Piling about three hundred books on a set of shoulders is tiring and makes it hard to move.

At this time of year, college students are trying to juggle projects and papers as the semester comes to a

close. In a few short weeks, more books will be added to the load as final exams roll around. Trying to

relax with a workload this big is difficult, and the last thing students are thinking about right now is the

A student of The University of Akron and Manager of Lifesource Yoga in Fairlawn, Jessica Rawson,

takes advantage of yoga’s stress relieving benefits throughout the semester to ease the daily tension

associated with her school work. Yoga enables me to leave all of my life worries and stresses from

In practice, yoga has the potential to help reduce tension, stress and anxiety through coaching the body

in various stretching and relaxation segments. To aid in stress relief, specific breathing patterns and

techniques are used to relax the body and to enhance the benefits of reducing tension in the body.

Yoga provides students with a unique workout that is beneficial to the body in ways other than traditional

exercise. It’s a relaxing workout, said Kallie Karman, University of Akron student and teacher-in-

training at Lifesource Yoga. Instead of spending one and a half hours on a treadmill, come to yoga and

Headstands, or inversions, are the most beneficial poses that yoga can offer. Headstands are not only

calming on the nervous system, but they increase lymph drainage, reduce muscle cramps, increase the

blood’s circulation back to the heart and decrease memory loss – which will be a great benefit come

It’s important not to forget to incorporate social activities into a hectic schedule during this last leg of the

semester. Yoga can increase social well-being while also decreasing feelings of anxiety. Being able to

relax in an academic setting as well as a social setting is what most students aim to achieve. Yoga has the

Stress reduction will become important as final exams approach. The health benefits of yoga and

its stress relieving properties can help students to prepare mentally and physically for the increasing