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Yoga Yodas create calm and improve mental fitness at UFS

20 August 2019 | Story Valentino | Photo Pexels

Are you always anxious and exhausted? Consider for a moment what you can do to break your hectic routine. Maybe stay in bed and binge-watch a series? Or what about joining a yoga class? Let us imagine for a moment that you have opted for the latter. What could possibly be the results of such a choice?

According to Psychology Today, there is a growing body of research to back up yoga’s mental health benefits. “Yoga increases body awareness, relieves stress, reduces muscle tension, strain and inflammation, sharpens attention and concentration, and calms and centres the nervous system.”

Since the beginning of the year, a group of students has been practising yoga on the lawns of the Bloemfontein Campus at the University of the Free State (UFS). At first the group comprised students from the Office for International Affairs’ Umoja Buddy Programme, but it has since expanded to include the general student population.

Strength and stamina from body to mind
They call themselves “"Yoga Yodas”. Their instructor, Dominique de Kock, says she has witnessed an increased level of calmness and relaxation among the group, which has had a positive effect on their academic performance and mental wellbeing.

Given the anxiety academics can create among some students, yoga is a proven method of achieving a state of positive mindfulness. “Yoga is great for when you are stressed out. Give yourself an hour to just be at peace, relax your mind and practise meditation which is not spiritually tied to any religion,” says De Kock.

Mental health and self-care go hand in hand. Find out more on yoga's positive benefits on mental health and wellbeing, by watching the video below:

News Archive

Professor from Cambridge University addresses young scholars

2017-07-18

In the first conference of its kind on the African continent,
the Universityof the Free State’s Bloemfontein Campus
was privileged to host the Young Scholars Initiative conference.
Photo: Siobhan Canavan

“It doesn’t matter where a concept originates from if it works. The problem arises when the concept does not work.”

These were the words of Prof Gareth Austin in his address at the Young Scholars Initiative (YSI). His keynote focused on the “Economic History in Africa’s Decolonisation and Development”.

The African economic history

Prof Austin, a professor in Economic History at the University of Cambridge, discussed how African economic history has always been about development, and also gave a brief periodisation of the economic historiography of Africa.

In his closing remarks he focused more on history and economics. “Economics is a sensible approach to take, where history matters because of the sense of context.”

Reflecting on the African experience

A total of 65 young and senior scholars from five continents attended the conference Decolonising Africa? The Economic History of Development, hosted by the YSI in partnership with the International Studies Group at the UFS.

The conference, held from 8 to 9 June 2017, provided an opportunity to reflect on the African experience from an historical perspective and to assess the current position of the continent in the global economy. It discussed new themes in development, such as the role of women, minorities, and entrepreneurs.

The conference focused on how the business community has operated in an Africa that still faces inequalities and unfair terms of trade and lacks a unified political will.

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