The stress brought on by lectures, exams, reports, and an unknown future can confuse a person’s mind.
Partha Kayatsadeh, a doctoral student in systems engineering, says, “I overthink and feel overwhelmed by my responsibilities, so I turn to social media and unhealthy habits like oversleeping and depression.” I’ll put it away,” he said. She says, “Meditation has helped me get rid of all stress and allows me to tune into my natural rhythm.”
Kayatsadeh, who has been passionate about the practice of meditation throughout her life, is participating in training at Cornell University to lead guided mediation sessions for other students through the Let’s Meditate program, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this semester. The program is open to the entire Cornell University community and serves as a counterpoint to the rigor of coursework and provides participants with time to breathe and think. This series is sponsored by Cornell Health in collaboration with numerous campus partners.
“Mindfulness takes us out of our own heads and gives us a bird’s-eye view of what we’re experiencing,” said Cornell Health’s Health Initiatives Coordinator, who coordinates the program. , Emily Danuweera said. “By expanding that awareness and combining it with non-judgment, you can start taking positive steps forward.”
Let’s Meditate offers 12 non-secular drop-in sessions per week (5 in-person, 5 online, and 2 hybrid) free of charge. In this session, a trained facilitator will lead you through meditation exercises designed to focus and quiet your mind. Sessions last 30 minutes.
Let’s Meditate officially launched in 2014 after successful pilots at Cornell Law School and Samuel Curtis Johnson School of Business. In his first three weeks, sessions attracted more than 100 participants. As the program expanded and became available to the entire campus community, the number of facilitators and offerings increased rapidly.
“Student life is full of daily academics and extracurricular activities, but Let’s Meditate makes it easy to find time for self-care in your day,” Danuweera said.
Let’s Meditate offers in-person and virtual sessions on weekdays most days during the school year. Recorded sessions are also available on demand, and we recently added weekly sessions hosted in Chinese and Spanish.
“My decision to lead a session in Spanish was born out of my own need to connect with the Spanish-speaking community during the pandemic,” said Senior Coordinator in the Office of Student Support and Advocacy Services. said one Mar Perez. -Individual session in English at Annabel Taylor Hall in 2020. “Providing this valuable resource to the Cornell community is important to foster a sense of connection, belonging, and well-being, especially since Cornell students and staff have been able to access online sessions from many remote locations.” I felt that it was.”
Four years later, the online sessions, offered in Spanish, continue to draw large numbers of participants, including Cornell University Cooperative Extension agents and students from Cornell Polytechnic Institute in New York City.
“Students go into a cycle of always doing something. [academic work] And they forget about their own personal well-being,” said Maranda Miller, assistant director of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Sciences. Ta. He is partnering with Cornell Health to develop future internal meditation resources. Bowers CIS student. “The hope is that by engaging in consistent meditation activities, they will incorporate some form of calming activity into their daily lives.”
“Personally, mindfulness has enhanced my schoolwork and helped me not feel overwhelmed or under high stress,” Miller said. “We found that if we didn’t incorporate some form of mindfulness into our daily lives, we were more likely to feel stressed and worry about challenges.”
Danuwira is currently working to build connections between Let’s Meditate and Nature Rx @ Cornell. This is a campus-wide initiative focused on finding ways that spending time in nature can positively impact the mental health and well-being of our community. She also wants to find ways to work with teachers to create tools and mindfulness techniques that can be integrated into the classroom.
“While Cornellians also have the option of accessing guided meditations through YouTube and health apps, many students, staff, and faculty choose to come together and participate in live sessions on campus,” Danuweera said. he said. “It’s very humanizing.”
Stephen D’Angelo is the Director of Communications for Student and Campus Life.
