Yoga taught at Tibetan Center

Bells from a Buddhist ritual begin to toll softly in the next room as Allana Radecki's weekly hatha yoga class gets underway at the Tibetan Cultural Center's Chamtseling Temple.\nFrom tortoise and thunderbolt to cobra pose, Radecki and her students strive for balance and well-being through a series of simple breath and positioning exercises.\n"Enjoy your simple presence," she intones over the soothing sounds of a CD playing in the background. "Feel yourself grounded to the earth ... your head floats on top of your spine ... your muscles melt around your bones," she went on to say. \nLike many forms of yoga, the hatha practice stems from the traditional Buddhist path to enlightenment and an effort at liberation from worldly attachment. Since the 15th century, hatha yoga has focused on physical postures or "asanas," breath control and meditation in order to balance the body and mind, foster better health and increase strength, stamina and mental acuity.\n"It's really about getting to know yourself on a much deeper level, finding an internal dialogue with yourself and communicating with yourself," Radecki said. "As simple as many of these poses are, the system of hatha yoga is very profound in how it acts upon the body and mind as a whole, and in how it balances all the systems of the body."\nThe word hatha is Sanskrit for "sun/moon" and is fitting for the practice of pose and counter pose that make up this form of yoga. Philosophically, hatha represents the opposing energies of male and female, or positive and negative- essential to achieving balance.\nRadecki, an IU yoga instructor, introduced hatha yoga to IU through the elective program of the Department of Kinesiology, where she is a teacher. During the hour-long session, she stresses breathing, self-awareness and self-esteem. Commenting on the duress that our professional and academic lives subject our bodies to, she begins with relaxation and grounding exercises. She then leads the class through several sitting, kneeling, standing and prostrate positions, accentuating muscle stretching and proper breathing before tapering off into a cool-down mode.\n"We all know that when the body is in an unhealthy state, it makes it harder for us to interact with the world around us, to get our work done, our emotional state, our mental state, all of that can be disturbed, and this work can do a tremendous amount of good," Radecki said.\nHatha yoga, known for its various poses, has become the most popular form of yoga in the West. Asanas are contemplative in nature and were originally instituted by yogis during meditation. Different asanas serve as a form of alternative medicine and are recommended by practitioners to cure or prevent problems ranging from constipation to cancer. Yoga acts as a calming agent and is said to lessen stress and fatigue.\n"Hatha yoga makes me be present in the moment. It makes me aware of where I'm tense, and what areas I need to work on in my life and with my body," said yoga student Betsy Hanafi. "It's a whole philosophy of life for me."\n"It's energizing and relaxing at the same time," student Suzanne Hanafi added with a laugh.\nThe TCC's yoga classes are held Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. through Dec. 8. Cost is $10 per class. For more information call 331-0013.