Students participating in Texas A&M’s Bhakti Yoga Club incorporate their body, mind and soul into their workout.
The word “Bhakti” means “loving devotional service,” and the club at A&M aims to help students experience spiritual bliss. Their first session of the semester is on Friday at 7 p.m. in Rudder Tower 301.
Computer science graduate student and club president Abhishek Deb began attending two years ago after learning about the organization at MSC open house. Deb said he has enjoyed Bhakti yoga ever since.
“The Bhakti Yoga Club is meant to integrate the exercise, which keeps you physically fit, with the mind and the soul yoga, which helps you to start the week by being able to see things in life you can appreciate,” Deb said.
Electrical engineering graduate student Sai Kiran is familiar with Bhakti yoga from his undergraduate university as well as his home in India. Kiran said he was introduced to the Bhakti yoga club at A&M by Deb, his former roommate.
“Bhakti yoga is a different kind of yoga,” Kiran said. “Normally yoga you’re used to is mainly all about exercise, but Bhakti yoga is a combined type of yoga. It brings you peace of mind.”
A typical Bhakti yoga class has multiple stages. The first session is the yoga for exercise, the second is the yoga for mind, which involves meditation, then yoga for food where vegan dining options are served to attendees.
The Bhakti Yoga Club also hosts two cooking classes each semester and sometimes invites motivational guest speakers.
Deb said speakers are usually monks who come from all over the world. However, if there is no speaker that week, the club may instead have a mantra meditation session where participants are encouraged to detach themselves from the worries of their mind.
Mansi Sharma, Class of 2018, attended the Bhakti yoga club events regularly when she was a student and said it was a place where she could relax and let go of negative thoughts.
“It was the best stress buster every Friday evening, and me and my friends used to look forward to it, especially after a busy week,” Sharma said. “I really enjoyed the hatha yoga part of it, followed by motivational talks. The food served after it was pure heaven.”
Deb said the organization is useful for anyone who is looking to take a step back from their strenuous academic work.
“We are students, and in student-life, we deal with so much homework and exams that it keeps us on our toes,” Deb said. “It’s good to go back a bit and say this part of your life is not about exams but beyond that.”
