By India Amos
With the Kenyon Athletic Center (KAC) located on the southern end of campus, students living North might find it difficult to make it to the KAC to partake in their favorite exercise classes. At least this is how Kayla Glazer ’17 felt last year.
“We wanted to have a space North for doing yoga,” Glazer said. “Basically that was our main goal, and we thought the KAC times were hard to get to, especially if you live North.”
The long walk from the northern part of campus to the KAC was just one of the many reasons she and three other girls took it into their own hands to start a Yoga and Meditation House.
Founded by Glazer, Emily Kraus ’17, Coral Lee ’17 and Bailey Luke ’17, North Campus Apartment (NCA) 216A has been transformed into theme housing where Kenyon students can come and learn about several traditional yoga practices.
Kraus, a certified yoga instructor, explained the journey that led her to create one of Kenyon’s newest theme houses. When she first came to Kenyon last year, she said, “there was no yoga because Kenyon Fit hadn’t started yet, and I couldn’t find a yoga community. And I know people do it.”
“[Yoga is] a pretty common practice among people our age,” Kraus said. “I just couldn’t find out where all those people were congregating. And there wasn’t a place.”
So Kraus decided to find her own place. And with help from some friends, the Yoga and Meditation House was born. Offering vinyasa yoga, core yoga, power yoga and basics of yoga, the Yoga and Meditation House has a wide variety of classes for students of all skill levels and experience.
In addition to yoga, individuals may also, as the name of the house suggests, partake in daily breathing exercises. When Glazer isn’t leading these activities, the Buddhist Society, which is an affiliate of the house, leads sessions.
Glazer holds her classes at 8:15 a.m. Monday through Friday. While these events do not currently have many participants, Glazer says it doesn’t bother her because the practice is good for her, too.
“I wanted to make a commitment to my own practice,” she said. “Not a lot of people come to the 8:15 meditations, but it gets me doing meditations every day, which is something I really hoped the house would help me do.”
She added, “It’s nice to have that individual commitment to practice.”
Kraus expressed satisfaction with the current state of the house. “[My idea for the house] is really what it’s become,” Kraus said. “That’s the awesome part about it. The idea has really come through.”
Both Kraus and Lee are certified yoga instructors and Kraus, who also teaches vinyasa yoga at the KAC, says she would like to see more yogis at their NCA as the year progresses.