Everybody has that one place or one spot where they feel at home. It’s the place you can go to and suddenly, all your troubles just melt away. It’s the place where you feel comfortable, where you feel safe. It’s that place that is familiar, welcoming and everything good.
For me at Queen’s, I found my home in the heat in the hot yoga studios off campus. I joined the Queen’s Yoga Club during the first week of school. Each week, you get to go to any 2 yoga classes you want; whether it’s at the ARC or off-campus at one of their partner studios on Princess Street. It’s truly where my home has been and where that special place for me is.
Back at home, I pretty much practised hot yoga religiously. I would go to the studio 3 or 4 times a week and there was nothing that I didn’t love about it. I loved everything about my studio – the teachers, the community, the class types, the environment. Yoga became an integral part of my last year of high school and it became a main part of my routine.
Coming to Queen’s, one of the things I missed the most was my hot yoga studio back home. It felt weird to not have that studio to go to every other day and when I wasn’t doing yoga on an almost daily basis, it felt like something was missing. And so, it only made sense for me to join the Yoga Club. Everybody always talked about how overwhelming the high school to university transition process could be and so, I wanted to keep yoga in my life so it wouldn’t feel like suddenly, everything had changed.
And that’s exactly how I found my home, my place. I grabbed a couple friends who were also super into yoga and we tried out the different classes that the Yoga Club granted us access to – the Bikram classes at Oasis, the Hot Yoga classes at Samatva, the Restorative or Power classes at Studio 330, Power and Flow classes at the ARC and so many more. It’s such a great way to catch up with friends and get some exercise in at the same time.
But sometimes, I’ll go alone. Just me and my mat to the studio. I’ll take the bus there, spend an hour in silence in the company of other yogis and bus back. Just myself. While I love having friends to go with, the solitude can be nice on occasion. Just having your own thoughts to be there to keep you company can be a nice change from time to time – something you need if you’re constantly surrounded by people 24/7.
There really is nothing better than the heat of a hot yoga studio. Coming out into cool air after moving around for an hour in sauna-like temperatures is refreshing. You always walk out of a hot yoga class drenched in sweat but feeling five pounds lighter and with the biggest smile on your face. You feel cleansed, pure and beyond happy. Yoga is something that has so many physical benefits and also mental benefits and that’s why it’s something that I hold so close to my heart during my time here at Queen’s, especially during the times I need it most.
Now, you have to ask yourself: What’s your home here? Your place? If you don’t have one yet, go find it. Go find the place where you can feel comfortable staying in forever, the place that lets you feel relaxed. Maybe it’s in your room with your earphones on, maybe it’s out on the soccer field or on the volleyball court, maybe it’s with your group of friends at your favourite restaurant. The point is that home isn’t a strict address or defined place – it doesn’t need to even be a place. Home can be that person you feel most comfortable with. It’s a feeling.
In the middle of Week 12 and finals season, home is what you’re going to need and where you’re going to want to be from time to time. Give yourself the time to find that home, and give yourself the time to go to it, even if it’s just for a few minutes at a time.