Holistic health, a class worth taking?
By Dan Papa
Professor Rita Mehta was teaching her class on Holistic Health and she was kind enough to let me observe her class. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, the class was just about over. Still, she spoke with me about her class and a few other things.
Mehta has been teaching the class for over three years at Kean University. She also teaches at Rutgers University. She was born in India and learned Yoga from home. After she moved to New Jersey, she visited an Ashram, a sort of monastery in Indian religions where she learned Hatha (a more physical posture kind of yoga).
When she went to college, she kind of lost touch with yoga. It was not until she went to a battered women’s’ shelter that she rekindled her relationship with it. While going through therapy with the women there, she felt like she was only getting so far with her clients.
After she introduced yoga/meditation to the women, she “saw a shift in the women,” one that would not have been easy to achieve with traditional counseling.
“It is more than just a physical practice,” said Mehta.
Professor Mehta has students from all walks of life. People with “double hip, double knee replacements, pregnant students…,” can all be taught yoga.
“Think about the time that we’re living in and we’re constantly connected. Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… we’re not in touch with our bodies,” said Mehta.
“I love teaching at Kean. What’s unique about my students at Kean vs. my students at Rutgers is a lot of them are first generation in their family to go to college, they usually work 2-3 jobs, they are super motivated,” said Mehta.
In yoga, not everyone’s body will be as naturally accustomed to whichever particular type they choose to practice. However, this is okay because provided the person actually practices at the yoga, their body is likely to eventually adjust itself and become acclimated to it.
While this particular class focused on yoga, it is a holistic health class and Mehta also teaches about “traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, cupping…”
“We talk about herbs, we talk about supplements, we do energy medicine,” said Mehta. “If you look in the journals, there is data supporting yoga in terms of mental health, yoga and depression, yoga for anxiety, [and] yoga for addiction.”