By Stefanie Hubbs
Power naps for homework? Drink more water for credit? It sounds too good to be true, but it isn''t here at BYU.
Flexabilty is a physical education class created for stressed-out students of all majors.
'I want students to feel free to ask whatever it is that they have in their minds,' said Maria Zanandrea, an associate professor who has taught the class for 11 years. 'There''s no need to raise their hands. I turn the lights off and they go away. They can count on me to wake them up on time.'
Zanandrea said students enrolled in her evening Flexability class take off their shoes, do full-body stretches for 35 minutes and then take a 15-minute power nap for the remainder of the class period.
'Students come at six in the evening, when they''re the most tired,' Zanandrea said. 'It invigorates them to continue studying for three or four more hours.'
She said the class operates in a stress-free environment.
'They get to know their bodies and loosen their minds,' Zanandrea said.
During the power-nap sessions, Zanandrea said she plays relaxing piano music mixed with gentle sounds of the ocean and falling water.
Everyone should learn to stretch daily, regardless of age or fitness level, Zanandrea said.
Flexability techniques improve range of motion, prevent muscle strain and prepare the body to participate in sports, she said.
Grades are based on 60 percent attendance and 40 percent tests and activity logs. Improvement from the beginning of the semester is worth 10 percent.
'They have homework,' she said. 'They have to take one power nap a day and drink more water.'
During registration, Zanandrea said the class is so popular it fills up within 15 minutes of being open for students to register.
'The students get to concentrate on themselves,' she said. 'They say it feels good.'