The Department of Recreational Sports at Texas A&M University-San Antonio will host its weekly Jag Fit X: Yoga class 1-2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19 in the Madla Building, Room 134. The class is free to A&M-SA students, faculty and staff who pay their recreational fee.
Art Olague, director of Recreational Sports, said he hopes the class assists participants in relieving stress and relaxing during the semester.
“We want to provide an opportunity and chance for all students and faculty to engage in a wellness program,” Olague said.
The Department of Recreational Sports is looking for new avenues to offer healthy lifestyle choices, and is open to suggestions and input from the A&M-SA community. The yoga program has been running since spring 2017.
The class receives funds through the Department of Recreational Sports from the recreation fee in student tuition. The current recreation fee is $100 as of Fall 2018 and faculty have to pay the same amount to attend the classes during the semester and $50 during summer classes.
Yoga instructor Nadia Padron teaches the class.
The class is for beginners and those who know how to transition from different poses, so the department encourages yogis of all skill levels to participate. A hatha yoga intermediate class is at 7 p.m. Monday and 6 p.m. Wednesday. A vinyasa flow for beginners is at 3 p.m. Friday. Both classes are in the Madla building, Room 134.
According to Men’s Health, most yoga classes are an embodiment of hatha yoga, a blanket term for techniques focusing on postures and breathing exercises over the more meditative and spiritual characteristics. In addition, vinyasa means flow connecting poses together in a lengthy, choreographed and swiftly moving pattern.
Classes average from eight to 10 individuals per class with 10 individuals attending the last class. Jag Fit Yoga is taught indoors in a studio so no one has to worry about weather interfering with the class, but classes are subject to cancellation if a situation comes up with the instructor.
The Recreational Sports department will provide yoga mats; attendees are encouraged to bring water to stay hydrated and their school identification card is required to attend the class. Workout attire is preferred, and participants should keep their backs covered for sanitation and health reasons.
Yoga by definition is a Hindu spiritual practice that includes controlling one’s breathing, effortless meditation, and specific bodily postures, according to Google’s knowledge graph. The discipline practices health and relaxation but has physical benefits for ones well-being.
Yoga assists in strength training, increases flexibility, decreases work stress, enhances mindfulness, helps with muscular recovery and helps with balance, coordination. New research published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that it also helps ease symptoms of depression by 50 percent, decreasing stress and anxiety in the process, according to Time magazine.
There are no deadlines to sign up so participants can show up for any class during the week, but students can RSVP for the class on JagSync with their student account. Students, faculty and staff can look for advertisements of the class on JagSync. In addition, information on the class can be found on the recreational sports Facebook, Instagram and Twitter social media page.
Yoga classes end the week before finals.
For more information on attending yoga classes or additional classes offered on campus, contact the Department of Recreational Sports at 210-784-1349 or email recsports@tamusa.tamus.edu.
