classes” every Sunday; a donation of any amount of money can be paid in order to take part in the class.

“I am definitely planning on returning to Eastside Yoga because the staff was fantastic, and to pay by donations only on Sunday classes is within my college student budget.” Cruz said.

Overall, the third annual Yoga Retreat proved to be a success, with a majority, if not all, of the students having expressed satisfaction from the session.