Asia Adams, Staff Writer
Take projects, presentations, term papers and exams, throw in a job, and then add family and social life to the equation, and you have a recipe for lots of stress. I know – I was there over a year and half ago! With an increasing number of demands on college students, it’s no wonder many of them are seeking ways to reduce the harmful effects of stress on both mind and body.
Putting aside a little bit of quiet time each week to recharge and focus on something other than schoolwork is important, and this is where meditation comes in. It’s free, can be done virtually anywhere, anytime, and is highly effective. What more could a college student want from a practice?
While doing some research, I was pleased to find that many universities across the country are designing meditation spaces and cultivating a mindful culture within their campus communities. Carnegie-Mellon, has a designated “Mindfulness Room”, open 24 hours a day, where walls are filled with inspirational messages from fellow students. Closer to home, the University of Miami offers weekly meditation classes at their wellness center. UCLA has even gone so far as to dedicate an entire research facility to mindfulness.
There are a variety of easy and inexpensive resources for college students who would like to learn more about mindfulness:
✥ The Little Book of Mindfulness, Dr. Patrizia Collard
✥ Mindfulness for Beginners, Jon Kabat-Zinn Ph.D.
✥ kuromindfulness.org
Online meditation and mindfulness resources for college aged adults. Many online meditations are available.
✥ Beginner’s meditation is also available at Sacred Treehouse, Mondays from 10 – 11 a.m.
Mindfulness is a simple and powerful tool which can help promote overall wellbeing for stressed out college students.