September 15, 2023/12:00am

Erie, PA – “The real payoff of a yoga practice, I came to see, is not a perfect handstand or a deeper forward bend- it is the newly born self that each day steps off the mat and back onto life”. ~ Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates. 

It was from this book in particular, that Betty Amatangelo, Gannon University staff member and yoga instructor, found herself to be inspired by. So much so, that back in 2009, she had worked towards a 200-hour yoga instructor certification with Gates himself. She did so at the Mount Madonna Center in Santa Cruz, California.  

To better your understanding of yoga, and yourself, as you partake in and nurture your practice, breathe in and breathe out. “I always tell my students, if you can breathe, you can do yoga”, mentioned Gannon University staff member and yoga instructor, Cathleen Norris.  

Yoga, in reference to Gannon University’s group fitness, is both a mentally and physically strengthening workout. Flexibility, balance, resistance, stillness, and cardio are all encouraged to be incorporated into your practice. The class concentrates on the fluidity of controlled and synchronous breaths and movements. The ultimate goal is to achieve a state of relaxation. 

While the intimidating aspect of flexibility comes into play, you may find yourself straying away from the desire to partake in yoga. Gannon yoga instructors would like to discourage this daunting skill from preventing you from trying something new to you. After all, yoga is considered to be a practice. 

Amatangelo states that she works to consistently provide “clear verbal cues and demonstration” along with “alternative ways to be in a posture”.  

Gannon yoga instructors encourage students to do what is called to them in that moment, in that breath. The practice of yoga has the ability to give you what you put into it. The mental and physical benefits of incorporating yoga into your life are abundant.  

“Your breath creates space, space in your mind for clarity, space for your muscles to lengthen, space between each vertebrae, and space for your organs to move about more freely”, reflected Norris.
 

Amatangelo ‘s yoga classes place focus on emotional wellness. From time to time, this focus may even be stronger than that placed on physical wellness.  

Aside from mental and physical health being advanced by yoga, social wellness also has the chance to nurture and to flourish. Amatangelo wants students to step into class and feel as if they are finally able to exhale. Students that partake in Gannon University’s yoga group fitness classes may find themselves to experience an awakening sense of unity, harmony, and relaxation. 

Here at Gannon University, you are provided the opportunity to submerge yourself into a variety of activities that may be unfamiliar to you. Whether a beginner or a yogi, Gannon University’s campus resources aid in the advancement of yoga and mediative skills that you may carry with you throughout not just your yoga practice, but throughout your entire life. 

If you would like to begin or strengthen your yoga practice, begin to do so at Gannon University’s Recreation and Wellness. On Sundays between 10:00am and 10:45am, you can take part in yoga classes led by Amatangelo. To have your practice guided by Norris, you will find her classes to be on Mondays and Thursdays from 12:05pm to 12: 50pm. You may also attend 12:05pm to 12:50pm classes on Tuesdays led by Terry Henry.
 

Begin your practice of yoga and your renewed journey of life with a sense of understanding and strength, as developed through yoga here at Gannon University.