Campus fitness hall makes space for yoga and aerobics classes
With a combination of incense, statues, dim lights and soothing music, Campus Fitness Hall offers aserene, peaceful atmosphere among the hustle and bustle of Marshall Street near the Syracuse University campus.
Campus Fitness Hall, which opened in August, teaches Kundalini yoga, along with various dance and martial arts classes that are not offered at Archbold Gymnasium.
Many students have already taken part in the unique classes, which include ‘Extreme Cardio Craze,’ ‘Body Craze’ and Kettlebell fitness (originated in Russia as an alternative way to train with weights), using resistance to build endurance.
Some of the classes, such as Latin RipoMix, will be offered as a part of Syracuse’s Healthy Monday Initiative in partnership with Mu Sigma Upsilon sorority. On Oct. 19, Nov. 16 and Dec. 7, Campus Fitness Hall will hold full, extended versions of classes for Healthy Monday.
Campus Fitness Hall also offers free yoga classes to cancer patients within the Central New York. Owner Theone Kalkinis said the deal is in memory of her mother, who died this past year from ovarian cancer.
‘I want to have a lasting impact on people in her memory,’ Kalkinis said. ‘I want to be able to offer something to the community.’
Campus Fitness Hall is collaborating with Georgetown University to explore the benefits of yoga for breast cancer patients. They are studying the effects yoga has on cancer patients going through chemotherapy, along with the effects of yoga for non-cancer patients. Some patients that are part of the study reside in Syracuse.
Yoga seems to boost the patients’ immune systems, in addition to providing a sense of relaxation for all. ‘It helps you reconnect with your soul,’ Kalkinis said.
Some of the most popular classes among students include belly dancing, jazz and Latin RipoMix.
Morgan Leykam, a senior geography and studio art major who teaches Body-Hot yoga, often has about six people in her classes. She does not want it to get more crowded, though.
‘We want to keep the classes as small as possible,’ Leykam said. ‘We follow the students’ needs and do what we are passionate about as well. We try to make students feel like we care about them.’
Leykam, who also takes classes herself, is one of a handful of Syracuse students that teach some of the classes at Campus Fitness Hall. Sophomore Francesca Budesheim teaches Power Vinyasa Flow yoga. There are also instructors with more experience, many of whom are native to the places the dances they teach originated from.
Campus Fitness Hall allows students to pick a package of classes, create their own or take individual classes, all while staying on a a tight budget.
The variety of classes appeals to many students.
‘You can find something (here) that you’re looking for,’ Budesheim said.
Published on October 13, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu
