Guilford College has just started a yoga club on campus. It meets Fridays from 1 to 2:15pm in the Alumni gym. “Yoga is centering,” said Susan Newton. “You know who you are, you know how you feel.”

Newton is the new yoga instructor at Guilford College who previously taught at Brown, Smith and Wellesley.

Newton took over for Alice Vaughn-Goldman. Vaughn-Goldman used to teach a class for both students and faculty. She now instructs Yoga at the Triad Yoga Institute in Greensboro.

“(Yoga) teaches you how strong your body really is, discipline, and the ability to stretch yourself more than you could in just about any other sport,” said senior Julie Balasalle.

The club is not to be confused with the yoga classes which are being changed from the one credit class of this year to two levels of instruction for the fall ’05 semester. Introduction to Yoga One may be taken for one credit and Mixed Level Yoga Two may be taken for one credit. Newton teaches the classes as well as instructs the club.

In addition, Newton believes that students need to be more aware of their self-importance. They need to take care of themselves.

“Yoga teaches you keen awareness that’s not isolating. You learn to be open-minded and open-hearted,” Newton said. “You put your life in perspective.”

Matt Salisbury, senior at Guilford College and another student of Newton’s was intrigued by the idea of learning yoga.

“I was curious, really,” he said. “I wanted to check it out and see what it was about. It’s been pretty exciting. I didn’t expect it to be as challenging as it is.”

Students should take advantage of the new yoga program at Guilford.

“If nothing else, yoga helps with posture and breath training,” Newton said. “Even if it’s only for an hour and fifteen minutes a day, Yoga can help improve one’s outlook on life, the way one carries oneself, and meditation.”

The program has proven to be a nice addition many students’ daily routines, including Salisbury’s.

“I’m getting more flexible and stronger and the teacher is really knowledgeable. I think it’s good for people to do different sorts of things.” he said.