Whether you’re an experienced yogi or a newbie, DU’s Coors Fitness Center offers several yoga classes.
The Hatha Yoga class, taught on Tuesdays from 12-1 p.m., is recommended for those who prefer a “more meditative, restorative” practice, focusing on the breath and incorporating various breathing exercises into the movements.
While the Experienced Yoga class, which takes place Mondays from 7 to 8 a.m., is targeted toward intermediate yoga skill levels, the Hatha class’s slower pace is meant to accommodate the needs of beginners.
The regular Yoga class, which is consistently structured around the abilities and needs of the particular day’s participants, is still rather fast-paced. It takes place Tuesdays from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and Thursdays from 12:05-1:05 p.m.
“We tend to work a little harder on Thursdays than on Tuesdays,” said instructor Natasha, who has been teaching yoga for a decade and has worked at the Coors Fitness Center for six years.
The Thursday afternoon class, though it varies with changing student bodies, incorporates many elements of “Vinyasa” or “C/B,ow” yoga, linking movements together in a C/B,uid sequence of poses. Many different types of poses – from balances to inversions – are practiced during this session, allowing for many different parts of the body to be equally challenged and acknowledged.
Although large class sizes make it more difC/B,Bcult for instructors to provide much individual attention, Natasha tries to both encourage and advise the students throughout the hour. As relaxation is an ultimate goal of practicing yoga, the Thursday afternoon class helps students gain a sense of tranquility amidst their busy life as a DU student. It still proved to be quite an intense workout, however. The Power Yoga class scheduled on Tuesdays from 7 to 8 a.m. includes the “Vinyasa” C/B,uidity exempliC/B,Bed by the regular class. The course strives to make students produce “intense internal heat and purifying sweat.”
If an hour of controlled breathing, muscle strengthening and meditation seems insufficient, a 75-minute class is offered Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7:15 p.m. and Sundays from 5-6:15 p.m.
