South’s Yoga Club allows students to de-stress and re-center at weekly meetings. The club meets in Cleminson Hall every Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. It was founded two years ago with the idea to help South students relax. Since South has a limited number of clubs focused on wellness, the formation of Yoga Club seemed appropriate, club president Laine Johnson ’20 said.

The club features a different yoga instructor each week from local studios like Holy Yoga, Living Waters and Yoga Shelter, according to Johnson. Club adviser Lauren Copus attends the club every week. As high school students who are often under a lot of stress, this club can offer much needed relaxation. Even napping on their mats can be an effective use of yoga club time if it helps students relax, according to Johnson.

“Yoga Club is relaxing. None of us high school students chill out enough, so calming down and relaxing is definitely the most important part,” Johnson said.

Johnson began to practice yoga because her mom attended yoga classes. As she continued, she realized she liked how yoga helped her stay active.

“Yoga helps me a lot with stress and staying active in a way that isn’t intense like running would be,” Johnson said.

Throughout the year Yoga Club can expect anywhere from eight to twelve members to attend each week, according to Johnson. During cross country and track season, the club sees many more attendees because coaches send their runners as a way to heal and stretch their bodies, according to Johnson.

“To attract students to Yoga Club, we put up flyers, have an active Instagram and do Remind texts,” Johnson said. “We also offer students snacks from Trader Joe’s if they show up.”

The most important thing for students to do at Yoga Club is chill out. It’s the perfect remedy for stress and anxiety that school can cause, according to Johnson.

“We are a group of chill people who like to relax, chat and eat,” Johnson said. “You should come to Yoga Club to stretch and de-stress midway through your week.”