With midterms as the only thing standing between Spartans and spring break, the stress college students are facing is at an all-time high.
Yoga has a reputation for alleviating stress, and MSU studies have shown it to be true.
Assistant professor of psychology Jason Moser studied how yoga specifically counteracts stress through the effects of it on an MSU student, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in the Marine Corps.
Moser said through yoga, the student’s ability to juggle various things doubled, his reactions to his mistakes were much lower and he performed more effectively and efficiently overall.
I had never done yoga before, and I wanted to see the effects for myself, so I decided to test it out and visit different yoga studios around the Lansing area.
Yoga State
Before my hot vinyasa class here, I had never even been to a yoga studio, so I was feeling pretty nervous and unsure of myself.
There were about 15 people in the room relaxing on their mats when I walked in. Some were chatting with their neighbors, others were simply sitting or lying down.
I unrolled the mat my friend lent me and then lay down on it, closing my eyes.
A couple minutes later, Jen Hayes, the owner of Yoga State and also the class instructor, walked in and greeted the class with, “Namaste,” a respectful greeting that translates to, “I bow to you.”
Everyone responded in unison, and thus the class began.
The class involved transitioning into different yoga poses. Some poses were more difficult to hold than others.
I struggled a bit with balance. At one point we started in the downward-facing dog position, then lifted up a leg, then stretched an arm upwards and had to look up at that arm. The pose had me wobbling on my mat.
There was music quietly playing in the background of the class, and the lights were dimmed with the heat noticeably turned up, so by the end of class, everyone was sweaty.
When the class ended, I was in such a happy mood. I felt proud of myself for trying something new and also felt less stressed out.
Eaton Rapids resident Brandon Post, a teacher at Yoga State, observed the class as Jen taught it.
For Post, yoga is much more than just a hobby — it’s a lifesaver.
“I got my second DUI, and I literally felt like I was going to die, like my life was completely over,” he said.
Post said yoga was a way for him to shut off his mind and not focus so much on his past actions.
“It was more about just living in the moment for the hour, just taking time to breathe and really just be alive for that one hour in the most simplistic sense,” he said.
East Lansing Hot Yoga
I wanted to experience different kinds of yoga classes, so I signed up for Spartan Power Fusion, a class that adds strength-building exercises into the yoga. This makes it a bit more challenging than usual.
My nerves multiplied when I stepped into the studio, as it seemed less cozy than the one at Yoga State. It was similar to a heated dance studio with a mirrored wall in the front.
The class was more strenuous than what I’d previously experienced at Yoga State. A lot of time was spent transitioning into different yoga poses, with planks, push-ups and other strength-building exercises incorporated.
Props, such as foam blocks, were utilized as well by holding them between our thighs to strengthen our thigh muscles.
There were also a couple of partner exercises. At first, this seemed daunting to me, since my yoga experience was only slightly above nonexistent.
Thankfully, the exercises weren’t bad. The most challenging one was where your partner would hold your feet up as you were stretched out in a plank, then they would let go of a foot. The goal was to keep your leg up.
MSU graduate student Frances Harper was a substitute teacher for the class that day. She said she first became involved in yoga while on a retreat in Thailand nine years ago and has been practicing it nearly every day since.
“As a graduate student, I know I spend lots of time sitting at my desk, typing on my keyboard with my shoulders hunched forward,” she said. “And so for me the physical practice of yoga is a great chance to counterbalance some of that.”
Overall, the class wasn’t as intimidating or challenging as I feared it would be. It wasn’t as relaxing or soothing as the hot vinyasa class, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I felt tired and like I needed a nap, but also happy and less stressed.
Hilltop Yoga
Hilltop is unique from the first two studios I visited, as it has two studios. Studio 2, where my class was, features a kitchen area by the entrance, complete with a countertop, a refrigerator and a sink. This gives it a sort of homey feel.
The class I took here — mindfulness-based gentle and restorative yoga for stress and anxiety — specifically aims to diminish stress and anxiety.
The class reduced stress through the use of yoga poses and various props. There was one point where we were instructed to lie down on a bolster, or a long, thick pillow, with a foam block under our heads while our legs were up straight against the wall.
The class was led by yoga instructor Bobbi Jo Minor, who said yoga is especially important for college students.
“I think our bodies have a lot of wisdom that is not listened to or given meaning (in the academic world),” she said. “I think (yoga) helps us to connect to our bodies and ... helps to give us a reflection period and relieve stress.”
This class was the least intense out of all the classes I took, and not a single person was sweating by the end of it. A lot of downtime was spent meditating, which was very relaxing. I felt pretty chilled out by the end of class.
Firefly Hot Yoga Bar
The class I took at Firefly Hot Yoga Bar, the final class of my experiment, was aerial yoga. Prior to class, I was feeling excited and curious, but also nervous — I had read about aerial yoga on the studio’s website, but I still wasn’t sure what it was.
By the end of the class, I had ended up gripping a hammock for dear life.
Yoga instructor Elissa Voigt led the class. She said she was eager to learn about it right from the get-go, and since then has loved teaching it.
“To get a good idea of what aerial is like, think back to when you were a little kid, pumping your legs and swinging as high as you could on the swingset,” she said. “Those feelings of lightness and joy and motion should transfer over and make this practice really uplifting.”
Aerial yoga is like regular yoga, except a hammock is used. The hammock has hooks on both ends that are secured onto a black rope that hangs from the ceiling. The rope is made up of holes, so you can secure the hooks to be higher or lower, depending on your personal preference.
The hammock is sometimes used in various yoga poses. For example, it was used to hold our right leg outright as we did a shotgun squat, which is a normal squat with one leg extended out.
At other times, we were supposed to do various poses while hanging in the hammock. There was one moment when we were hanging upside with the hammock supporting our butts, and our legs were wrapped around the hammock with our feet touching and knees bent.
After doing this for a bit, I was feeling light-headed, so I tried to get out of the hammock. I say “tried” because I ended up twisting my foot around in it more and hopping around wildly. The girl in front of me look terrified and held her hand out to me.
Eventually I was able to grab onto the wall and untangle myself.
All in all, this class wasn’t very relaxing for me. The constant swinging and hanging upside down made me feel dizzy and nauseous by the end.
In all fairness, it was my first time ever attempting it, and everybody else who had been to multiple classes seemed to know the ropes.
A new hobby
Moser said yoga’s unique combination of stress relief and physical activity makes it a worthwhile hobby to take up.
“By combining these two things, the effects can be pretty big,” he said.
I definitely saw those effects for myself through this project.
Each class ended with a meditation session, and this was where I felt the most relaxed.
My personal favorite from this experience was my time at Yoga State. The dimmed lights and balanced mix of relaxing yet challenging made this one the best for me. Plus, there wasn’t as much pressure to not mess up.
Despite coming into yoga with absolutely no experience and finishing this project with sore limbs, I am definitely going to continue doing it. It relaxed me and it felt like time that was well spent — instead of sitting on my couch watching Netflix.
