By Raynah McIvor (Contributor) – Email
Yoga is a practice most commonly associated with meditation and relaxation; however, the UFV yoga club proved that it can also be exciting. They brought out funky lights, glow-in-the-dark paints, and rave music for their glow-in-the-dark yoga session in the SUB’s great hall Thursday. With over 70 students attending, including both experienced yoga goers and some who were completely new, the event was both enjoyable and exhilarating to the extreme.
Before starting the yoga session, some helpful arts students offered to paint the attendees in various patterns with glow-in-the-dark paints, which would go on to add another spectacle once the lights dimmed and the trippy, psychedelic video on the projector screen switched on. The yoga instructor, Erika Arnold, created an energetic session by encouraging everyone not to be so serious, and repeatedly reminded everyone to just relax and “dance it out,” ensuring that the mood was breezy and the crowd members were bubbly. The paint and glow-stick jewelry created cool designs as people transitioned between poses.
A highlight was when students supported each other’s raised legs while standing in rows, in a sort of yoga version of “Ring Around the Rosie.” After the yoga session wrapped up and the muscles which had been stretched taut by the evening were relaxed and recuperating, a raffle was held for a Canoe gift card, yoga passes, and an iPod shuffle, finishing off an entertaining evening that had seen the best aspects of yoga and a rave merged into one intense event.