Students dive into TikTok dance to keep active

Jay Kass

Joulkania Robert peacefully unwinds after learning about chakras.

Students learned a new TikTok trend before cooling down through chakras at the Babylon Student Center on Feb. 14. 

“It was an event to show you how to be active and still keep it fun,” said participant Jasmine Hussain, 18, a political science major.

The “Love Yourself, Move Yourself” event was organized by Malika Batchie Lockhart, assistant director of campus activities and multicultural programs. 

“Whatever programs that I prompt here at the college always have the question of, “How can it service our student population better?” Batchie Lockhart said. “Love Yourself, Move Yourself” was just that, teaching students fun ways to stay active and practice self-growth. 

Now a fitness instructor, Elijah Coleman led a fitness dance class, having students start by stretching and learning a new Tik-Tok trend.

Despite the event’s five-person outcome, it steered students in the right direction.

When the class ended, Coleman instructed students to remove their shoes to learn how to practice chakras, the center of spiritual power in the human body. 

“While he was showing us our practice chakras, he suggested we try it and implant it in our daily routines like in the morning you wanna stretch out, have a positive energy and outlook,” Joulkania Robert, 19, a liberal arts major, said after the event. 

“Then we cooled down with learning about chakras and how to do things at home to cope with these stressful day-to-day activities,” Batchie Lockhart said. Through this event, Batchie Lockhart pushed to help students find coping mechanisms and fun ways to work around stress in everyday life. 

“It’s encouraging for students to hear his story, see his growth, learn of his growth, and witness his energy and artistic expression,” Batchie Lockhart said, referring to Coleman.

“People are hurting, and we have to normalize people saying ‘I’m not OK. Once you can acknowledge that you can seek help, and I want to be part of the solution of thinking about this, or these are cool coping skills,” Batchie Lockhart said.

“Loving yourself is a big part of the whole program in itself,” Joulkania Robert, 19, a liberal arts major, said after the event. “It’s all about positive energy and having everyone have a positive outlook on themselves, to improve.”