Amidst the hectic environment that comes with midterms, Dara Harper aims to keep students healthy, in both body and spirit.

As part of Syracuse University’s Healthy Monday initiative, Harper instructs a weekly yoga class, open to students and faculty alike. However, Harper’s class focuses on more than just exercise.

“When I teach or attend a yoga class, I want a revelation, not just stronger abs. If I feel sad or confused before a class, I usually feel much better equipped to handle any situation after the class,” Harper said, “Yoga makes me a better partner, a better parent, and a better citizen of the world.”

Harper sees her practice as a tool to better the world around her. She has used yoga to raise money to combat the Ebola outbreak in Liberia and support Nepal after the 2015 earthquake.

“Peace and understanding don’t happen miraculously, they happen when we talk and process tough information,” she said.

Harper started teaching Phoga, which is yoga for photographers in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Around the same time, she started teaching yoga as part of a communication skills class in the College of Visual and Performing Arts with Dr. Diane Grimes. In addition, Harper taught a class for Susan D’Amato in the fine arts program, in which the artists would alternate between painting or drawing and practicing yoga.

This current Healthy Monday class is a collaboration between The Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion in the Maxwell School of Citizenship of Public Affairs and the Contemplative Collaborative. She picked the Miron Room in Newhouse for its “space and calm beauty.”

Upon entering the class, participants are greeted warmly by Harper, usually by name if they have attended the class before. Harper said participants will mill into an atmosphere of both calmness and excitement. Ambient music plays softly, but this doesn’t keep people from speaking, their conversations all upbeat and positive.

“I really loved her energy. She is really positive and knowledgeable about yoga and just the body in general, which is really awesome to have since she tries to help you so you can really get the most out of the poses,” said Kasey Lanese, a junior communication and rhetorical studies student and a participant in Harper’s class.

Harper begins the class with the discussion of relevant current events, and brings it back to yoga by applying a theme to keep in mind throughout. Most recently, the discussion revolved around football player Colin Kaepernick and his choice to take a knee during the national anthem.

“Taking a knee is an active choice.” Harper said, “We all need to take a knee, pay attention to the world around us and be an active participant.”

With that, the theme for the class was taking a knee, and all of the various poses focused on the physical act of taking a knee, while keeping the spiritual significance in mind.

This focus on themes and current events, however, does not make the class any less engaging or challenging physically. The poses are all generally difficult, and almost all the participants break a sweat.

“This isn’t high school gym class anymore,” Harper said.

Published on October 16, 2016 at 7:26 pm