May is Mental Health Awareness Month and often teenage students lose sight of the importance of a healthy mind. The Hawthorne High School Media Center made sure to remind students to take some time for themselves. The past week, during both lunch periods, stress relief workshops were available for any student wanting a few moments of relaxation. One of the methods offered to reduce stress was yoga.

Hawthorne High School’s very own, Ms. Peene, led the workshop on Wednesday. Ms. Peene is a certified yoga instructor and teaches the relaxation method to freshmen students in her physical education classes.

Students lined up on mats as the lights were dimmed to channel their zen. Ms. Peene began the workshop by introducing yoga’s most important aspect: breathing. Students were taught how to pay attention to their breathing, which is the first step in relaxing to fully reap the benefits of a yoga session. Breathing then became an important part of the following yoga session.

After the introductory breathing lesson, the students were ready to go into poses. Students began in a sitting position and then practiced cat and cow poses, which consists of going on all fours and following the motion of the breath to arch the back. Ms. Peene then proceeded to show the students a series of poses that would again follow the motion of the breath. The series of poses started with downward dog and ended in warrior poses.

To end the relaxation, students again sat on their mats and followed their breathing. With eyes closed and clear minds, the students simply focused on their breathing and were able to complete the session.