Yale-NUS students and staff lead physical wellness initiatives on campus

At Yale-NUS College, the impact of our students and staff go beyond academic contributions. They also lead activities — yoga, Pilates, and pole dancing classes — to promote active lifestyles in a bid to bolster physical and mental wellness on campus.

Weekly yoga classes on campus. Image taken by Desmond Lee (Class of 2025) for Yale-NUS College.

When Smriti Ghildiyal (Class of 2022) achieved her yoga training certification back in 2019, she was inspired to share her learnings and give back to the Yale-NUS community.

“I noticed that a lot of my peers were interested in learning yoga, but there were no classes on campus. So, with the support from the College’s Athletics Council, I kicked off my first yoga class on campus, and organised them weekly until I graduated. Staff members from the Athletics Council were super supportive and bought a bunch of yoga mats, bricks, and belts, even helping me to advertise the classes,” explained Smriti.

Having personally practised for almost 10 years, Smriti shared that she has reaped a multitude of physical and mental benefits from yoga, an activity she believes is “the perfect balance between rigorous physical exercise and relaxation” and the “ideal way to take a little break from the stress of college”. She centres her classes on flexibility training and strength building, as well as breath control and relaxation, using a hands-on instructional approach.

Smriti (left) correcting a student’s posture. Image taken by Desmond Lee (Class of 2025) for Yale-NUS College.

A regular face during these yoga sessions, Ayyappan Madhumitha (Class of 2023) is thankful for the nurturing and relaxing space that the yoga classes offer. “I love that Smriti’s classes are challenging, but also a safe and welcoming place where we can make mistakes and learn — she strikes this balance in all her classes so seamlessly! Taking her Yoga classes have certainly played a huge role in allowing me to lead a life of calm efficiency at Yale-NUS,” Madhumitha shared.

Similar to Smriti, another student — Lucy Xinyu Zhu (Class of 2022) — noticed an interest for pole dancing and was inspired to introduce classes for the College community. She hosted Poley Moley, a yearly event where she would lead a group of interested students to take introductory classes by certified instructors at near-by pole studios.

“I wanted to share the joy of pole dancing and encourage others to try stepping out of their comfort zone too,” she explained.

Students learning at a pole dancing class, located in a professional studio. Image provided by Lucy Xinyu Zhu.

Beyond letting students break a sweat, Lucy was delighted to learn that pole dancing presented an unexpected benefit: social connection. She observed that students bonded over learning novel tricks and spurring one another to try one’s best.

“Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun; dancing and spinning around the pole with big smiles and confidence. I loved seeing their amazement at themselves and at others when they and their friends manage to do tricks for the first time. I benefitted from this idea of growing and learning while being surrounded by encouraging individuals when I began my pole journey, and I am really grateful that I could share this with my peers,” she noted.

Resonating with Lucy’s sentiments, Ashley Sim (Class of 2022), who attended the most recent Poley Moley, was surprised that she could execute basic moves at the end of the hour, despite having no prior pole dancing experience. Said Ashley, “I really enjoyed the class and I felt a keen sense of achievement in being able to execute the moves! I am even considering taking up pole dancing as an after-work activity now that I’ve graduated.”

Another wellness activity is Pilates, organised for the first time on 18 April 2022 by Student Wellness Manager, Cheryl Tan. Pilates is purported to improve posture, alleviate back pain, enhance body awareness, and decrease stress, according to Manager Cheryl.

A strong advocate for embracing physical wellness, she believes that exercising is the best way to “clear one’s mind” and “take one away from all the to-do lists in one’s head”. With that, she was motivated to bring in fitness classes that were accessible, fun, and stimulating to the community. She eventually landed on Pilates, after conducting a poll on the Yale-NUS Wellness Instagram page.

Encouraged by the positive turn-out and feedback for the classes, Manager Cheryl plans to host fitness classes more frequently in the upcoming semester. She believes that these wellness activities — yoga, Pilates, and pole dancing — are marks of more to come, as students and staff work together to inspire and nurture a culture of wellness on campus.

“I hope that through participating in these wellness events and activities, students’ college lives can be enriched and they can fondly look back upon their years at the College, even after they graduate. College is more than just studying, and I want to create opportunities for students to pick up new interests and knowledge outside of their academics,” she reflected.