2008 Woodie Awards
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Mindful meditation stifles spring stress
By: Kristen Mooney
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Campus
As projects pile up and the semester moves into its final weeks, many students begin to get overwhelmed. Sleep becomes precious, illnesses multiply, and the stress leaves students feeling mentally cluttered.
But in the midst of the spring chaos, a few people on campus have mastered a way to melt the stress that doesn't involve coffee, smoking or clutching a sand-filled balloon.
Instead, students like Chris Rohrs and Brie Chapman have turned to meditation.
"Meditation lets you take a good, hard look at things," Rohrs said. "It's fantastic for de-stressing. It lets you put your mind in a more ordered fashion than the jumble it usually is."
Chapman agreed, adding that meditation helps her detach from all the activities she does throughout the semester.
"Most of the time, I feel scatterbrained with everything I have to do," she said. "[Meditation] helps me focus on one thing."
But Rohrs and Chapman aren't the only ones reaping the rewards of Middle Eastern mindfulness practice. A recent trend in both yoga and meditation has cycled through Hollywood and top-name fitness centers, and is now reaching down to people everywhere - including at the University.
In fact, student interest at the University was so high that the philosophy department decided to introduce a meditation class in 1998, said professor Marvin Belzer, who has taught the course since its inception.
The class is held almost every fall, he said, and an average of 35 to 50 students register each year.
"People appreciate being in silence," Belzer said. "It can be a very simple thing, but I admire them because they're willing to work."
As part of the class, students participate in meditation retreats that last up to an entire weekend and involve almost constant silence as students alternate between sitting and walking meditations.
During this time, students are taught to focus on their breath, calm down and fully recognize the sensations of their body.
But in the midst of the spring chaos, a few people on campus have mastered a way to melt the stress that doesn't involve coffee, smoking or clutching a sand-filled balloon.
Instead, students like Chris Rohrs and Brie Chapman have turned to meditation.
"Meditation lets you take a good, hard look at things," Rohrs said. "It's fantastic for de-stressing. It lets you put your mind in a more ordered fashion than the jumble it usually is."
Chapman agreed, adding that meditation helps her detach from all the activities she does throughout the semester.
"Most of the time, I feel scatterbrained with everything I have to do," she said. "[Meditation] helps me focus on one thing."
But Rohrs and Chapman aren't the only ones reaping the rewards of Middle Eastern mindfulness practice. A recent trend in both yoga and meditation has cycled through Hollywood and top-name fitness centers, and is now reaching down to people everywhere - including at the University.
In fact, student interest at the University was so high that the philosophy department decided to introduce a meditation class in 1998, said professor Marvin Belzer, who has taught the course since its inception.
The class is held almost every fall, he said, and an average of 35 to 50 students register each year.
"People appreciate being in silence," Belzer said. "It can be a very simple thing, but I admire them because they're willing to work."
As part of the class, students participate in meditation retreats that last up to an entire weekend and involve almost constant silence as students alternate between sitting and walking meditations.
During this time, students are taught to focus on their breath, calm down and fully recognize the sensations of their body.
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