Out of Context: Claire Seiler

Where: HUB Dance Studio

What: In addition to working on her book project on mid-20th-century literature and teaching courses such as Modern Women Writing War, Seiler leads a yoga class for faculty and staff. Seiler began her yoga practice eight years ago during an "especially rainy, dreary winter in San Francisco." Shortly after filing her dissertation at Stanford University, she completed two Vinyasa yoga teacher trainings with her primary teachers, Stephanie Snyder and Jason Crandell. "By that point, yoga was in my bones," she said. "An evolving, mindful practice had gotten me through graduate school. I wanted to make sure I brought that practice with me to Dickinson."

Why: "I'd assumed that yoga had to remain separate from my intellectual life, or that knowing too much about yoga would somehow corrupt it for me. Wow, was I wrong! I enjoy yoga only more as I learn more about it." 

How: Seiler's yoga class meets on Wednesdays at noon. "I'm inspired by all of my colleagues who commit to this practice at, appropriately enough for a centering practice, the exact center of the week. Sharing yoga helps keep me connected to how and why I practice. You don't just go through the motions in yoga; you figure out how to move-in the fullest sense of the word 'move'-with grace, patience and a sense of ease and humor. Then you share it."