#TryItUofT – Yoga!

As students, we often feel stressed out. Understandably, we attempt to find ways to cope with the stress by taking part in activities to “de-stress”. Finding that “one thing” that allows us to take a step back, breathe, and relax. This can include a multitude of different activities such as sports, reading, gaming, etc. For me, I was looking for something that wouldn’t take up too much of my time and would leave me feeling relaxed and energized. Recently, I have found the perfect activity to do just that, and that happens to be yoga! In line with the #TryItUofT campaign, I felt it was fitting to share my new found love for yoga! My interest in yoga started when my sister bought me a yoga mat for Christmas this year. I originally was just going to use the mat for some exercises for a workout guide that I’m following. I soon realized that I could use the mat for its actual purpose. I thought, why not try it out?...but where to begin? I wasn’t too keen on spending money on yoga classes as they can be quite expensive and unkind to the student’s wallet. In addition, I personally felt more comfortable practicing it in the comfort of my own room. Of course, YouTube was the first place that came to mind to see if there were any yoga routines. After sifting through a couple of channels, I found the perfect one! For those interested, I would highly recommend the videos from the “Yoga with Adriene” channel. It’s great for beginners and there are variety of themed videos that target various needs e.g. yoga for stress and anxiety, yoga for relaxation, yoga for abs – just to name a few! My current favourite is her “Yoga Camp” series which consists of 30 days of yoga routines which essentially builds up your practice with a gradual increase in difficulty every day. Her videos are usually 30 minutes in length which is perfect for those of you looking for a de-stressor that doesn’t consume too much of your time!

I find yoga to be incredibly relaxing and not too strenuous which allows me to still have energy to tackle the rest of the day. I hope this may encourage you to try the art of yoga, but if not, I hope it inspires you to try something new! Namaste!