Why Every College Student Should Take Up Yoga

By Christy Flom on March 31, 2015

Ever see those kids walking around campus with rolled up mats sticking out of their backpacks? That could and should be you, especially once you realize all of the benefits of attending yoga classes.

The idea of yoga as a tough workout can be difficult to process at first. With so many different ways to exercise, sitting or standing on a mat does not usually come to mind when people try to lose weight or switch up their workout routines.

However, that is just one of the beautiful things about yoga: it allows you to get a workout by basically standing still. Instead of needing a gym, a road, or even shoes, all one needs is a mat.

Another easy part about yoga is the availability of classes to college students. Yoga studios tend to thrive on college campuses, probably due to the unhealthy amount of stress that students are placed under these days.

In Ann Arbor alone, I have heard of about five different studios and my friend who lived across the hall from me last year even started his own yoga club through the university, which gained close to a thousand students just this year.

Photo by Elsie Escobar (image via Flickr.com)

However, smaller campuses located away from bigger cities understandably may have more difficulty finding yoga classes. This is also okay, and not an excuse for never trying a class because thousands of videos are available online to help people learn about yoga from basic to advanced positions.

A couple of my friends recently became certified yoga instructors and the passion they have for trying and succeeding in completing new poses and spreading their enthusiasm about yoga is inspiring. Wherever they go, they bring a small mat and start out their day in the sun working their muscles and minds.

Yoga has connected them to other people, too, as it tends to become a way of life for people. Just as college majors, clubs, and other activities unite people of similar interests, yoga welcomes everyone interested at all skill levels.

Next, yoga tests your body in different ways other than running or using weights. There are many different types of yoga available like Ananda which is more of the gentle and relaxing poses. On the other hand, there is also Bikram and hot yoga, which involve more complex components of fitness like endurance, strength and flexibility.

Through different poses, breathing and meditation, yoga focuses on controlling the movements of your body. These classes can be surprisingly difficult for people new to yoga because many times the poses will work muscles that are not always used while simply running or lifting weights.

In this sense, yoga can also be dangerous to people who try to force themselves into complex and advanced positions. Just like it takes time and hard work to be able to run more than three consecutive miles on a treadmill, it takes time and hard work for one’s body to be able to complete different yoga poses.

So, not only does it test your body differently, but yoga can have the same or better health benefits as running, swimming or cycling. An article published last year by CBS revealed several factors of yoga that can help your heart.

“New research reviewed the data from 37 previous studies and found that people who practiced yoga had lower blood pressure, lower levels of LDL or “bad” cholesterol and improved HDL or “good” cholesterol — all factors that can lower the risk of heart disease.”

The article continues on, noting that while the benefit yoga has on your muscles is key, the most important part of yoga is the breathing and meditation.

“You’re lowering your blood pressure, lowering your heart rate and respiratory rate, and decreasing those stress hormones,” said CBS News medical contributor Dr. Tara Narula.

College athletes are probably one group who believe they do not need yoga. After all, they have to stretch with trainers and have three-hour practices every day to worry about. Ironically, it is athletes who can benefit the most from yoga.

Reducing their heart rate, relieving any stress they may have about the pressures of being a college athlete, and working the muscles athletes do not necessarily use every day in practice are pivotal benefits of yoga that more and more college teams are taking advantage of during their seasons.

Brooks Nevrly, a volleyball player featured here in an article about Division I and Division III sports said that his team and several other athletic teams at his university do yoga about three times a week.

Staying flexible and loose reduces injuries in student athletes. An article from the National Geographic by Susan Brink stressed how poses like the downward dog can reduce inflammation, which is the body’s way of reacting to an injury.

Photo by Kevin Dinkel (image via Flickr.com)

Finally, there are a couple other benefits of doing yoga. One is knowing what the word “Namaste” means, and earning one’s right to actually use the word. Another is that yoga positions can help make any person look graceful in a picture, especially on the beach while the sun is setting.

No matter what type of yoga class you attend, even if you fall asleep at the end of the class, the relaxed feeling of loosening up your muscles and soothing your mind will leave you re-energized for the day ahead.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format