With falling temperatures, intermittent snow and rain accumulating, students may find themselves in need of a way to stay fit, stay warm and get rid of stress.
This semester, the Student Program Council along with Residence Life and Housing, the YMCA of Floyd County, Bikram Yoga on Grant Line Road and Hot Yoga on Shelbyville Road are working together to offer free fitness and yoga classes to IUS students, staff and faculty.
Although it only began 10 years ago, Zumba Fitness has grown to become a successful dance-fitness program. According to the Floyd County’s YMCA website, “Zumba uses a variety of styles in its routines, including cumbia, meringue, salsa, reggaeton, mambo and calypso. Selections include both fast and slow rhythms to help tone and sculpt the body.”
Sharon Watkins, a 2009 IUS alumnae, said she agrees.
Watkins, who got a degree in business administration, has been teaching aerobics for more than 30 years and has her group exercise certifications through the YMCA. Watkins has also been teaching these classes for the past three years and is also certified in Zumba Fitness.
Describing Zumba as “exercise in disguise,” she said students should bring comfortable shoes, athletic wear and a bottle of water to stay hydrated. The Zumba classes will meet every Wednesday from 5:30 to 6 p.m., and the locations will vary.
Chandra Matthews, programmer analyst in the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, is also certified to teach Turbo Kick, an intense class similar to cardio kickboxing, which meets from 5:30 to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays.
For this class, students should wear tennis shoes and comfortable clothes that will not restrict movement. She normally teaches a 45-to-50-minute version of the class at the YMCA every other Saturday.
However, this session is only 30 minutes long, but Matthews said it will still be an intense class.
“You will be kicking and jumping a lot. It will be non-stop cardio,” Matthews said.
The class she will be teaching will include a warm-up, punches, kicks and a 60-to-90-second section where the two are put together for an intense form of turbo.
The locations for both Zumba and Turbo Kick will rotate between Woodland Lodge, Hoosier West and University Center, room 127.
Although some students may feel overwhelmed about taking a new class, Channell Barbour, associate director of Campus Life, recommends at least trying one.
“You have to come out — you have to start somewhere,” Barbour said. “Don’t be afraid that you can’t match the teacher perfectly the first time. The instructors want you to come to class.”
Matthews said it can be difficult, but a person can gain a lot from the class.
“It pushes you to your limit, but you have to make it your own,” Matthews said. “Make this class your own. I’m going to give you options.”
She said there will be dancing involved and will be fun. This also applies to the yoga classes offered this semester.
Glenn Brown, who teaches at Bikram Yoga in New Albany, will be teaching a beginner’s yoga on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:15 to 1 p.m. His own personal style of yoga, which he has taught for 13 years, will teach students how breathing correctly can allow more oxygen to flow through the body, helping to tone muscles and lose weight.
Brown said he has been the Indiana Yoga Champion for the past eight years and believes in teaching students to build up heat internally.
“What I teach is not hot yoga,” Brown said. “I teach warming up the body to keep it safe.”
He also said one doesn’t have to be strong, flexible or have balance to come to this yoga class. He said other added benefits of stretching the muscles and joints during yoga are that it massages the various organs and ensures the optimum blood supply. This helps flush out toxins from the body.
Sherry Dour, education senior, has taken yoga in the past and is excited to try the classes out this semester.
“I used to do yoga a lot,” Dour said. “Then I started having some back problems, so Pilates was better for me, but this class is paid for, and it fits into my schedule.”
In addition to the class on Mondays and Wednesdays, Brown will also teach Yoga on Thursdays from 2:45 to 4 p.m., and Meigan Bates will be teaching the 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The yoga classes will meet in University Center, rooms 121, 122 or 127, or in Hoosier East or West.
Currently, students can find the class schedules in Campus Life and posted on the bulletin boards in the dorms and halls.
By JENNIFER
SCHONSCHACK
Staff
jschsonsc@ius.edu
