Advocates of flexibility, serenity and deep breathing are inviting students to partake in a “yoga flash mob” on campus today.

Coinciding with UCSB’s current Wellness and Mental Health Awareness Week, the 1st Annual Yoga Mob will meet on the lawn between the Chemistry and Physical Sciences South buildings a few minutes prior to noon. The Associated Students Commission on Student Well-Being and Mental Health interns are hosting the event.

Upon meeting on the grass, the participants will be encouraged to join in a “hugfest,” at exactly noon. The plan? Everyone will hug each time Storke Tower rings its twelve counts.

After the hugging ends, local yoga instructor Alex Marin will lead the workout. The yoga moves will be at a beginner level so that those without experience can partake in the meditative exercise.

Fourth-year psychology major Marianne Clark, a member of the A.S. Commission on Student Well-Being, said the yoga flash mob is designed to introduce the exercise to those who have never tried it before. The group is aiming to encourage better methods to deal with stress, she added.

“[This is] geared toward people who have never done yoga so that they can use it in the future if ever stressed out,” Clark said.

Clark noted that a goal is also to set a record for the most people doing yoga at UCSB at one time.

Gladys Manrique, a UCSB Mental Health intern, said she hopes the yoga mob will start a tradition.

“[There are] a lot of fads that are not the most healthy,” Manrique, a fourth-year psychology major, said. “[I am] hoping [this starts] a healthy revolution in a campus open to talking about mental health.”

Santosh Gupta, a UCSB alumna, said he has had some experience with yoga, but has never participated in a yoga flash mob. However, he said it sounds like a good idea.

“As long as everyone is having fun, fun is a good enough benefit [of yoga],” Gupta said.

The yoga flash mob, including the hugfest and exercises, is expected to last from noon to 12:30 p.m.