While some students head to the RecPlex to work on their fitness, others get their daily exercise in the comfort of their own dorm room. How though? With about 11 by 18 feet of furniture, clothes, etcetera in the way, it’s safe to say that space is limited.
Olivia Battino, a freshman living in Regis, has found a creative way to make this arrangement accommodate to her workout routine.
Olivia does yoga in her room for an hour each day, as she likes to “correlate to a normal yoga practice.” She even has a playlist on her phone that lasts for the duration of the workout. Practicing in the front of her room, Olivia spreads the mat adjacent to the door, and even uses that wall space for extra balancing help.
Though Olivia is a certified yoga instructor, you do not have to be an expert to complete the poses she incorporates into her routine. She explained, “Warrior II is a basic pose. It works your legs and is the firm foundation to other poses. It’s the first pose you want to learn.” Check out a short tutorial video for Warrior II here.
The hour routine also includes Olivia’s personal favorite pose, the utakatasana, also known at the “awkward chair” or “wall sit”, which also helps with leg strength. High lunge, a pose done at the beginning of the workout, makes you sweat and quickens your body’s heart rate, something Olivia explains is necessary because “in your room you want to get the heart rate up quicker, and since you can’t run in your room the high lunge enhances that.”
Pictured is Olivia doing a head stand. This is a pose she suggests be done in the morning, if you wake up and you’re tired. The inverting of your body reverses blood flow and helps wake you up.
To finish the workout, stretching is encouraged, as a cool down for about ten minutes. Olivia says it’s best to “lay down…it gives the body time to absorb what it just did.”
See? It’s that simple. All you need is your mat, music, muscles, and you’re ready to go!