For students looking to gain knowledge or seeking advice about an active way to relieve stress, yoga club may be a good fit for them.
“When people think of yoga they think of poses, they think exercise. But it’s so much more than that,” said Ade Nastiti, a first-year business management and entrepreneurship student.
Nastiti is also a certified yoga instructor and co-founder of Algonquin’s yoga club with France Breulet, a student in the same program and certified hatha yoga instructor.
Nastiti and Breulet plan to meet with members every Friday at noon to discuss yoga techniques and what the students want out of them.
Freya Poirier, a hotel and restaurant hospitality management student, said at the club’s first meeting that her goal was to decrease her stress.
With over 500 hours of training, Nastiti wants to help people learn more about yoga while gaining management experience that could help her open a yoga studio.
“I think this is a great opportunity for me, as well, to start a yoga club at school because I can learn how to manage the club which is also related to my goal after I finish school,” said Nastiti.
Sharon Nikolai, an instructor at the school who teaches yoga and yoga for athletes, said the club should be beneficial to students stress levels.
“Getting mobility in the body allows the mind to think more clearly and wakes up the brain,” said Nikolai.
She said cross body movements and focusing on breathing are extremely helpful for relaxation.
“Especially if it’s in the middle of the day or the afternoon, it helps you unwind,” said Nikolai.
Although there were only two attendees at the clubs first meeting, the Facebook page has over 60 likes and Nastiti said she plans to put up posters around the school.
She also said that because clubs are allowed one event per semester, she hopes to organize a dance with a live DJ to get people interested in the yoga club.