Feeling stressed? Me too.
You’re not alone in feeling overwhelmed, nervous and fatigued this semester. The COVID world has bestowed us with a condensed schedule, limited resources, combined with minimal community engagement due to social distancing measures. So what can we do to give ourselves a healthy outlet to manage these unprecedented stressors? At REACH, one of our domains of college health is physical activity. With the warmer weather approaching this spring, it's the perfect time to learn some new mindfulness and meditative exercises.
Meditation is a fairly common practice in many regions of the world. It is the process of calming the mind, and this calmness can ease reflections on previous experiences and contemplation of uncertain decisions.
Mindfulness and meditation go hand in hand, when you meditate you are actively participating in mindfulness through your attention and breathing. When practicing mindfulness, the breathing rate, the area of the body in which you are targeting your breathing, as well as the depth of your breath, are all contributory to the meditative state.
Below are some basic steps to begin meditation:
Get comfortable, preferably in a quiet and private space, and prepare to stay in the same position for around 2-3 minutes to start*. The key is to focus on the natural state of your breathing.
Focus on your breath. Take note of where you feel your breath moving, and to what degree. Also try to keep the pace of your breathing consistent, where it is comfortable but still present.
Set a timer and follow your breath for two minutes. Take a deep inhale, expanding your belly, and then exhale slowly, elongating the out-breath as your belly contracts.
Your thoughts will begin to wander, but each time that they do try to refocus on your breathing, putting all of your focus onto your breath
* if performing a walking meditation, then you will not be stationary.
These steps are purely the foundation of your meditation practice, meaning that these steps are the basic building blocks of meditation, and will suffice on their own as they are important. But additionally, other steps, techniques and styles of meditation can be applied to this foundation.
Some tips and additional ideas for beginners would be to try closing your eyes as you meditate, or choosing to play meditative music (you can also search for meditation music via streaming services)
There are multiple ways to meditate, these include sitting, walking, and reclining to name a few:
Sitting Meditation: For this style of meditation, one can sit in a chair, or on the floor (with a yoga mat, pillow, or cushion), whatever is comfortable for you. Then, you should engage your body by maintaining good spinal posture, creating a clear avenue for your breath. Begin breathing, and try to channel your breath into different parts of your body such as your feet or your hands. This technique is known as a body scan when performed from the feet to the head.
Walking Meditation: For this style of meditation, try walking across a room while meditating. This style may be slightly more difficult for beginners, but nonetheless, it is a great meditative technique. To perform this style, try to coordinate your steps with your breath, your steps should be much smaller and slower than normally walking. When walking, try to strike the floor with your heel when inhaling and then roll the rest of the foot forward to your toes when exhaling. Then take your next step with the opposite heel to inhale again.
Reclining Meditation: This meditation is very similar to sitting meditation, except for the position and orientation of the body. In this style, a body scan can also be employed to actively target the breath. Personally, some techniques I find effective while reclining are keeping the eyes open with a soft gaze to avoid feeling tired and using affirmations to maintain focus on breathing. An affirmation is a technique used to center the user on the breath as well as keeping a positive outlook during the session. Examples of an affirmation would be saying “I am at peace within myself”, which can be shortened to “peace”. Exclaim the affirmation on each exhale, when you begin to lose focus of your breathing, or whenever you need to recenter yourself while meditating.
Ultimately, the goal of mindfulness meditation is to take the mindfulness tactics used in the meditative state, and translate them into our everyday lives. Practicing mindfulness can grant greater awareness of the fast-paced, complex world around us and a more self benevolent method of stress management. Together, the practices of mindfulness and meditation can exude great benefits, ranging from goal accomplishments, to health benefits such as a stronger immune system. Mindfulness meditation is an excellent form of self-care, and is easily achievable inside the home or outdoors, while practicing social distancing. Remember, mindfulness and meditation are excellent ways to de-stress ourselves, and can function as a mental health booster for when the semester gets chaotic. Below are several ways that you can become involved in the mindfulness and meditation communities on the Binghamton University campus.
On-Campus Resources:
Binghamton University Meditation Labyrinth: located outside of Old Digman on campus, very useful for a walking meditation https://www.binghamton.edu/bhealthy/labyrinth.html
BU Meditation Club: Campus-based organization that creates a community of students around mindfulness, meditation, reflection, and communication https://bengaged.binghamton.edu/meditationclub/home/
MHOPE: HPPS internship program that promotes mindfulness and meditation strategies https://www.binghamton.edu/hpps/mental-health/mhope.html
Campus Recreation: Campus Rec offers classes and programs centered on meditation and wellness practices https://www.binghamton.edu/campus-recreation/fitness-wellness/activities.html
Harpur Edge: Offers classes and programs focusing on mindfulness attention, and “taking the edge off”, offering stress reduction for students https://www.binghamton.edu/harpur/edge/personal/take-edge-off.html
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About the Author: Joe Christian
Joe is a Junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology. He joined REACH to learn more about Health and Wellness topics, and for the opportunity to spread this knowledge to the student body as a peer educator. As a student, Joe is passionate about helping people and REACH allows him to help so many students through our outreach programs and product services. In his free time, Joe likes to play basketball and cook healthy meals.