Recent nationwide surveys have reported yoga participants experiencing pain and injury as a result of the activity.
At Cal State Long Beach, no injuries have been reported, and students continue to take classes at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center or as a semester-long one-unit yoga class.
Sophomore political science major Lacey Patalano took the yoga class last semester
“I wanted to tone up, and have more physical activity,” Patalano said. “It might not seem physically demanding, but it certainly is.”
Patalano said the class taught her proper ways of dealing with stress that she still uses in her everyday life.
Junior psychology major Stephanie Reynoso took a yoga class at the recreation center a few semesters ago.
“I was able to clear up my mind and focus on the good things in my life during the sessions,” Reynoso said. “The stretches challenged my body and pushed my limits.”
Though Reynoso has never been injured during or after her sessions, she said her body would be sore for days but eventually it would go away.
Yoga instructor Millie Sweesy-Barger said that some people don’t realize how yoga benefits the body and the spirit.
“Yoga opens up your body and mind,” Sweesy-Barger said. “It makes you focus on the more important things in life and away from materialistic things. It is a whole lifestyle that teaches you to be a better human being.”
Sophomore Allen Lee, who took yoga last semester, said knowing your body’s limit is how to avoid getting injured.
“If your body is in pain, then you should probably put less pressure in your stretches,” he said.
According to Sweesy-Barger, no one in her class has claimed an injury.
“It’s a pretty safe class,” she said.
She encourages everyone to give yoga a try.
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