From puppy yoga to delicious, affordable eats, discover wellness escapes in Hamilton as the semester winds down and exams approach
As the end of the semester approaches and stress levels rise, it's important to take a step back and recharge. The City of Hamilton features a variety of relaxing spots that can help you break free from the hectic school bubble.
Whether you’re looking for physical activity, creative expression or simply a peaceful escape, the city has something for everyone. Here are some suggestions to help you unwind as the semester comes to a close.
Unwind with a one-of-a-kind experience at Studio 35’s weekly puppy yoga classes. By booking in advance on their website for $50 per person, you’ll get a one-hour session with puppies roaming freely around the room. After 35 minutes of yoga, enjoy 25 minutes of cuddling, playing and snapping pictures with the puppies. As the class wraps up, guests are offered an ice cream treat.
Treat yourself to a rejuvenating spa experience at Joie Day Spa, where you can indulge in services ranging from massage therapy to facials. While the services are on the pricier end for students compared to other activities, the experience could be worth it for a self-care day. You can book your appointment in advance through their website or by phone to ensure a relaxing and personalized visit.
Tap into your creativity at the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s monthly paint nights and open studio events. These free, drop-in sessions offer a space to explore your artistic side with plenty of supplies and guidance from talented artist educators. Whether you’re creating something new or seeking inspiration, it’s a welcoming environment to express yourself.
Two programs you can check out are QUARTZ: Queer Art Hang and the Youth Arts Collective Drop-in Open Studio.
For a taste of authentic Jamaican cuisine, head to Ellis Kitchen. As a Jamaican myself, I know how challenging it can be to find good Jamaican restaurants without having to leave Hamilton. After trying several places in the city, I can vouch for the flavourful, comforting dishes they serve, making it the perfect spot for anyone craving home-style Jamaican food.
The variety of food offered is great as well—from jerk chicken to patties to mackerel, this spot offers a genuine taste of the island.
If you’re craving birria tacos, look no further than Amigos Tex-Mex. This spot serves up tasty Tex-Mex dishes, including birria tacos, with vegetarian and vegan options available. Open late until 2 a.m. on weekends, it’s a great place to satisfy your cravings and enjoy flavourful food and great service.
Taking a break from the hustle and bustle of the school season is essential for maintaining balance and well-being. Whether you’re looking to unwind with some puppy yoga, indulge in a spa day or enjoy a delicious meal, these spots in Hamilton offer the perfect escape to recharge.
So, take some time for yourself and explore local gems to destress and refresh before exams begin.
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By: Annie Mills
Yoga instructor Jennifer Scharf had been offering free weekly yoga instruction at the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Students with Disabilities for the past seven years. 60 students were enrolled, with and without disabilities, to take part in this year’s class. That is, until Scharf received notice in September that the class had been suspended. The rationale from the centre was that yoga had become too controversial due to “how it is being practiced” in regards to cultural appropriation. In response, Scharf offered to change the name of her class to “mindful stretching,” but in the end, the class was cancelled regardless.
There is no doubt in my mind that the practice of yoga has been culturally appropriated. Cultural appropriation is when a dominant culture, often historically the oppressor, borrows elements of a marginalized, historically oppressed culture without considering its cultural significance. Yoga is a practice that millions of Westerners now turn to as a means of improving their health, wellness and fitness. It is a trendy, commercialized practice, and is now a multi-billion dollar (Westernized) industry. Between out-of-my-price-range elitist yoga studios and stylish Lululemon yoga apparel, it appears that yoga has transformed from an up-and-coming “exotic” practice to a mainstream fitness regime. This has completely erased the cultural significance of yoga and its history.
It is part of a disturbing trend of the significant practices and symbols of marginalized cultures being tweaked into something considered trendy and fashionable. Examples include the prevalence of First Nations headdresses in the fashion industry, celebrity Selena Gomez donning a bindi in concert and Kendall Jenner putting her hair in cornrows. Yoga is a prime example. It has been misrepresented and altered in Western society, illustrating the power imbalance that exists between those who have wealth and privilege, and those who have been marginalized. The cultural rights of those who practice yoga are not being respected, and this cannot be ignored.
Yes, yoga has been culturally appropriated; however, here comes the infamous “but.”
Defending yoga against desecration is one thing, but halting the benefits it incurs is another thing entirely.
Yoga has transformed from an up-and-coming “exotic” practice to a mainstream fitness regime.
