This year Ripon High School welcomes Mindfulness Club which focuses on yoga. It will start on September 10 from 3:15 to 4pm in Mrs. Ochoa’s room. It will be every Monday, except during holidays and other important events.

The Mindfulness and Yoga Club was founded by Evelyn Tison, Gracie Jaime, Savanna Mendoza, Brendan Lan, Kate Phelps , Bailey Gillihan and supervised by Activities Director Jill Mortensen. These six high schoolers realized the importance of relaxation and put extra time in during the summer to help build this club. The planning started last Spring, but it took time to build the foundation.

“I started the yoga club because I wanted to go to a club where I could relax and focus on my mindset. As soon as Mortensen sent out the email asking who wanted to be a part of it, I replied right away,” Gracie Jaime said. “I also think that the yoga club will help with students because teens need to take a break once in awhile. School can be really stressful, so taking time to focus on your mental health is important.”

The stress of life, whether it be school work, sports, siblings, parents, can all have a big impact on your health. A little stress can be good, healthy even. But on the other hand, a lot of stress can have a very negative impact on one’s body and mind.

“I myself was super sick for a whole month basically because I didn’t take care of myself.  I just kept pushing through everything and ended up making myself more and more sick. I should’ve taken some time to relax and I feel as though yoga could’ve helped me a lot then,” Brendan Lan said. “And I’ve heard of people in similar situations to mine where they’ve pushed so hard that they get sick. That’s definitely not healthy and is detrimental in the end.  I believe Yoga Club can help those who want to relax and recharge.”

Relaxation isn’t the only thing that you can get from the new club. The Mindfulness and Yoga club can also help students get better grades. It helps them take time to let the body slow down and just let go and forget about the stress of life. 

“We are going to have real instructors coming in to help us to make sure that we aren’t fooling around and actually learn things,” Bailey Gillihan said. “It can help people get off their phone and not stress about their social life. ”

There are many physical benefits too. The stretches that are done in the club help circulate blood through the body and it also gives your mind time to relax and just breathe. Often times people work out the body, but not the mind.

“When you get the heart rate going, it pumps through the body, it’s healthy. I think it’ll have a larger impact on the mental state. And that’s just as strong of a component in our bodies as the muscles and the heart,”  Mortensen said. “So providing that exercise for your mind to calm relax be at peace. Get off the phone, technology, of the social media and just to take a break from it all.

Mortensen partnered with Jennie Gall, who is the owner of Relieve here in Ripon and a certified yoga instructor, in order to make sure that the students actually learn something

“She was an absolute yes when I said, ‘Hey I need help’ Cause I’m not an instructor, I’m not certified,” Mortensen said. “And she’s giving up her Mondays, volunteering her time to help staff and students.”

Whether it’s just for fun or if it is to relax and get away from the daily life of stress, the Mindfulness and Yoga club can be a way to do it.

“The whole thought of being more mindful & calm is something that should be stressed more for students,” Lan said. Especially since we’re so stressed.”