You have woken up  on the wrong side of the bed. You are late for your classes, you forgot to do your homework, and to top that off, you have a huge test to take today without any help. Clearly, today you are having a bad day and need to let out some stress before you explode. That is when you enter one of your favorite classes of the day: Yoga class.

Yoga class is such a great idea to relieve stress. You can mainly concentrate on yourself and yourself only. Nothing in the world can break your concentration, your flow, and mainly, you. There are no mistakes, no rudeness, and no harsh words to break your heart and mind.

Carrie Stork is the head of afterschool clubs and activities, and she is also the teacher of the yoga class she created. “I decided to start this class because I thought it would be great to bring in a new experience to the students at school since many of you have never tried Yoga before,” Stork said.

Yoga gives you a safe space to share something you’ve been holding onto in your life. “I also wanted to have a class that is a safe space for the students to share and have time to take time out during the school day with some physical activity, but also some mindfulness, so hopefully throughout the day you felt better both physically and mentally,” Stork said.

Yoga can help you calm down whenever you are having a temper tantrum or if you are just having a hard time dealing with life. Students who struggle with their emotions or anxiety can come to Yoga class and practice some meditation techniques to avoid wreaking havoc in the community.

Julia Travis is a senior at John Lewis High School and is also a student in Yoga class. “I like taking yoga because it helps me to relax when I’m mad or upset about something,” Travis said.

This year has been extremely hard for us due to Covid 19. The pandemic has affected the county in ways we couldn’t have imagined.  Almost every school activity has been online, delayed, or cancelled, and the long list of cancelled activities upset everyone. Right about now, everyone wishes they could go back to school.

While Yoga class did help us relieve our stress, it only helped when students were committed to yoga. Despite the success of Yoga, Stork sees how the class could be improved through in-person instruction.

“I would prefer [in person yoga classes] because I would be able to give more feedback and be able to help you guys. [In virtual instruction] it’s a little bit difficult sometimes–like when you guys are [stretching], and I can’t see you or even if I can see you through the computer, it’s hard to give feedback. And I also think that we would have been able to do a little bit more sharing [in-person] than we did, and students would have been more comfortable and  safer because they would have had better relationships with their classmates,” Stork said.

But Stork’s students are appreciative. As a hybrid student who took classes in-person and online, Travis focuses on what she has gained and accomplished through learning Yoga and recommends the class for other students.

“Yoga would probably feel a little embarrassing at first because everyone would be scared because everybody would be watching them and maybe judge them, but overall some of [the students] would be happy too! By happy I mean not feel judged because yoga is a safe space for people,” Travis said.

It is about time to let go of all the pain and stress you are carrying in your pockets. Grab your mat, blocks, water, a friend and enter the world of relaxation–a stress-free place called Yoga.