To help students relax after midterms season, the Student Activities Board (SAB) hosted a mixed-level yoga class with rescue puppies on Nov. 11.
The event was hosted by Doggy Noses and Yoga Poses, a company that raises money and awareness for animal rescue groups by coordinating yoga classes with rescue shelters. Students participated in a yoga class while puppies from One Step Closer Animal Rescue walked around and interacted with each participant.
SAB events coordinator, Eliana Driesse, a sophomore elementary and special education major, said the event brought her “back home.”
“It's a great stress reliever, especially right before Thanksgiving when everyone's like, ‘I need a break,’” Driesse said.
Isabella Rosario, a junior biology major, said attending the event allowed her to reset her mental health.
“Just to take my mind off of things for a little bit and also just see some smiling dogs that just have that love,” Rosario said. “It's nice to get some of that energy out and also be around happy puppies.”
Rosario said she enjoyed the class for its physical benefits as well.
“Honestly we needed some kind of stress relief after midterms, so it was fun,” Rosario said. “Also I haven't done yoga in a while, so I thought about stretching and doing that kind of exercise because that's really fun.”
Rosario said the event hosts encouraged students to consider adopting the puppies or volunteer at a local animal shelter.
“There was a litter of puppies,” Rosario said. “It was super cute and thinking about them getting adopted into a home one day was super comforting.”
Rosario said spending time with the puppies reminded her of her pets back home.
“Not only was it a stress relief, it was just really fun to get to see some dogs, especially because we're not home,” Rosario said. “We don't get to see our own pets, so it's nice to get to see that again and also get to spread more awareness of the shelters nearby.”
Reese Brancato, a sophomore computer science major, said the event was “relaxing and different” from some of the other events that are offered at Seton Hall. He added that while he liked the exercise, his favorite part was playing with the puppies.
“They would come up to you randomly and let you pet them, and then I picked one up and didn't let him leave for a little bit,” Brancato said. “Since I was one of the only guys there, the instructors kept putting the dog on top of me. It was so cute.”
Brancato said he appreciates the overall message of the event.
“I really appreciate the message of saving stray animals from shelters and considering adoption,” Brancato said. “I'm a huge supporter of that and I would go to another event to support this again.”
SAB’s traditions coordinator, Sofia Diaz, a sophomore diplomacy and modern languages double major, said she likes the community aspect of the event.
“There's certain events that we do that are a lot more about community than anything else,” Diaz said. “So I like that it has a good community aspect because that's something we strive to cultivate on campus.”
Diaz said it is “definitely going to be a returning event.”
“It was awesome,” Diaz said. “I mean, everybody loved it. They thought the puppies were adorable, and they actually really liked the yoga class too.”
Peyton Hruska can be reached at peyton.hruska@student.shu.edu.
