Yoga Lessons
Relieve stress, improve focus, and give yourself a healthy way to relax on campus by joining us for yoga.
Elena Amato is a Religious Studies Graduate Student from Baltimore, Maryland. Six years ago, as the most inflexible girl on the Track and Field team, she took up yoga to supplement her training program, and the rest is history. In May 2008, after years of studying different forms of Hatha and Kundalini Yoga, Elena completed her Yoga Teacher Certification at the Sivananda Ashram in Nassau. Primarilly teaching Yoga of Synthesis in the tradition of Sri Swami Sivananda and Sri Swami Vishnu-Devananda, Elena uses her experience as a personal trainer and Vipassana meditator to deepen each student's practice physically and mentally.
Sivananda Yoga, or the Yoga of Synthesis, is a tradition in the lineage of Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnu-Devananda emphasizing five main principles: Proper Exercise, Proper Breathing, Proper Relaxation, Proper Diet, and Positive Thinking and Meditation. In a yoga class, Asanas (Proper Exercise), Pranayama (Proper Breathing), and Savasana (Proper Relaxation) are practiced to develop the body and its systems, mental faculties, and spiritual capacities. The word Asana means "steady pose", representing the ideal physical and mental state during advanced practice. Before one reaches this state, the main goal is to increase bodily, and especially spinal, flexibility while simultaneously regulating the function of the endocrine system and internal organs. Pranayama connects us to the solar plexus, our energy center, cleanses the respiratory tract and spiritual nadis, and balances the brain's hemispheres. Finally, Savasana is one of the most powerful parts of our practice, the time when the body and mind are able to recharge and energy is renewed. One hour of practice gives the benefits of one hour of exercise, one of relaxation, and one of meditation.
Every class is structured as follows:
Initial Relaxation
Opening Chant
Pranayama/ Conscious Breathing
Warm Ups
Asanas
Final Relaxation
Closing Chant