Mercer University Yoga Fitness Class

MERCER UNIVERSITY
YOGA FITNESS CLASS
(Part of the Recreational Sports and Wellnes Group Fitness Program)

Spring 2009

CLASS SCHEDULE

Time: Thursdays, 11:00 to 11:55
Location: University Center, Aerobics Room

Class Begins:

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Dates there will be no class:

Spring Break : March 12, 2009

Class Ends:

Thursday, April 30, 2009

BEGINNNERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME

Instructor:

Dr. Philip McCreanor

certified by Sivananda Hatha Yoga of America

Associate Professor

School of Engineering

What is Yoga Fitness?

Yoga Fitness is a complete fitness program uniting the needs of both mind and body.

It provides a thorough workout that is both easy and intense.

Primary Physical Benefits of Yoga Fitness:
Strength, Flexibilty, Balance, Cardiovascular Health

Yoga Fitness Includes:
* Exercise positions to lengthen, strengthen, and tone muscles
* Relaxation techniques to relieve stress, and
* Stretching to remove tension

Other Benefits of Yoga Fitness:
* Manage hypertension and heart problems
* Resist illness and the effects of aging
* Increase the ability to concentrate
* Improves fitness levels

Yoga unites the mind and body and balances the way we live, in our bodies and our lives.

Article from Inside Mercer (Jan./Feb. 2000)
Wellness Offers Yoga Classes to Mercer Community

Participating in the yoga class are, from left, Helen M. Grady, assistant professor of engineering; April Hicks, residence life coordinator; and Dana Kemp, technical services librarian and assistant professor, Jack Tarver Library.

Looking for a way to relieve stress while toning and strengthening your body? Look no further than Mercer’s Macon campus and a new yoga class that is offered twice weekly through Mercer Wellness.

Led by Dr. Phil McCreanor, assistant professor of environmental engineering, the yoga classes are designed to create a link between one’s mind and body that results in enhanced flexibility and balance, greater strength and endurance. Mentally, yoga has been attributed to emotional stability and stress relief.

Athletes and celebrities, including Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Michael Jordan, Madonna and Sting are proponents of yoga, as well as Mercer’s Helen Grady, assistant professor of technical communication, who has been practicing yoga for 10 years and is taking the new yoga class at Mercer.

“Yoga has done more for me than anything else,” Grady said. “I’m stronger and more flexible now than when I only ran and lifted weights. I’m a firm believer in the power of yoga.”

Dr. McCreanor says that yoga is often recommended by physicians to patients with chronic pain, osteoporosis and hypertension. “The yoga positions help the mind and body work together comfortably,” he said. “Yoga can increase your flexibility and strengthen your muscles.”

“Muscle strength and flexibility are two very important aspects of total fitness and are essential for maintaining health,” said Gayle Bina, director of Wellness. “Both can help improve our quality of life as we age.”

While the physical benefits of yoga tend to develop gradually, many people will notice a mental difference immediately following a class, said Dr. McCreanor. “It is an incredible stress reliever,” Grady said.

Dr. McCreanor first practiced yoga as a teenager after finding a book on the subject in his grandparents’ basement. “I thought it was neat and something a little different,” he said. “It really helped with teenage angst.”

He continued to learn about yoga through books, then finally found a class as a student at the University of Central Florida, which he later taught. Dr. McCreanor is certified to teach yoga by the Sivananda Hatha Yoga Association. “He is a gifted teacher,” Grady said. “We are very fortunate to have him.”