The Wake

Though some students may have felt refreshed and eager to hit the books again at the close of winter break, others, no doubt, suffered chills and neared anxiety attacks as January 17th lurked closer and closer.

Luckily, on that first day while students skipped (and trudged with heads held low) to classes, Stress Busters, free meditation sessions offered by the Center for Spirituality and Healing (CSH), reopened. The informal sessions, located on campus in the Mayo Memorial Building, are offered to all students, faculty and staff, regardless of skill level, to “refresh and recharge,” according to a flyer.

Catherine (Cass) McLaughlin, Outreach Coordinator for the CSH and a Stress Busters instructor, explains that sessions involve “learning and practicing meditation and light movement.” This might include anything from yoga, to stretching, to poetry or music, McLaughlin explains. Each session is different “according to who’s facilitating,” she says.

Erik Storlie, an instructor at the Center, started the program four years ago with Mary Jo Kreitzer, Center Director, and says the response has been “very good.”

Miki Dezaki, a senior physiology major, tried Stress Busters over a year ago after reading about meditation while studying abroad in Japan. “It’s amazing,” he says. Dezaki explains that he noticed a positive difference from meditation, not only in schoolwork and daily life but also in little things.

“I don’t bite my nails anymore,” or “shake my legs ever,” Dezaki explains. Prior to meditating he didn’t think these habits were signs of stress or anxiety, but now he thinks they may have been. “I’m just more relaxed,” now that he has learned to meditate, he says.

McLaughlin says students have really appreciated Stress Busters. She says they often come up to her after a session and say, “‘Oh, I really needed this. Thank you.’” She thinks Stress Busters is beneficial because it is a “time-out to relax and refocus.” “It’s important for people to carve time out of their day to reflect inwardly,” she says.

Dezaki agrees, saying Stress Busters can help “any student.” They are “all pretty stressed out about something,” whether it’s school, work or a relationship, he says. He explains that meditation not only relieves stress but also teaches a new way to deal with stress.

Dezaki explains that meditation puts you into a “zone.” It is similar to “the feeling of ‘being in the zone’ when you play a sport – everything is in slow motion,” and “kind of effortless,” he said.

McLaughlin describes it in a similar way, likening it to a “runner’s high.” She calls it a “pure focus, a concentration.”

After Stress Busters Dezaki went on to take more meditation classes and start the Mindfulness for Students Club. The club meets weekly for meditation led by various instructors. Dezaki says meetings are similar to Stress Busters, but are more community focused whereas Stress Busters is “very independent.” In the club “people know each other and support each other,” he says.

For those who can’t get enough of Stress Busters, the CSH offers for-credit meditation classes as well as an 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR). Some classes don’t begin until February, giving students a chance to test out meditation through Stress Busters first. One of these is an advanced meditation class, Meditation: Intergrating Mind and Body, taught by Storlie.

The semester has just begun and the next relief period (dubbed ‘Spring Break’) is months away. So while you busily stockpile energy drinks, remember Stress Busters is offered three times a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in the Meditation Room on the third floor of the Mayo Building, 420 Delaware St., on a walk-in basis. The Mindfulness for Students Club meets Fridays from 5:30 to 6:30 in the Meditation room, and all are welcome. To find out more about programs offered by the CSH, like the MBSR and for-credit meditation classes, check out www.csh.umn.edu.