Beginning this week, Island Yoga Center will offer Yoga for Young Adults, open to anyone between the ages of 13 and 18.

The class will include yoga poses that build strength and tone the body, gentle stretches, breathing techniques for stress and anxiety and some time spent on meditation and focusing. The teacher, who Island Yoga Center owner Kathryn Payne selected to teach the class, is a woman in her early 20s who began practicing yoga as a teen herself, Vivian Englehart.

Payne said the course sprang from a conversation she had with naturopathic physician Kelly Wright about teens and some of the stresses they face. Wright is sponsoring the class, allowing Payne to offer it at a discounted rate.

“We want to give young people the opportunity to have the same kind of wonderful experience with self-healing that adults have,” Payne said.

Noting that young people face a variety of stress-inducing demands, Payne said that yoga can be particularly helpful to physical and emotional health because of its calming effect on minds and bodies.

The human body contains two nervous systems, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. Young people often operate in the sympathetic system, which governs the “fight or flight” stress response, Payne noted.

Conversely, the parasympathetic nervous system calms the body and mind.

“Scientifically, we know something about yoga; it activates the parasympathetic nervous system,” Payne said.

When this state is activated, teens will “look you in the eye,” she added, and be in a warm, relaxed state.

Yoga has this effect in part because of its focus on breathing and partly because it centers people in their physical selves.

“Most people forget all about their bodies,” Payne said. “As soon as we come down in our bodies, we feel the ground; we feel connected to other beings. We start to relax.”

Yoga can also move people to a self-reflective place.

“Some kids are looking for a spiritual touchstone. Maybe yoga will be the place they can explore that side of themselves,” she said.

All those interested in the class can simply show up from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Payne said. There is no need to register, and the session will be ongoing after it begins today, with drop-in students welcome at any time.

The cost is $5, or $20 for a five-class pass. For more information, see the website islandyogacenter.com.