Author: Erica Walters

Kundalini yoga students relax after class.

Fifteen women — and one man — sit on yoga mats, shaking
their arms vigorously in the air. The sweet smell of incense wafts
through the darkened room. Tribal beats and dance music echo in the
background.

“You can experience high levels of euphoria,” says Hannah Phillips,
owner of Give Yoga Memphis Studio in East Memphis and teacher of
Kundalini yoga, about the practice of Kundalini. “It’s a high.”

In Kundalini, practitioners move quickly and aerobically through a
range of postures rather than the slow and meditative stretching and
posing that characterizes other yoga classes.

Give Yoga Memphis has taught Kundalini for six months and is the
only studio in Memphis that offers the 90-minute classes. Phillips
practiced and taught other styles of yoga for decades before becoming
Kundalini-certified.

During a session, the class practices “the breath of fire,” a rapid
inhale and exhale.

“Through chants and breathing, you’re able to clear and detox the
systems of your body,” Phillips said. “Physically you become stronger
and more flexible. On a deeper level, you become more aware through
meditation. Kundalini helps you tap into great potential.”

When yoga enthusiast Linda Wesson broke her arm, she didn’t skip a
single Kundalini class. In fact, she credits her yoga practice with
helping her arm heal without a cast.

“Yoga is a way of life,” Wesson said. “It brings about better
health.”

Not only does Give Yoga Memphis help clients improve well-being, its
name also reflects the payment policy: Even in financially hard times,
give what you can.

“Anyone who can’t afford yoga can come and pay as they want,”
Phillips said. “The economy shouldn’t discourage their growth with
yoga.”

At the University of Memphis, the freshman 15 is now the freshman
300.

In addition to an overall tuition hike next year, the U of M plans
to charge underclassmen an additional $300 dining fee per semester. The
increases come after a $6 million cut in state funding.

“Being a student, it’s expensive to eat on campus,” said Gionni
Carr, student representative with the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR)
and former U of M student body president. Carr cast the only vote
against the overall tuition hike and the U of M dining fee approved at
the Board of Regents’ June 19th meeting.

“My choosing to spend my money on campus is one thing, but making me
spend my money is quite another,” Carr said.

U of M freshmen and sophomores will be issued a debit card to use at
campus dining facilities. University officials said the new dining
policy would promote campus community and improve efficiency.

The tuition hike approved in June will mean an average increase of
6.1 percent for students at the six TBR universities.

Tuition for the U of M will increase more than the other TBR
schools, at just over 7 percent. Last year, in-state tuition for
full-time U of M students was $2,151 per semester. In the fall, that
number will be $2,292.

Full-time students once allowed to take more than 12 credit hours
for free will now be charged an additional $10 per credit hour. About
40 percent of U of M students take between 13 and 15 credit hours each
semester.

John Gillum is one such student. A computer technology major, he
plans to graduate in the fall with a full load of 18 credit hours that
semester.

“I think [the credit-hour increase] is better than doing a 7 to 9
overall percentage increase,” Gillum said.

Nine years ago, Mildred Richard never imagined that the simple task
of cleaning her Whitehaven apartment and taking trash out to the
dumpster would change her life forever.

Then age 22, she was raped. She later tested positive for the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

“It was put to me in a form I didn’t understand,” she said. Richard,
who had never heard of HIV, looked blankly at the doctor. “I’m looking
back, like, what is that?”

As odd as it sounds, many people still are uneducated about HIV and
how it is spread. Between 2003 and 2007, the most recent data
available, Memphis/Shelby County saw more than 400 new cases each year.
That number is the highest among Tennessee metropolitan areas.

As part of National HIV Testing Day on June 27th, the Community HIV
Network and the Cocaine Alcohol Awareness Program will offer free
testing.

Last year, Community HIV tested 100 people. This year, the
organization will use an OraSure swab, which takes between five and
seven days for results.

Thanks to a recent grant, the Cocaine Alcohol Awareness Program will
also offer free screenings this year, using the OraQuick test to
provide same-day results.

Cocaine Alcohol Awareness’ screenings will be offered at First
Impressions Remix barbershop in Whitehaven Saturday, June 27th.
Community HIV will offer testing at its location near Poplar and East
Parkway on Tuesday, June 30th.

For Richard, educating herself about the virus has led to volunteer
work and speaking out about the disease. Initially depressed over her
diagnosis, she says that many people would rather not know if they are
infected.

“You should know,” Richard said.

Officials suggest anyone who has had unprotected sex or shared any
type of needles should get tested.

For the past five years, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has
seen double-digit growth in its funding, most of which comes from
public donations. In 2008, for example, financial support for St. Jude
grew by 12 percent.

One year and a recession later, funding to the internationally
acclaimed hospital is still up, but it has slowed to just over 3
percent. Because of the drop, St. Jude has slowed hiring and is
trimming costs.

“Like every company, and as an organization that spends money people
donate, it behooves us to tighten our belts,” says David McKee, COO and
interim CEO of ALSAC, the fund-raising arm of St. Jude.

Of St. Jude’s almost $507 million operating budget, 71 percent comes
from public donations. For the past three years, about 84 cents of each
dollar donated goes to research treatments. The daily cost to run the
hospital is $1.4 million.

“We have been through hard times before,” McKee says. “We invest in
programs that add donors to our files. When things turn around, we will
be in a stronger position.”

Despite McKee’s optimism, the hospital’s current plans include
cutting hiring and travel and placing a hold on building projects.

Mary Anna Quinn, senior vice president of human resources, says the
hospital is not under a hiring freeze, but hiring has slowed.

“We’re not growing quite as fast as we have in the past,” Quinn
says. “In spite of the economy, we still want to maintain the
high-quality employees we have.”

One cost-cutting move was to outsource work in the hospital’s
warehouse, a change Quinn says won’t affect patient care.

“[St. Jude] wanted to do the right thing for our donors, employees,
and patients when it came to the budget cuts,” Quinn says.