Students find zen, alleviate stressful schedules at SU’s yoga classes
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 1:31 p.m. EST on Sept. 17, 2026.
On Monday mornings during her freshman year at Syracuse University, Isabella Ford-Valiente would get up in a hurry to make it to her 9:30 a.m. writing course. Stressed, she would rush to eat breakfast and get ready for the day.
But after her hectic morning, she’d grab the yoga mat her mom sent her and head to a one-credit yoga class, where she could finally catch her breath.
“I would have a good day after having that class,” Ford-Valiente said. “If I had a stressful day, I used the breathing techniques she taught us. I would feel more regulated the rest of the day.”
Ford-Valiente, a sophomore dual majoring in political science and public relations, took yoga in fall 2025 when her sister, who’s an SU alum, told her about the physical education classes SU students can take for academic credit.
She didn’t think too highly of yoga before taking the class, and was only really exposed to yoga because her mom practices at home, Ford-Valiente said. But those expectations were exceeded after coming into Adjunct Professor and Hendricks Chapel Communications Manager Dara Harper’s class and experiencing the calming environment.
Not only did the class benefit Ford-Valiente’s mental health, but it also helped her heal from an ACL injury she got in high school.
“I came into the class so stressed every day and would leave totally relaxed,” Ford-Valiente said. “I feel like her yoga class benefitted me more than physical therapy did.”
Harper’s yoga class usually starts with a mindfulness exercise, conversations about the effectiveness of different stretches or sometimes stories passed down from other yoga practices.
For example, one day she taught her class about the teachings of the Hindu God Ganesha and how to overcome obstacles in life and yoga. The class then moves into an overview of different yoga poses, and Harper sometimes randomly picks students to help demonstrate them.
Now, Ford-Valiente has a new outlook on yoga and even does it alongside her mom when she’s home. Olivia Camacho, an SU freshman, also picked up on yoga’s calming features.
Camacho, a psychology major, is taking yoga this semester with Harper, after hearing about it through her advisor. Prior to the class, Camacho had no experience with group fitness or yoga, but after being in the course for a few weeks, she appreciates the relaxing class climate.
“It’s really rejuvenating,” Camacho said. “Especially when I’m going there straight from Chemistry, a really hard class, then to yoga, it gives me 50 minutes of just time to focus on myself and body.”
Students in Professor Dara Harper’s yoga class practice new poses. Harper sometimes randomly picks students to demonstrate poses. Kaitlyn Galeazzi | Contributing Photographer
Harper also encourages students to be present and away from their devices to be more grounded, SU senior Sofia Self said.
Self, a Studio Arts major, enrolled in Harper’s yoga class last semester to give her structured time to move. Semesters prior, Self admitted her busy schedule interfered with opportunities to move her body during the day.
“If I was doing it for credit, I would have to build it into my schedule and force myself to have that time,” Self said.
Self’s roommate is also a yoga class instructor at the Barnes Center at The Arch, which influenced her to check out Harper’s class. That way she can take part in more advanced yoga classes like the one her roommate teaches.
In most yoga classes, grades primarily come from simply showing up, being attentive and participating. Some professors have students attend a virtual follow-along yoga session to make up for a missed in-person class. But if a student misses two of Harper’s classes, she allows them to make them up by attending a Buddhist meditation session at Hendricks.
Self attended one of the make-up meditation sessions where she sat in complete silence while doing breathing exercises for 25 minutes. It was nothing like anything she’d ever done before, she said.
“I guess at times I even felt challenged to be thinking deeper and more mindful than I had before,” Self said.
The for-credit yoga classes tend to provide a lot of students with a much-needed break in their schedule — designated time where they can relax and focus on the meditative practice at hand, Self said.
Now, this semester Self is taking another one-credit course in Pilates because of the positive experience she had with yoga. Self said the yoga class helped her gain a good foundation before taking a more exercise-intensive class like Pilates, Self said.
“Before I took yoga I couldn’t even touch my toes, now I can touch the ground,” Self said.
WHAT YOU SHOULD READ NEXT
Student cycling instructors boost morale, guide high-energy classes
For the 45 minutes of cycling that student instructors teach, they become hype coaches, personal DJs and motivators.
Another difference students noticed is that the yoga classes offered through the school focused more on teaching the reasons behind different poses or practices, like why their hips should be aligned above their knees or which muscles the pose targets. This is often less fast-paced than a normal exercise class tends to be, Self said.
SU sophomore Megan Mills, who majors in international relations and economics, is currently enrolled in Professor Hyo Suk Kang’s yoga class this semester. Every Monday, Mills arrives at Ernie Davis at 3 p.m. for yoga after her classes. She got involved with yoga after looking for a good “mental break” from her course load, so her friends suggested she take the class, Mills said.
For Mills, the cost of workout classes like Solidcore can add up. As a college student, it’s valuable to be able to take a class where you exercise as part of your tuition, she said.
While the class was beginner-friendly, it was still challenging and allowed for the students to get out of their usual element, Mills said.
“I enjoy it at the end of the day,” Mills said. “After stressful classes and after a really long day to take a breather then maybe kinda reset my nervous system, it’s a good break.”
Not only has yoga served as a positive break in the school day for students like Camacho, it has also encouraged her to be more active by taking group fitness classes and going to the gym more often, she said.
“College sweeps you up so quickly, and it’s really hard to find time, especially for yourself when it comes to fitness and mental health,” Camacho said. “It’s beneficial for both. You get a credit and a moment to focus on you.”
