Katelyn Moorman – Staff Writer
Meditation can be described as the process of transcending ordinary waking consciousness or replacing unwholesome states of mind.
Transcendental meditation, which puts someone in a state of “restful alertness” and rids the mind of unnecessary mental activity, is an effective way to lower stress levels, hypertension, blood pressure, and depression, according to a study by Daniel Gutierrez, Jesse Fox and Andrew Wood.
Meditation trainers believe, according to Gutierrez, Fox, and Wood, that these positive effects are the result of meditation’s ability to help people transcend through their thoughts and emotions.
The meditation practiced at the University Counseling Center (UCC) is an experience where students learn basic meditation skills, “such as placing their awareness and focus on the breath in the present moment,” said Dr. Toi Geil, UCC Director.
Walking meditation is also practiced, in which students learn “to place awareness and focus on the sensation of the soles of the feet in the present while walking.”
While the choice of what type of meditation to practice is up to the students, Geil said, “What is popular really depends on each student’s unique experience with the different practices.”
Meditation is effective in reducing perceived stress as well as benefiting one’s mental health and cognitive/emotional functioning, according to Li-Chuan Chu of Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan.
“Emotional intelligence, tolerance, sociability, empathy, and positive states of mind” are found to be enhanced with regular meditation. Conversely, “anger, anxiety, hostility, depression, and relapses into depression” are found to be decreased in those who practice regular meditation. An overall improved well-being, including improved emotional balance and self-awareness, can be achieved through mediation. People who meditate are likely to be more mindful about their environment—the present—rather than thinking about the past and the future, according to Chu.
Being able to focus on the present helps to alleviate worry and to be more productive.
Mindfulness practices at the UCC can have these same effects. Geil said the various types of mindfulness practices that include meditation “have benefits that involve calming the nervous system and helping stabilize the mind.”
Geil also said ample research is available to support the statement that the following are benefits of mindfulness practices: feeling less stressed, improving academic performance, and improving one’s general sense of wellbeing.
Geil said many people “will benefit from mindfulness practices such as meditation,” and that “if a person wants to learn mindfulness practices for managing stress and improving well-being, then I am happy to help them learn various mindfulness skills.”
People who suffer from headaches and migraines can benefit from meditation, too. According to Mandy Oaklander’s article published in Time, people who meditate saw a decrease in the severity of their headaches as well as “1.4 fewer migraines a month.” The length of the headache also changed, with meditation taking off an average of three hours per headache.
The UCC has incorporated mindfulness related approaches intended to help students improve their wellbeing since the fall of 2014, according to Geil.
The Big Sky Workshops have been offered through a collaboration between the UCC and the Wellness Center since the fall of 2015. These workshops and group offerings are based on “the Koru mindfulness program that was developed at Duke University,” said Geil. For additional information about this program, refer to Mindfulness for the Next Generation by Holly Rogers, MD, and Margaret Maytan, MD. Meditation and mindfulness has been a part of UCC’s practices for years, and Geil said, “I have been helping students in individual counseling learn mindfulness based stress reduction skills at the University of Wyoming since I was hired in the fall of 2012.”
Two meditation-related programs are available on campus:
- Drop-in meditation:
- Every Thursday in the Wellness Center Zen Den from 12:15 – 12:45 pm
- Every Friday in the UW Art Museum from 12:15 – 12:45 pm
- Big Sky Mindfulness Stress Reduction Workshops:
- Mondays 3:30 -4:50pm: September 30, October 7, 14 & 21
- Thursdays 3:30 – 4:50 pm: October 3, 10, 17 & 24
- Tuesdays 5:30 – 6:50 pm: October 15, 22 & 29 and November 5
- Fridays 9:00 – 10:20 am: November 1, 8, 15 & 22.
- The Big Sky Mindfulness Stress Reduction Workshop is a four-week workshop. Registration is required.
