URI Catholic Center offers yoga for stressed students

Graeme Swank
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11/18/09 - In an extension of its spiritual commitment to the University of Rhode Island community, the Catholic Center has been offering yoga classes.

Father Matt Glover and yoga instructor David Faraone have been offering the classes since the beginning of the semester as a way to provide students and faculty with an affordable yoga option.

"It is the perfect thing for students to practice," Faraone said. "It is calming and relieves stress. It also leads to better overall wellbeing, better awareness and a sharper mind."

Yoga, an ancient art form from India, has been gaining more prominence recently in the United States. According to an independent research study commissioned by the magazine "Yoga Journal," about 15.8 million American adults practice some form of yoga.

Even athletes, like professional surfer Laird Hamilton, who describes his yoga routine in his book "Force of Nature," have attributed their success to practicing yoga.

While the classes offered at the Catholic Center can't promise to turn a practitioner into a professional athlete, it can promise other worthwhile gains to students.

David Faraone, an instructor for the past two years, is teaching the classes, which are offered three times a week.

The style of yoga taught by Faraone is called Vinyasa flow, a physical form of yoga that is based on constant controlled motion.

A typical class begins with deep breathing. Faraone describes this as both relaxing and as the fuel for yoga.

For the next hour the class works in standing positions, changing every few breaths and keeping their movements in control. These positions start out relatively easy, but then quickly gain in intensity, testing the practitioners' balance, flexibility and strength. The final half hour of the class is based on seated positions that cool down the body.

Faraone explained that all students at the end of any class feel great because of the endorphins released during the class.

Angela Graney, a faculty member who was attending her second class at the Catholic Center, described yoga as a great work out that leaves her sore every time.
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