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A high schooler’s life can get insanely stressful. Students have to get good grades if they want to be in college, even though some do not have a clue of  what college they want to go to. It’s so easy to overthink about their future and to stress over their work. Yoga is a great and useful way to relax and take time for yourself. After an hour of yoga, students reported that their stress level decreased by 51%.

“I’ve been doing yoga for fifteen years, not to give my age away, but I started doing it when I was seventeen…I was doing a service program and part of that service program was focused on helping teenagers become leaders in the community. We were volunteering, going to soup kitchens, and helping homeless people. The program really believed that if you were going to be a person that helps people, you also need to take care of yourself. They taught one way to take care of yourself is to do yoga,” counselor and yoga instructor Mr. Taube said.

Taube teaches yoga every Thursday, 3:30 to 4:30 in the library. “It’s after school hours, so I don’t get paid to do it.” He stated. Taube takes two hours out of his Thursdays to teach his yoga class. He goes to the library around 3:00 to set everything up, and after the class he has to clean up, which takes until 5:00. When asked why he does the class his reply was, “There are at least three students that come regularly, and they have told me how helpful it is for them. There are also a couple students that have gone through some stressful stuff, and they have shared with me how coming to this yoga class has helped them through that stress.”

When I first came to yoga class, I was extremely stressed. I had three tests that day and a lot of homework to do that night. I walked into the silent library when everyone was grabbing their mats. Soothing music played in the background and I already felt relaxed before we even started. Throughout the class the positions got more intense, but Taube gave you options. He would give us an easy position, then gave us a hard one. The thing I really appreciated about yoga class is that you can move by your own pace and you don’t feel judged at all. Near the end, I couldn’t even remember what I was stressed out about beforehand. I felt so relaxed and soothed, all of my muscles were stretched and untense.

Yoga with Taube was exactly what I needed. It felt like the first time in a long time that I was fully relaxed. I would recommend yoga to any student that feels overworked or stressed. After yoga, I could think clearly and my homework was easy for me. An hour of yoga out of your week could make a world of a difference for you and your mental health.