Students meditated through yoga sponsored by Gro Huntington and the Marshall University Sustainability Department Monday, Oct. 1 in Marshall’s student garden.

“Gro is working with the Sustainability Department to raise awareness about the natural healing modalities,” Jeannie Harrison, executive director of Gro Huntington, said. “We are all about getting back to nature.”

The focus of the yoga session was to see if there was any interest in starting a community around nature-based healing, Harrison said.

Yoga is the main program of Gro Huntington. They teach Yoga EQ which builds emotional intelligence, and it is a social and emotional learning program, Harrison said.

“We use the yoga to get in touch with our bodies and help us to process and move through emotions,” Harrison said. “There is so much we can learn about our emotional and mental state through how our body reacts. So when we can navigate that we can treat the underlying problems.”

Harrison said she recommends some kind of guided yoga class once a week.

“It is important to have a teacher and get the technique down and to have someone hold a space for you,” Harrison said. “That truly is important, when you can have someone there to help you in your journey.” 

Harrison said she understands not everyone can afford a yoga class.

“A lot of us cannot afford to go to a class all the time,” Harrison said. “There is so much we can do from home-just meditating and getting in our bodies.”

At the end of a yoga class, the instructor will end the class with the salutation, “namaste,” Harrison said.

“It means the divine light in my heart vows to the divine light in your heart,” Harrison said. “It is this entity or connection that give us all value and makes us worthy.”

Yoga classes are offered at 5 p.m. Sundays at the Fairfield Community Center. The yoga classes are open to all body types and abilities. They are donation based. Mats and supplies will be provided.

“In my practice, namaste is the most helpful thing that has helped me connect people, connect to my higher power and to remember I am just as worthy as everyone else,” Harrison said.

Kaycee Patterson, biological science senior, said she chose to attend the event to get a good introduction to the practice.

“Feeling the connectivity with everyone, and not even knowing them was my favorite part of today,” Patterson said.

Gretchen Kalar can be contacted at [email protected].