Suspending a free yoga class provided to students with disabilities is not an effective means of addressing the cultural appropriation of the practice of yoga as a whole. While it is crucial that the commercialization and misrepresentation of yoga be addressed, stopping its practice by westerners altogether only serves to further misconstrue its true purpose. Yoga was globalized before the practice became a multi-billion-dollar industry. In its fundamental form, yoga was originally intended to prepare one’s mind and body for unity with the spirit, and to liberate a person from every worldly attachment, and ultimately attain enlightenment. While significant to religious worship such as Hinduism, yoga was not necessarily meant to be an exclusive practice. While some are thrilled at yoga’s newfound popularity, not all Hindus are as content with the practice of yoga in the West. The Take Back Yoga movement is speaking out against the commercialization of yoga. It aims to bring to light yoga’s Hindu roots, and convey the underlying meaning and philosophy of yoga that they feel are being lost.
Clearly this appropriation needs to be addressed. However, this cannot be accomplished through generalizations that treat all Western practices of yoga as identical. Instances of cultural appropriation are varied in nature and thus need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
In some instances, the appropriated practice may need to be stopped altogether; other cases need only be practiced in a more respectful, and educated manner. What is important is that we take into consideration the voice of those who feel something from their culture is being appropriated, and make changes accordingly. It is possible to do this by incorporating an educational aspect into non-religious yoga, where teachers explain the historical and religious roots of the practice.
Incorporating religious symbols and meditation is not necessarily positive, and in fact if practiced incorrectly, could lead to further cultural appropriation. Rather, mutual understanding and respect for the complex historical practice, and considering its lack of accessibility due to commercialization are positive steps towards allowing people to respectfully enjoy the practice.
The practice of yoga by Westerners does not need to be eradicated; it needs to be decolonized.
Photo Credits: Peninsula Pilates and Huffington Post
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By: Theresa Tingey
As busy students, stress is a huge part of daily life. Many of us turn to music as one of the easiest and best ways to relieve stress after a particularly difficult midterm or exam. Which types of music are especially effective for mediating stress and how exactly music interacts with the brain are active areas of research. Specifically, many scientists have tested the effects of various types of music on college-aged students, after inducing stress, by examining levels of blood hormones and self-perceived emotional scales. The results of these studies can inform students on how to best reduce anxiety through music listening.
One study performed by Smith and Joyce published in the Journal of Music Therapy in 2004 had 63 college students set aside 28 minutes each day for three days to listen to either Mozart, new age music or read a selection of popular magazines. The students then filled out questionnaires each day to measure their stress, worry and negative emotions. By the third day, the group assigned to listen to Mozart experienced the greatest relaxation and least stress, while the group listening to New Age music showed only a slight reduction in stress and the magazine readers had the least improvement in anxiety levels.
Another study performed in 2001 by Knight and Rickard asked students to prepare for a stressful oral presentation while either listening to Pachelbel’s Canon in D major, or in silence. The heart rate, subjective anxiety, blood pressure and cortisol levels were measured for each participant before and after the presentations to gauge their stress responses. Students who listened to the classical music while preparing for their presentation showed a greater reduction in stress compared to the group who prepared in silence.
Calming music has also been shown to enhance immune responses and reduce pain perception. In 2003, Eri Hirokawa of the Tokai Women’s University observed that music identified as ‘highly uplifting’ by participants boosted the function of important immune cells, such as T cells and natural killer cells, when listened to for twenty minutes after a stressful cognitive test compared to those who sat in silence. In addition, in their study published in the Journal of Music Therapy in 2006, Mitchell and MacDonald saw that students were able to tolerate a painful stimulus of holding their hands in cold water for longer when listening to music selections that they had chosen, compared to white noise or music deemed ‘relaxing’ by the experimenters.
This last study brings to question whether or not the music we choose to listen to is better for relaxation than classical or new age music. According to a review published by Krout in a 2007 publication of The Arts and Psychotherapy, music selected as relaxing by researchers generally has a greater relaxing effect than the music preferred by the listener, possibly because the listener can become distracted and emotionally aroused by the music they’re used to. However, Krout also noted that the more a person is exposed to a certain type of music, the greater its stress-reducing effect. Further, he suggests that listening to music of a slow and stable tempo, low volume, and simple harmonic cord progressions, such as those often found in classical music, for 20 to 30 minutes at a time is most beneficial for inducing relaxation through activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Another tip Krout gives is to listen to music that comes with guided meditation or breathing methods, as a combination of music and whole-body relaxation techniques have been found most effective for reducing stress.
In any case, whether you want to come home to the soothing sounds of Mozart or dance away your stress to your favourite upbeat tunes, music can provide a fun and effective way to melt away the stress of the day.
