Liberty offers yoga classes

By John w. Goodwin jr.

The meeting room inside the Liberty Township Administration Building was filled for a meeting of a different type.

Chairs usually lined in neat rows were replaced by thin rubber mats. Bare feet walked where hard-soled shoes usually tread, and over the public-address system were the sounds of soft music and earth tones.

The township is offering yoga classes to township employees and interested members of the surrounding community at 4:30 each Thursday in the government building meeting room. The cost of the class is $5.

June Smallwood, parks and special projects coordinator, said the yoga classes play into future plans by township officials to implement and encourage fitness routines.

“The board really does want to encourage fitness and health, and we are trying to get an overall health program. Right now the yoga [class] is an invigorating, challenging way to reduce stress,” Smallwood said. “I just feel so much better afterward.”

Gina Price, who instructs the class and has been involved with various forms of yoga for several years, said that overall feeling of wellness is a key characteristic in yoga exercises.

“Yoga is a great type of exercise to practice because it is one of the few that benefit the whole person — spirit, mind and body,” she said. “It increases range of motion, balance and strength.”

Representatives from each township department along with township folks and those from neighboring communities gathered in the meeting room last week.

Price started the session with a poem while participants lay in a flat position. Soon the movements progressed in more challenging displays that tested muscles not used in the course of everyday life.

“I think it is just great that the township is allowing me to come in and offer this to their employees. I think more companies should encourage and offer ways for employees to become fit,” Price added.

Smallwood, who attends each session, said the routine of bends and twists becomes easier with each class, and a more relaxed atmosphere begins to take over. That progression, she said, is the hope for all employees and others attending the weekly class.

The classes contain both male and female participants from the early teens to the more seasoned individual. Meghan Buckley, 14, and Kayla Richey, 13, both students at St. Rose School, attended last week’s class after hearing a friend talk about how much fun and relaxation the class offered.

Smallwood said township officials have no plans to discontinue the classes. There may be additional classes added if the interest continues.

Bonnie Davis of Girard will likely be one of those interested individuals going forward. Davis attended the class and laughed heartily at her attempts at some of the more difficult movements, but wiped the sweat from her brow at the end of the session and said she would be back.

“I think this is wonderful. It’s nice that they would have something like this and well within everyone’s budget to do it,” she said. “In these times we all need to relax.”

jgoodwin@vindy.com