Yoga: To stress or not to stress??

CTV Montreal news has been doing a special report for the past few days on how yoga can help out stressed out children. According to the study, children these days are busier than ever, over stimulated and overloaded with information and technology. "We're always in a rush to do things. We're always running from one place to another. So I teach the children to breathe, to be grounded, to be present in the moment." (Angie Continisio – Yoga instructor) Although there are no statistics or reports on the effects that yoga has on the stressful lives of children, the children interviewed by CTV seem to enjoy it!

          It all started during the registration procedure for my second semester at Marianopolis. To my dismay, all the “cool” classes for physical education classes were all full.   I knew there had to be a catch for being among the last of the students to register for the upcoming semester. So, there I was sitting in front of the computer screen in the computer lab of the fourth floor of the D-wing in complete shock.  If I did not want to extend my stay as a CEGEP student, my only option was to take yoga during the upcoming semester.  HOLY TOLEDEO!  What would the guys say? They wouldn’t stop making fun of me. My masculinity would be flushed down the drain the moment I would walk into that class.  Nevertheless,  I sucked it all up and ahead with it and tried to convince myself that it would definitely help me relieve stress from the incredibly hectic workload that Marianopolis so generously offers us.

          The first couple of classes were not bad. We learned how to “breathe properly”.  Apparently, I was breathing incorrectly for the past 18 years.  The best part of each class for the first half of the course, the teacher incorporated a relaxation session where the students just lay down quietly for 20-30 minutes and relax.  Let me tell you, there’s nothing better than a teacher allowing his/her students to catch up on a few Zs during class time.  The second part of the course was when the hard part started and oppression to our bodies began.  During this half of the course, we were expected to fold our bodies in half, bring our legs over our heads and perform handstands.  Just in case you don’t already know, guys are not generally the flexible types.  I was, therefore, forced to manipulate my body in ways I did not know was possible.  At times, yoga was incredibly stressful, especially because I had to be graded on what I was doing.  Yet, just like the media reports have stating how beneficial yoga can be to young children; I learned how it can be a very relaxing experience – outside the classroom setting!