Keene State College’s Yoga Club welcomed students and locals to their glow yoga event aptly named Tadasana Thursday, held on April 23, in the Mabel Brown Room.
The room pulsated with neon lights and electronic music, courtesy of the hired DJ Jordan Lashley, who is also a part-time yoga instructor out of Boston.
The event was free for KSC students but 15 dollars for everyone else.
About 50 people attended the event with most of them being students, few of which said they were trying yoga for the first time.
The yoga club supplied participants with yoga mats, water bottles and glow accessories, such as bracelets and hairpieces.
Local yoga instructor, Ashley “Bad Ash” Davis, headlined the event.
Davis began by asking the participants, who she referred to as “yogis,” to find a comfortable seated position on their mats while she gave everyone a look into who she was and how she came to be a yoga instructor.
“I host workshops and teach classes here in Keene right now at the Keene Yoga Center on Roxbury Street,” she also explained.
“I also host yoga retreats; I just got back from hosting a retreat in Costa Rica. I am a two hundred hour registered yoga
Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff
teacher and did my training in Fiji,” Davis explained.
She continued to explain what KSC’s yoga club and Tadasana Thursday was all about by stating, “KSC Yoga Club is about being mindful of yourself and of others and I want you to remember that tonight.”
“Tonight is about a little glow, a little go, keeping in touch with ourselves and staying mindful,” she said.
Davis made mention that she was asked to headline Tadasana Thursday by the KSC Yoga Club’s founder Kassy Montgomery, who is currently in training to become a yoga teacher.
Montgomery, who said she is currently a senior and a Health Science (Nutrition option) major, explained that the idea for Tadasana Thursday came up shortly after this year’s Pumpkin Fest.
“The event was an opportunity to expand yoga to those who might not typically engage in such a practice,” she explained.
She continued, “We showed students that yoga is not just about relaxing, it can also be invigorating and strenuous but overall balancing for the mind and we all need balance in our lives, especially with finals approaching.”
Yoga club member and Psychology major Emily Silliman, explained how the event could also be viewed as a healthy, fun alternative to going out and drinking.
“[Tadasana Thursday] was really fun,” she exclaimed. “Bad Ash was awesome, I loved that [she instructed] for two hours. The music was really good and I loved the lights and glow [atmosphere]. Also, I got into [a] headstand on my own which was pretty cool.”
Silliman was not the only one who utilized the event to work on her yoga skills. Senior and yoga club event coordinator Molly Helmes explained she views yoga as a way to challenge herself.
“[Yoga] is an awesome form of exercise and really is great for your mind, body and spirit. I love it because it’s not something that’s easy to master; there’s always a deeper version of a pose or another level you can take yourself to,” she said.
Helmes stated the KSC Yoga Club viewed Tadasana Thursday as “a huge success” for the club.
Despite having just formed this year, Montgomery said approximately 30 members belong to KSC’s Yoga Club.
“I have seen in just this short year how much yoga can touch the lives of others. There is a reason that people who try it keep coming back. I hope that the KSC faculty and staff can see this and acknowledge the importance of the club and how meaningful the practice is for many of the students,” she stated.
Montgomery, Silliman and Helmes all spoke of the yoga club and its members and encourage students to join. The KSC Yoga Club meets on Mondays in the gym from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Claire Hickey can be contacted at chickey@kscequinox.com
