YogiYessiYellowoffersSmiles,MeditationandMindfulnesstoMC

Lauren Raziano

Weekly yoga classes held by the fitness center offer a chance for students to medi- tate, stretch and de-stress. In addition to various health benefits, this weekly offers a smiling instructor teaching each class.

Yessi Yellow comes to Manhattan College from the Bronx

Yoga Lab and has been practicing yoga since she was 17 years old. She is now 32 and is certified with 200 hours in power vinyasa yoga training and loves Bikram hot yoga, vinyasa and yin yoga.

The fitness center offers a vinyasa yoga class twice a week.

“Vinyasa is the Sanskrit term for flow and refers to alignment of breath and movement to create a dynamic, flowing form of yoga,” The description for the class written by the fitness center on manhattan. edu wrote. “Poses are held for a specific number of breaths before moving on to the next pose. Postures create a yoga dance and breath is coordinated with the movements.”

Although this is a vinyasa class, Yellow likes to incorporate her favorite type of yoga, yin yoga.

“I would say my favorite one is yin yoga because it’s more restorative and you get to sit in poses for a really long time,” Yellow said. “You can really stretch out all the muscles and the tightness and it gets out the places where you store any type of stress. When you’re sitting in those poses for such a long time you release all of that and then you’re like a brand new human being, like after the pose happy baby.”

Simona Graceffo, a senior communications major, said Yellow adapts yoga for any type of learner.

“I like that it is a mix of medication and moving your body, so that it is kind of a well rounded relaxation method,” Graceffo said. “It is definitely a really comfortable space for beginners because I was really nervous going but if you are more advanced she adapts it for you. Yoga is for everyone.”

Yellow’s goal for the class is to make sure people are at ease and are able to breathe.

“I love connecting with people and helping all bodies get more flexible, but also more at ease,” Yellow said. “I like to add meditation into my practices, and also breath work because like, people are always overthinking. You have to remember to breathe, feel and people often don’t steadily breathe, you know?”

To Yellow, Yoga is about being kind to everyone.

“I’m really into kindness and being a light for others because everyone is a mirror to each other,” Yellow said. “Yoga is a wonderful way to be kind and be a light to one another.”

Junior Carter Silane enjoys going to the yoga class as a stress relief option.

“I chose to go to yoga because it’s a nice way to end my stressful Mondays and start off the week and also allows me to spend time with my friends,” Silane wrote in an email to the Quadrangle. “What I like the most about class is that the instructor asks what kind of things we want to work on each week like stretching, restorative or more of a workout, depending on how we’re feeling that week.”

The yoga classes are a great way for students to go together and be active.

“Yes, I would definitely recommend taking this yoga class,” Silane wrote. “One of my friends recommended it to me so I started going with her and it’s just a really fun and relaxing way to be active and get your mind off of school.”

Yoga classes are offered Monday at 8pm and Thursday at 7pm in Kelly Commons. Follow @MC_FITNESSCENTER for more information about the different classes and athletic opportunities on campus.