Elon University students from all over campus showed up with their mats Sunday, at this year's Solsitium yoga event behind Koury Center to honor the fall solstice.
“So often we have to show up for other people — for our teachers, for our friends — but really college is an internal experience,” said Gretchen Bruesehoff, adjunct professor in music and a certified yoga instructor who led the event.
According to Bruesehoff, yoga can help people find their balance both physically and mentally.
“You might be offered a pose or something you have never done, and it might scare you or it might empower you,” Bruesehoff said.
She says it’s the time off the mat where yoga is the most helpful.
“Life is messy and things are messy. Situations are messy. We have to go through the messy to find clarity,” Bruesehoff said.
For college students stressful days can make them feel off balance.
Senior Ryan McElhinney, president of Iron Tree Blooming Meditation Club at Elon, lead the meditation portion of the event. McElhinney says while sitting still with your thoughts is not as physically strenuous as yoga, the mental pain can sometimes be more difficult.
“We are very negative creatures and we often talk to ourselves with this voice like, 'Oh, we should have done better,” McElhinney said.