Breathe. Relax. Close your eyes and let the weight of the world on your shoulders melt away. Stop worrying about the things the world says that you need. You are fine the way you are.
This is what Anthony Conard, yoga instructor at Sinclair Community College, emphasizes to his students in any one of his weekly classes.
“Take off your shoes and leave your worldly possessions behind when you come to my class,” he said.
Yoga is the art of living as the world is one and that every thought and action we have impacts everyone else, according to Conard.
“Yoga is about looking at the world as if it was one family. If you throw your garbage down the stream you need to remember someone lives down there,” he said.
Kripalu is a type of yoga that has a compassionate approach and focuses on meditation, physical healing and spiritual transformation. Conard owns and operates the only Kripalu affiliated studio in Ohio.
Conard said his classes are not about twisting yourself into a pretzel or being buff, but they are for anybody wanting to feel better physically and mentally.
“I hate that yoga has been hijacked from a practice of well being to having a buff body. It’s about how to feel better in your body, mind and spirit,” he said. “I make this class accessible for anyone which I feel ties in well with Sinclair’s mission statement.”
Sinclair student and soldier Christain Gottschlich is the only male student in the class and said he became interested because of the meditation.
“I read up on Marine Corps Sgt. Rudy Reyes, who while in Iraq had a guy chanting yoga mantras to him as he was snipe shooting. I thought that was really neat. This class definitely helps clear my mind,” he said.
Conards methodology of the class is to breathe, relax, feel, watch and allow. When he has the students in meditation he practices humming techniques that allow the nervous system to release stress and energize.
Students are required to keep a journal in the class that Conard encourages them to write their daily stresses and the experience they have while in his class.
“I want my students to achieve clarency in my classes and they have to know what to let go of and find what is working for them,” he said
Sinclair student Kim Smith said the class has allowed her to deal with her stress effectively and has given her great improvements in her health.
“This class really helps relieve the stress and help me think about my problems with a clear mind. I feel physically and mentally better since taking classes with Conard,” she said.
The Dalai Lama has a quote that Conard said, “describes the art of yoga perfectly.”
“Take care of your Thoughts because they become Words. Take care of your Words because they will become Actions. Take care of your Actions because they will become Habits. Take care of your Habits because they will form your Character. Take care of your Character because it will form your Destiny, and your Destiny will be your Life. There is no religion higher than the Truth.”
Summer A-term classes begin June 16th
Mon. and Wed. from 5:20 p.m. to 6:55 p.m.
For more information about Anthony Conard and Kripalu yoga, visit his website at www.theyogastudio.us or call 937-299-7756.