One kinesiology course doesn’t offer typical exercise: It has you twisting your body in postures like the Cobra, Butterfly, Fallen Leaf and Rocking Chair.

The yoga class on campus has students relieving stress through breathing techniques, stretching and meditation.

“It helps physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally,” said Fresno State Yoga instructor Nicole Flores.

Flores said yoga helps build strength, stamina, flexibility and endurance as it tones and sculpt the body.

There are several different styles of yoga, but there is one in particular that Flores prefers and teaches: Yoga of the Old Masters.

“It’s the most relaxing style of yoga,” Flores said.

Flores said a person could gain the most benefits of yoga during relaxation.

Flores’ 50-minute class meets twice a week. Students stretch one day and then the next day they meditate. In her hour and 50-minute class, students stretch and meditate in one sitting for even greater benefits.

English major Laura Carroll said yoga was something new to her, and wanted to explore it after taking the kickboxing class last semester. She is already experiencing the benefits of yoga, especially with her health and peace of mind.

“The breathing techniques that are taught in the class really help you calm yourself down in everyday life,” Carroll said. “I have asthma, so the breathing techniques even help me with getting a good amount of air in my lungs.

Accounting major Khouahesiva Inphay believes yoga has made a difference in her life since she started taking the class on campus.

“I’m more calm and I have more confidence in the way I make decisions,” Inphay said.

Inphay said that yoga not only helps a person physically and mentally, but it also helps for body shape. She considers yoga a kind of exercise, but that you do it mentally without a machine.

“It helps a lot,” Inphay said. “That’s why I decided to take yoga again.”

Flores said she has seen multiple students lose weight during her 14 years of teaching at Fresno State and studying at the Yoga Center of Fresno.

“I had a student who dropped 40 pounds in a semester, but it all depends on how devoted they are,” Flores said.

Although the majority of students are women, men take the class to receive the same benefits.

Animal science public health major Christopher Edwards thinks yoga is a very good stress reliever, a way to become more flexible and a way to gain more endurance.

“I thought it was really nice to have a challenge and at the same time be stress free from school,” Edwards said.

Edwards said yoga is helping him stay focused on his readings for his literature class and the class is allowing him to meditate easier.

“It gives you a time period to think and come back to yourself and think about your whole day,” Edwards said.

Flores said the number of men enrolling in yoga is growing because of the popularity that yoga has acquired over the years. She also said that a great deal of the men who are in her yoga classes are football players.

Flores recommends her students to practice yoga two or three times a week at home with the six-session yoga set they’re required to have for the class. Each session is 45 to 60 minutes of stretching and meditation.

“It’s a really good class and I would definitely recommend taking it,” Carroll said. “I think everyone can benefit from taking a yoga class.”