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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

One thing I have always focused on when handling health and fitness is the intensity of the workout. I used to believe that the only way to see results is by participating in an exercise where you burn over 400 calories. But I have realized that I take out a lot of my energy and emotions when performing these workouts.

I then understood that I hold a lot of my anger toward myself when I don’t work out this intensely. I needed somewhere to release that angry energy in a way that was healthy for me. So, I decided to try yoga for a week and dedicate myself to being a little more at peace in life and in my workout. 

From this experience, I have concluded that taking 10 minutes out of my day to just breathe, stretch, and regroup my thoughts is the perfect way to de-stress my soul. I have never thought to do this until recently. I always felt like I should be doing something more productive than yoga or meditations, but this is just not the case.

It is important to find time for yourself every day to ensure your mental health stays intact. This is especially prominent in college students. I tend to forget to take time for myself recently since I am so focused on school or spending time with my friends. Doing yoga gave me time to just focus on myself, and even if I couldn’t make it to a class, I took 10 minutes alone. 

I want to list the ten things I learned from doing so much yoga.

  1. There are many different levels of yoga, it is okay to start out as a beginner.
  2. Take the practice at your own pace.
  3. If you can’t practice, take as much time to yourself as you can, when you can.
  4. Listen to calming music because it can bring you to a calm state of mind.
  5. Always stretch out your body after any workout class.
  6.  Peloton has so many different types of workouts that have each taught me something very different about my health journey.
  7. I love to end my day with a 10 minute yoga class. 
  8. My next class I want to try is doing hot yoga in person. 
  9. I am proud of myself for trying and not giving up on this journey.
  10. I want to promote this type of self awareness to everyone.
  11. I cannot stress enough how important it is as a college student to remember to take time alone to yourself, this does not just mean yoga but anything you desire. 

I have so many thoughts that come to my mind when I think of finding time for myself. It may be hard for some people to do this when not prioritizing their own mental health. It is very easy to forget this when you are away at school because you try so hard to focus on classes, extracurriculars, friends, and more before putting yourself first. 

I want to get a firm grasp on this semester for the rest of this semester as I realize I have definitely lost touch with it. Yoga is the perfect way for myself and anyone else to start this journey for themselves.

I am a Junior at Penn State studying Public Relations with a minor in Digital Media Trends and Analytics. I love fashion, food, and anything beauty-related which can be found a common trend throughout my articles.