Midterm season got you feeling stressed and overwhelmed? Consider giving yoga a try. There are some serious physical and mental health benefits and getting started is super easy with a variety of yoga options on campus.
Why do you yoga?
There are so many reasons to give yoga a try. Yoga can initiate a contemplative state which invokes mindfulness, self-efficacy, self-identity, beliefs, and expectations.
Yoga can also help with emotional regulation which can improve the quality of life. This mindset can help with reducing stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms.
Yoga improves your heart rate and respiratory rate as well as your stress response which is very beneficial to both your physical and emotional health. Yoga can also increase endurance and flexibility, reduce fatigue, and increase muscle.
What do you need to yoga?
Making sure you have the right equipment is an important place to start. All you really need to start with is a yoga mat, which will ensure more safety to confidently perform different positions while reducing slips and more cushion to the parts of your body that are touching the floor.
There are many different aids that can also create more comfort, especially if you’re nursing some past injuries.
Where do you yoga?
At home
The first place I would suggest is to start in the comfort at your home. Yoga may feel intimidating at first, but moving your body in new ways can feel unusual. Being able to explore your flexibility, in the comfort of your home can build more confidence to venture out to the community for different classes.
There are so many amazing yoga classes on YouTube that allow you to explore the many different types of yoga to see what is the best fit for you.
Rec Center Group Fitness Classes
There are many different group fitness classes per semester. These classes are not worth any credit at NAU but is free to all students. There are many different yoga classes offered including yoga sculpt, Vinyasa yoga, all levels yoga, and yin yoga.
If you are interested in these classes, sign up online and reserve a spot. Check out their group fitness calendar for days and times.
FIT 100 yoga classes
There are 5 different yoga classes NAU offers for a credit elective course. They offer 7.5-week classes and full semester classes and are 1- 2 days per week.
These classes range for beginners up to advance with different variations and room for growth. You can sign up for a class when you enroll in classes for the next semester.
The great thing about taking a FIT 100 class is that since it’s a for-credit class, it helps you stay accountable for attending (since you don’t want to fail). Here are the different types of FIT 100 yoga classes you can choose from:
Beginning yoga. This is the introduction to yoga, class at NAU. This class introduces different postures and breath patterns that focus on the development of a safe way to practice yoga.
Yoga and Mediation. This fit yoga class ranges from the beginning level while offering more advanced options for students who are more advanced. This class focuses on relaxation, concentration, and physical strength.
Gentle Flow Yoga. Focused on more basic positions but moves towards advanced poses in a gentle way. This class is a vinyasa flow style yoga.
Intermediate flow yoga. This class increases mental focus and helps train the body and mind. This class is more demanding than the other classes, but it is very rewarding.
Power yoga. This class is energizing and upbeat flowing vinyasa sequences. It is considered more of a challenging class at NAU. This class focuses on
endurance, strength, and flexibility.
Enrollment for these classes opens February 27th – March 8th (check in your Louie to see when your enrollment for Fall 2023 starts)