The classes, taught by yoga instructor Cathy St Georges, will be held Mondays at 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. in Bowld 121 and will last an hour. Yoga mats, blocks and straps will be provided. Students, faculty and spouses are welcome to attend. The cost is $3 for students and $5 for faculty and spouses.
St Georges is a nurse at DaVita Dialysis center and has been doing yoga for 35 years. She has been a certified yoga instructor for 12 years. She has taught locally at places such as the tennis club and Yoga Center of Jackson. She attends Northside United Methodist Church with her family.
As nurse, St Georges’ primary focus is safety for individuals who take her class. Each pose will be taught with as much one on one direction as she can provide to ensure comfort and correctness of the pose for each individual.
St Georges hopes students who take her class will find it enjoyable and yoga will become an exercise they will continue doing on their own with the skills she teaches.
“Compassion is the biggest benefit of yoga,” St Georges said. “You learn how to open yourself up and to help others. Breathing and mediating connects you with other people.”
Classes will accommodate people of any skill level, from beginner to athlete. St George hopes all students in the class will learn to be aware of their own bodies’ needs. The classes will be tailored to fit individual and group needs.
“I think offering yoga classes will be really beneficial at Union,” said Emily Davis, senior accounting major. “It is something different, and I hope people respond well to it.”
All proceeds will be donated to support the Haitian Medical and Dental Team, a fund of the West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation. The Haitian Medical and Dental Team is a group of about 20 nurses, doctors, pharmacists and dentists who set up a hospital for a week in a rural village in Haiti.
