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downward dog!

Bridget Moriarity: What is your personal connection with Wes? 

Molly Sturges: I completed my MA in world music at Wesleyan last spring.

Lisa Currie: I joined the University in July as the Director of Health Education.

BM: Molly, is teaching yoga a full time or part time endeavor?

MS: I teach at several yoga centers in New York City and drive up to Wesleyan to teach one day a week. I teach three-fourths of the time and do music projects the rest of the time. Currently I am working on a music and dance piece with women living with cancer.

BM: How did you begin your involvement with the practice?

MS: I came to yoga about 7 years ago. I had been practicing some meditation for several years previously but I didn’t have much experience with yoga. In fact, I found it intimidating. At the time I was playing in a rock band and did not have much interest in a balanced sense of well-being. Around this time I became ill with an immune deficiency and started re-evaluating my choices. I finally decided to try yoga. On my way to my first yoga retreat I bought a pack of cigarettes and stopped at McDonalds. I was scared because I think I knew on some level that it was a powerful practice. Indeed that was the case. I started learning the basics of asana (postures) and breathing practices (pranayama). I could feel their effect immediately. Since that time yoga has been my primary practice. Overall, I feel much stronger, clearer and engaged in positive ways in the world.

BM: How do you both feel the campus’ reception has been towards the program?

LC: The student response to the yoga classes offered by WesWELL has been overwhelmingly positive. We expanded the number of classes offered this semester due to student interest. Several classes closed within a few days due to their popularity (classes are intentionally limited to 25 people due to space considerations). Additionally, we offered morning and noontime classes for faculty and staff this semester as well, which also have been received very positively.

MS: I started teaching yoga for WesWELL when I arrived on the campus in 1998. Since that time the program has grown tremendously. Students, faculty and staff have all been very enthusiastic. The yoga community here is very strong and seems to be grown. This year Wes Well is really supporting the development of the program. I imagine it will continue to grow. The demand is huge. 

BM: Molly, you mentioned that Doug Bennett is in a class of yours- any gossip? Is it intimidating to have him as a student? 

MS: I have many staff and faculty in my classes. It’s great to have them all there. I think yoga is a great practice for anyone with a lot of responsibility or stress in their lives.

BM: Why have you continued to work with Wes even after you graduated?

MS: I continue to teach at Wesleyan in part because it is such a wonderful place to teach. There is a strong commitment demonstrated by the yoga students here. Also, it is wonderful to teach to the same group of people week after week. I feel we are really able to explore some of the fundamentals of a strong yoga practice.

BM: Was last year the first introduction of yoga instruction to the campus? How did that come about? Have the numbers increased this year? 

LC: Since I’m new to my position, I’m not sure exactly how long yoga classes have been offered through WesWELL, though I do know it has been several years since their inception. I believe they were initially offered due to a general student interest in alternative forms of exercise and spiritual connectedness, and an interest in yoga in particular. And they’ve been so popular, they’ve been continued ever since! Molly and Franya Berkman are our two instructors, both of whom have Wes connections. WesWELL provides space for the classes, publicizes them and facilitates the registration process on behalf of the instructors. We also purchased yoga mats for the first time this year, which participants can borrow during the class.

MS: When I started teaching there was only one class going. I started teaching three classes a semester while I was attending Wesleyan. Last year yoga instructor and Ph.D. candidate Franya Berkman also started teaching. She is currently teaching four classes. In addition, I have a teaching assistant for my beginning yoga class. She is a student named Naushon Kabat-Zinn ’03. She went through the Mount Madonna teacher training program which I helped to teach in California this last summer. 

BM: How can yoga benefit the average student?

LC: Similar to other forms of exercise, yoga can assist greatly with stress management and maintaining a healthy level of physical activity. I believe it assists in providing greater inner focus and balance, as well as improving our ability to connect on a spiritual level.

MS: Yoga is tremendously beneficial for any student. Overall, yoga cultivates a positive outlook, a strong and healthy physical body, an ability to handle difficult and stressful times with balance and clarity, and a sense of inner peace. Many of the breathing practices help to develop mental strength and increase memory which of course is great for students. Additionally, the practice of asana, pranayama and meditation help to dissolve strong emotional states such as depression or anxiety. Yoga is considered a mystical science and it has been evolving for thousands of years. I think it has lasted because it is so clearly effective. People tend to feel the benefit even with a very short daily practice of ten minutes a day.

BM: Any advice when beginning the practice of yoga?

MS: I think that the instructor makes all the difference in the world. Many people have tried yoga and have stopped because they didn’t feel good in the class. There are many styles and interpretations of the practice of yoga. I always advise people to find a teacher who works for them. Patience is important for the beginning student as well. There is no one place to get to in yoga, it is a practice. We learn from the practice and how we approach the practice. Every time we come to the practice of yoga we have the opportunity to learn about who we are through bringing our awareness inward. This is not always easy, but it tends to bring great rewards. Additionally, people tend to think they can’t do the yoga postures because they are not flexible. Flexibility comes and everyone’s body is different and unique. Through acceptance, focus, and breathing one’s mental, emotional, physical and spiritual alignment will begin
to change and move into balance. Most people who start yoga begin to feel this pretty quickly. As with anything that a person is just learning it is good be patient and practice acceptance and care towards oneself. Yoga is a vast science, we are

all beginners.

BM: Any future vision for Wes’ yoga program? 

LC: Certainly we plan to continue offering yoga in future semesters, as long as the student demand is present- it’s such a popular offering though, that I can’t imagine demand diminishing soon! I’m also looking into developing a web-based registration system to help make the process easier for all involved. I’m hoping we can get it up and running for next semester.