While many university professors were busy with study groups and student meetings in preparation for final exams, Sandi Tenfelde, RN, PhD, ANP, CYI, turned to sun salutations and savasanas.

Tenfelde, an assistant professor at Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing in Maywood, Ill., recently became a certified yoga instructor. According to a news release, she offered a yoga class for nursing, health sciences management and exercise science students during final exams week in mid-December. Her goal was to help students reduce stress levels, enhance their immune system and improve their emotional wellness, flexibility, strength, balance and posture.

"Yoga can provide college students with many emotional and physical benefits," Tenfelde said in the release. "Regular yoga practice during finals week also can improve mental clarity and concentration making students more likely to excel under pressure."

Tenfelde also sees long-term benefits of yoga for her students.

"Part of preparing my students to be good healthcare professionals involves educating them on how to take care of themselves," Tenfelde said in the release. "It is easy to lose sight of self-care when you are concerned with caring for others on a daily basis. I hope to instill in my students the ability to reduce their own stress levels to better care for their patients."