Stretching to better health

Friday, January 29, 1999

Stretching to better health

Yoga may seem like an unconventional method of exercise, but
those

who practice it say it’s

the secret to their

well-being

By Mary Vuong

Daily Bruin Contributor

Those who have tried it agree that they couldn’t live without
it. It slips into your mind, rejuvenates your body, and leaves your
soul longing for more.

For these people, it’s become a passion.

And several times a week, various members of the UCLA community
come together in a dimly lit room to share their love for yoga.

"When you’re doing yoga, you release your own healing energy,
and in the end, there is a chance for you to receive the collective
healing energy of the class. It’s like breathing in thoughts of
relaxation," said Kathy Martelli, a yoga instructor at the Wooden
Center.

Unlike conventional forms of exercise, yoga combines both mind
and body to produce inner peace. Though the practice of yoga may
not yield muscle growth or enhance athletic prowess, its series of
deep breathing exercises and controlled poses are trusted as
natural stress relievers.

"Yoga is the way to learn a whole new level of communication
with your body. It’s about being in the moment, dealing with what
is directly in front of you," Martelli said.

"It’s a focus on the whole being that is you, rather than just
your mental or emotional being," she added.

Derived from the Sanskrit root "yuj," yoga means to "yoke
together." This classical Indian science is used to calm the
restless mind and direct its energy towards purification.

One of the more popular forms of yoga is Hatha, which is
currently being taught on campus.

"Hatha Yoga has become mainstream recently," Martelli said. "It
consists of traditional, slow movements and uses breathing as a
form of pain management."

"You focus your mind on the part of your body that is in pain,
breathe in relaxation, then exhale through that part of your body,"
she continued. "It’s a form of preventive medicine."

Though the yoga program at Wooden was already in place before
she became the sports and fitness coordinator, Elisa Terry believes
that Hatha was selected because it is the safest type of yoga. It
accommodates both beginning and advanced students.

"There’s a lot of craziness going on in the fitness industry
with the boom in yoga – there’s been injuries and unqualified
instructors, etc. It’s important to monitor the type of yoga being
taught," Terry said.

Nature plays an integral part in setting up the peaceful class
atmosphere. It is reflected in the music played and the names of
various poses.

Because university life is usually filled with stress, Martelli
uses wordless, nature-inspired music during classes to get the
students in a calm state of mind.

The names of animals and plants are also instrumental in yoga’s
effectiveness.

"Because the class sizes are fairly large, it’s hard to give
individual attention. So I give very specific directions throughout
the class period. Images of nature, like ‘Willow tree,’ help people
make connections," she said.

According to Anne Marie Hallal, an instructor at Santa Monica
Yoga, people come into the studio for a variety of reasons.

"They may start yoga for physical benefits, like increasing
flexibility and strength, or rehab for an injury and continue it to
release stress and tension," she said.

"What’s nice about yoga is that everyone’s there for similar
reasons. There’s a nice energy in the room. At the end of class,
you can feel everyone’s energy," said Tanya Faltens, a material
science and engineering graduate student and aspiring yoga
instructor.

Faltens got involved with yoga about five years ago when she was
a sailing instructor at the Marina Aquatic Center, which used to
offer morning yoga classes in the open air.

But when her life became too hectic, she took a break from yoga.
Now she realizes that her busy lifestyle should have motivated her
to stay with it.

"I didn’t realize how important it was to relax. Now I know
relaxing is what makes life a lot easier to deal with," she
said.

Like many yoga enthusiasts, Faltens crosstrains to achieve a
more balanced workout. In addition to yoga, she does weight
training for strength, and teaches step aerobics for cardiovascular
fitness.

Janette Dinishak, a third-year philosophy student, got involved
with yoga to supplement her dance lessons.

"I had taken ballet classes before I started yoga. My instructor
said it would be a perfect compliment to ballet," she said.

As most yoga lovers will tell you, it’s all about focus.

"Yoga helps me put aside my anxiety and my concerns with daily
progress. When I leave class, I make it my goal to carry my sense
of focus into everything else I do," Dinishak said.

Panteha Haverim, a first-year art history student, makes sure to
include at least two hours of yoga classes every week into her
schedule.

Haverim combines the teachings of yoga with her religious
beliefs, strengthening and adding a new dimension to them.

"It helps me focus. I guess it’s really a sort of prayer. It
makes me more conscious, and therefore respectful, of a certain
level of holiness that pervades all of life," she said.

"Yoga is about finding out what you’re able to do and listening
to yourself," Faltens said.

"But some people think that it’s only for the really flexible,"
she added.

Students and instructors alike agree that the public tends to
have misconceptions about yoga and yogis (people who practice
yoga.)

Stereotypes include the beliefs that yoga has mystical powers
and that practicing yoga includes assuming weird positions while
chanting mantras.

Martelli, who has been at UCLA for over 12 years, said that when
she first started teaching, students would think yoga was a
cult.

"At the beginning of class, I used to warn students that it’s
not, and that they don’t have to worry about me assimilating them
into a mysterious religion or anything," Martelli said.

"It is sometimes criticized for being very mystical and a bit
distant from western notions of achieving well-being," Dinishak
said.

Haverim noted that sometimes people perceive yogis as former
hippies who eat tofu, wear Birkenstocks, and listen to new age
Yanni-type music.

But as yoga conforms more and more to mainstream America, these
views are gradually fading. With classes popping up in countless
health clubs and celebrities like Madonna preaching its benefits,
nobody is immune.

"I think it’s because we, or humanity in general, are entering a
new phase in which people can allow themselves not to be so
cynical, and just indulge in some spiritual therapy. Yoga has
life-changing potential," Haverim said.

UCLA is no exception.

According to Terry, there were only four classes up until last
quarter. Now there are 10.

"I still don’t think we have enough classes to meet the demand
for yoga, and I don’t think that the breadth of the program is
sufficient either," Terry said. "I anticipate it diversifying
within the next year, and as new rooms are built in our facilities
over the next two to five years, the program will grow in size a
bit."

As for students on this campus, this may just be the perfect way
to deal with day-to-day stress.

"Yoga helps me keep things in perspective because it involves
mental focus and meditation. It also brings me closer to
understanding my body’s capabilities and limits. Its calming
effects are more than I anticipated," Dinishak said.

MARY CIECEK

Arwen Staros warms up before a yoga class in Sunset Canyon
Recreation Center.

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