Goleta’s newest yoga studio, Better Days Yoga, will host an open house event featuring free 30-minute mini classes this Saturday and Sunday starting at 8 a.m.

The sample-length courses will be taught by local practitioners include Vinyasa Yoga 2/3, Kundalini, Tantric Flow, Candlelight Flow and Yin Yoga. Along with daily workshops and classes, the studio also offers a shop with gifts and accessories.

According to studio owner and instructor Natalie Sampila, the focus of her establishment is to spread the word about the peaceful benefits of yoga.

“The key word is ‘grounding.’ I want to create this safe haven for students, from whatever insanity might be going on in their lives,” Sampila said.

Sampila said the studio was opened after many years of monitoring Goleta’s property availabilities for the right space. She added that her work in yoga helped her find a sense of community.

Fourth-year global studies major and instructor Justine Malick, who teaches Yoga Core and Candlelight Flow at Better Days, said yoga is not just a physical exercise for fitness, but a conjoined exercise of the mind and body.

“How we breathe and move is so connected to how we live,” Malick said. “Especially with the stress of school, you need to move your body. Yoga can give you so much mentally. It can be playful, but it can also be very personal.”

According to Malick, students should be patient with results and take into account that yoga is a lifelong practice requiring time and new inspiration.

Emily Lofthouse, fitness coordinator for the UCSB Commission on Student Well Being, said this type of calming exercise is great for helping assuage the chaos of academia.

“I think that [yoga] is exercise, which is great,” Lofthouse said. “Exercise helps you sleep better and de-stresses you. People have different stresses but [exercise] can still help clear your mind. Yoga especially has a lot of deep breathing, which makes it specific for de-stressing, which is why I think it is so great for students to do.”

In the coming months, Sampila hopes to expand class offerings and services. She said she is already considering the possibility of aerial hammocks and informal counseling to extend yoga’s physical and psychological benefits.

Details on open house activities, class fees and schedules can be found at http://www.betterdaysyoga.com.