Zen mornings return to Ottawa campus with outdoor yoga on the lawn

The Student Association invites the Algonquin College community to take a one hour outdoor yoga class with Stephanie Bonser on Aug. 18.

“What I like to see every time I teach or what I aim to see, is that people can leave feeling a little be better than when they came in, then I’m good,” says Bonser, a yoga instructor at Algonquin College.

After a recent morning of Zumba on the lawn, two ARC members arrived early and eager to roll out their yoga mats.

“I love it, it’s very relaxing, and it’s time for yourself. Zumba is fun, you have fun and you’re sweating and everything. But yoga is more to calm down, be yourself and think about your life and I think it helps me to go through my day,” says Luciana Monteiro, a recent project management and event management grad from Algonquin College.

Bonser teaches multiple classes at the college along with a variety of locations across the city with a unified goal for all her classes.

“I will generally see the vibe of the group that comes in. It will be a more accessible class than others, because it is outside and open to really anybody. So I want make sure it is as accessible as possible for everybody that shows up,” says Bonser.

Student life can become very stressful and yoga is a great way to step away and ground oneself to be able to perform their best. This need for relaxation is what brings Bonser to the Ottawa campus each week.

“I teach five classes a week and when this opportunity came up, I thought it would be wonderful to get outside and do it out here,” says Bonser.

The student association in its attempt to prioritize wellness has incorporated off campus ideas and resources such as Yoga on the Lawn and Zumba on the Lawn to make them more time and cost efficient for students.

Amanda Logan the events programmer at the Student Association says: “Yoga is what inspired these outdoor event ideas in the first place. There is Yoga on Parliament Hill that occurs and it is so popular in the summer time, and I thought well, us being here in Nepean we’re not going to drive all the way downtown for outdoor yoga, so lets bring it out here.”

The next yoga on the lawn will take place on Aug. 18. Registration is at: https://www.algonquinsa.com/event/yoga-on-the-lawn-2/ .