MINDFULNESS MEDITATION SESSIONS OFFERED AT WARTBURG

ANNIKA WALL, TRUMPET MANAGING EDITOR

Dr. Cynthia Bane, Wartburg professor of psychology, has begun leading Koru Mindfulness, a four-session course on mindfulness meditation that is specifically geared for traditional college students, or emerging adults according to psychologists. The course explores numerous types of meditation and each session is 75 minutes long.

“There’s the understanding that not everything is going to be appealing to everyone,” Bane, who earned her certification as a mindfulness teacher from Koru, said. “There might be some people who like walking meditation. There might be people who prefer the sitting meditation. There are meditation poems, called gathas, that some people really like. It’s a chance for students to try those different types of meditation.”

The sessions are paired with the book “The Mindful Twenty-Something” by Dr. Holly B. Rogers, co-founder of the Center for Koru and a psychiatrist at Duke University in Durham. In between sessions, students are expected to meditate for 10 minutes per day.

Mindfulness and meditation is a form of mental training to increase resilience to crises, according to Cathy Wong, a nutritionist and wellness expert, according to Very Well Mind. Advancements in technology have allowed people to distract themselves from negative emotions and boredom, according to Bane.

“Mindfulness and meditation are ways to get accustomed to experiencing negative things, to allow those thoughts and experiences to be there,” Bane said. “That increases resilience, so when you face really tough things, you can face those things rather than immediately turning away from
them.”

While the two may be similar, meditation and mindfulness are not directly intertwined. Mindfulness, which is being aware of the experiences in the present moment, can be practiced at any time, not just during meditation. Alone time, such as driving, doing the dishes or brushing teeth, are daily opportunities to practice mindfulness, according to Wong.

“Meditation is a very good way to practice mindfulness,” Bane said. “It’s one way to be mindful, but certainly, as you’re walking down the sidewalk, you can be mindful. If you’re reading a book, you can be mindful. Meditation is the practice that helps you with that.” While two of the sessions have already passed, Bane plans on offering additional courses in Winter and May Term.

For more information, contact Bane at cynthia.bane@wartburg. edu.
ASA