It could be dueling for a parking spot or attempting to get through a three-hour lecture after pulling an all-nighter at Ike’s. It could be accidentally spilling drinks on a customer’s table or having an ex bash you on Facebook — George Mason University students deal with a lot of stress.
In a population of approximately 31,000 students, young people at Mason can get lost in the shuffle and may struggle at times to manage school, work and interpersonal relationships.
“Due partially to stress, a surprisingly high percentage of college freshmen don’t go on to graduate,” according to an about.com article by wellness coach and health psychology specialist, Elizabeth Scott. “Many students keep crazy hours from staying up late to study, getting up early for classes and trying to cram in all the work and fun that can possibly fit.”
But there’s a simple answer to relieving all of this stress from the challenges that college students face.
All one has to do is say yes.
YES Plus, which stands for Yoga Empowerment Service Plus, is an organization at Mason that focuses on helping students effectively manage different aspects of their lives through meditation, intellectual discussions, breathing techniques and interactions.
The YES Plus club is based on one of the largest volunteer organizations in the world called the Art of Living. The organization is a nonprofit humanitarian and educational organization that takes part in service projects ranging from rural development to women’s empowerment.
Many young people have noticed the difference that YES Plus made in their lives.
“This course has helped me become more relaxed and more confident,” said Harsh Agarwal, a Mason graduate student in computer science and the president of the YES Plus club. “This course touches on relationships, the difference between love and lust and even how to handle finances.”
Agarwal, who founded the Mason chapter of the YES Plus club in May 2011, finds the Sudarshan Kriya yoga courses, which focus on influencing one’s emotions through breathing exercises, the most relaxing. At Mason, yoga courses are becoming more popular.
“At GMU, what I find is that people are very diverse and holistic in the way they approach life,” said Sriraman Damodaran, the instructor of the YES Plus yoga courses and a student in the Krasnow Institute. “They really want to explore the different aspects they come across in life, and there is a lot of interest from this university to really have this kind of practical way of applying focus to different fields in our society.”
Interest meetings for YES Plus courses next year will take place in May. For more information, call Agarwal at 313-452-3691.
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