University Activities Board, ASMSU and the Student Health Advisory Council at MSU partnered up to put on “Yoga at the Rock.”
The session was held as part of ASMSU’s Mental Health Awareness Week, a week of events to raise awareness and fight the stigmas of different mental illnesses.
From 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., as students meandered to and from class, roughly 20 people gathered in the field behind the rock on Farm Lane.
Mats were provided for those who did not have one or were participating in yoga for the first time.
That afternoon, they were led in a Vinyasa, or flow, yoga session.
The session was led by Marisa Martini, a history, philosophy and sociology of science senior.
Martini, who is working toward being certified as a yoga instructor, said this particular style is about connecting one’s movement with their breath, mind and thoughts.
“Yoga has so many benefits to the body and mind,” she said. “I thought this would be the perfect event to do — it’s very de-stressing.”
Although Martini instructed the students on how to complete each pose, she did not demonstrate them herself.
She said this was because other people might not be able to move their body the way she moves hers and they need to move in a way that feels right for their own body.
Horticulture junior Ryan Peterson said he wanted to participate in the event after he heard about Mental Health Awareness Week, a cause he felt he could relate to.
Peterson struggled with mental illness most of his life, and said yoga was one way he was able to cope with it.
“Yoga is a key aspect of keeping healthy mental clarity,” he said. “This is good practice on a beautiful day.”
Everyone was free to move at their own pace as the session progressed, using hip-opening moves that Martini said were meant to release emotions held in the hips.
Students held themselves in the downward-facing dog position and attempted motions that had them on their backs, kicking their feet like overturned bugs.
Anagha Bharadwaj, an international relations senior, wanted to join the rest of the crowd to practice yoga because of the warm weather.
Bharadwaj also came out because she supports Mental Health Awareness Week’s cause.
“I feel like this is so important because a lot of people have mental health flare-ups when they get to college,” she said. “Counselors are over-burdened and don’t have enough time or space for students. Students need to be aware of other resources they have available.”
