Mindful Yoga for Mental Health, taught by Beth Cholette, takes place every Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Schrader studios. Beth is a licensed clinical psychologist and experienced registered yoga teacher. The class is open to anyone, student or staff. I first heard about this class during my orientation in the Fall 2024 semester, and I have been attending and practicing ever since!
Dealing with the stresses of being a student and balancing homework, a job, a social life, and extracurricular activities can be quite overwhelming at times. I have found that this mindful yoga practice is a much-needed reset at the end of the week. When I invite my friends to go to this yoga class with me, they often tell me that they are scared or that they do not think they are “good enough” at yoga to attend, but after one class, they always realize that these fears are unwarranted.
Beth leads the class through a series of poses, emphasizing gratitude, breathwork, and relieving areas of stress. She leads us through the poses slowly, leaving space for us to fully relax into each new position. We start and end each class with floorwork, going through kneeling and standing poses in between. It is made abundantly clear that any type of modification or accommodation is welcome; the focus of this practice is to feel aware and calm in your body.
The environment in the studio is cultivated to be calm, nonjudgemental, and supportive. Beth ends every class with a meditative shavasana while relaxing music plays. She then chimes Tingsha bells, and any last bit of tension remaining in my mind or body disappears immediately. She takes the weather and the time of the semester into account when teaching, making sure to tell us not to push ourselves too hard if it is cold out or if it is finals week.
Beth also reminds us of ways we can use this yoga practice outside of the class. I often find myself using the breathwork we do in class to ground myself when stress starts to get the better of me. It is hard to say what my favorite part of this class is, but I think it has to be the amount of gratitude I feel towards myself and my body during and after the class. Remembering what you are capable of is hard sometimes, and this class is a reminder that seemingly difficult things are not out of reach. Even if it is as simple as standing for one second longer in a hard balance than I did the week before, every small victory feels like a celebration in this practice.
Yoga mats and blocks are provided for anyone that wants to attend but does not own the equipment. Last semester, a reward card system was implemented. At the first class you attend, you will be given a card that gets stamped each time you attend the weekly class. After six stamps, you can choose from a range of free wellness gifts! Last semester, I chose an eye pillow that can be cooled or heated to assist with meditation and headache relief. Also, a survey was also given to the attendees and those who filled it out were entered into a raffle for a free yoga mat. I would strongly recommend attending this class to anyone who is even slightly considering it.