As the end of the school year starts wrapping up, Winona State University continues to offer no-experience-required, free Resilience Yoga classes at the IWC on campus.

Held in the IWC since February 25, the Resilience Yoga classes aim to reintegrate through yoga, centering and focusing energy throughout their mind and body.

During every session, instructor Mollee Sheehan guides those in the class through each movement and offers suggestions on how to relax even further into oneself.

“The difference between Resilience Yoga and much of the yoga offered in the fitness realm is a focus on internal experience,” Sheehan said. “Resilience Yoga is designed to utilize yoga and breathing to build skills for resilience.”

Sheehan is a group and individual yoga instructor in Winona, currently teaching an Ayurveda Series – the “Science of Life” – at Muddy Waters Yoga while also taking the time to come to the university every Monday to teach the class.

These yoga courses focus more on how each movement and posture feels for the individual, not necessarily the external appearance. This in itself is another idea that Resilience Yoga brings forth: the importance of feeling good on the inside and not worrying about what it may look like on the outside.

“It definitely helps [reduce stress],” said Bryn Williams, a freshman at Winona State. “It gives me an hour to acknowledge what’s stressing me out and channel that energy into something productive and healthy, instead of spending my time freaking out.”

Williams emphasized it does not matter what skill level ya student is at since any pose can be modified, as she herself had never been to a yoga class before attending the classes at Winona State.

“First, it helped me physically to get better posture, and I’m not so sore,” Williams said. “You don’t have to make any commitment to go, so whenever you feel like you need some relaxation, it’s great.”

As described by Sheehan, stress typically lives in the past or future, worrying over thoughts of what has already happened or what is to come. This is what Resilience Yoga aims to help reduce.

“Yoga has changed my life in so many ways for the better,” said Sheehan. “I am calmer, happier, lighter and brighter – more resilient – and capable of showing up for myself and the people in my life.”

Fitting in with Winona State’s academic theme of resilience for the 2018-19 school year, Resilience Yoga comes at the perfect time to tackle the stress students may be going through while finishing up the  school year.

“It [yoga] helps us connect to our best self while shedding patterns that prevent us from living to our full potential,” Sheehan said.

The last Resilience Yoga class will be held up until the grind of finals week begins, the last class being held on Monday, April 29.