Author: Eric Jensen, Managing Editor
Things used to be so simple last year, at least for on-campus yoga. In the past, Oxy yoga aficionados could look to the single yoga club for their meditative fix. But these days, things are a little more complex. Last year, Yoga Club offered free classes with professional instructors twice a week, but funding issues have brought about a need for some changes this semester.
For the last few years, Yoga Club was completely funded by a grant given to the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, Yoga Club Presidents Jacob Goldstein and Laila Tootoonchi (sophomores) explained. “The grant ran out last semester, however, which meant that [we] needed to get school funding,” they said. The grant allowed Yoga Club to afford two professional instructors, but after the funding ran out, the club needed to look elsewhere for financial support. Until a new source of funding could be found, yoga classes were put on hold.
The club first turned to ASOC for support, but ASOC funding would not cover as much as the grant the club utilized in previous years. The Yoga Club leaders spent September searching for additional funding, but to no avail. “We’re extremely grateful for our ASOC funding,” Goldstein and Tootoonchi said. “But it’s not nearly enough to cover the monthly fee of a professional yoga instructor.” Faced with cancelling classes altogether, the presidents decided to continue holding weekly yoga classes led by professional instructor Jennifer DeFilippo and charge attendees $3 each week. While this compromise may come as a disappointment to students who are used to a yoga experience free of charge, Goldstein and Tootoonchi said that the situation may be temporary. “If we can find more funding—and we’re still looking—we’ll go back to having classes for free,” they said.
In lieu of this change, some unexpected help came from a member of the baseball team. Barry Ennis (junior) started practicing yoga seven years ago after attending sessions offered at a baseball camp. After several yoga enthusiasts asked Ennis to teach his own class, free of charge, he began running his own yoga sessions. Though initially unaffiliated with the original Yoga Club, it became necessary for Ennis to join up with the existing club after experiencing problems securing a space to practice and missing the deadline for forming a separate club.
Despite the juxtaposition of the two yoga classes on campus, Ennis’ classes are still available for free and are held every Tuesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. in Lower Herrick. He started a Facebook group for the cause, now 107 strong, and as of Thursday has held three classes with turnouts as high as 50 people.
“As Laila and I see it, Oxy Yoga Club now offers students three days of yoga classes: Barry’s free classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and our $3 class on Sunday,” Goldstein said. Ennis’s debut as a yoga instructor at Oxy also opens the door for many athletes who might not normally consider taking a yoga class. Ennis can attest to how beneficial yoga is to athletic performance. “I haven’t gotten injured since starting yoga,” Ennis said.
While both classes provide the same basic practice, from sun salutations to Warrior pose, the focus of Ennis’s class contrasts with DeFilippo’s. DeFilippo emphasizes meditation and begins each class with a story from her own life. She then takes a few minutes to meditate and breathe before starting any of the stretches. Ennis’s class emphasizes the stretching itself, as his class consists of yoga stretches from beginning to end.
With the contrast of DeFelippo and Ennis, Yoga Club can now satisfy those interested in the spiritual side of yoga and those interested in yoga as conditioning. Despite the funding difficulties Yoga Club has had this year, the club continues to expand and even offers additional classes. Oxy yoga buffs now have three days a week to get their fix.
If you’d like to try yoga, join the Yoga Club for stretching on Sunday at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday at 8 p.m., and Thursday at 8 p.m., all in Lower Herrick. There is a $3 charge for the Sunday class.
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