The Mindfulness Project

The college classroom can be a space, and place, for promoting peace through mindfulness practices and meditation.  Kabat-Zinn (2003) defines mindfulness as “paying attention in a particular way – on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” Research suggests that college students may benefit from mindfulness meditation through stress reduction, increased attention and focus, and improved health behaviors (Bamber & Mopeth, 2018; Bamber & Schneider, 2016; Bamber & Schneider, 2022). During the COVID-19 pandemic, our team introduced mindfulness meditation into our psychology courses. Students who participated in the optional “meditation breaks” we built into the courses favorably evaluated the opportunity to learn about and practice mindfulness meditation. Below are just a few sample student comments:  

“I liked that the mindfulness meditation gave me a reason to take a break, reset, and refocus my mind and awareness from all the stress that I am feeling as a student.” 

“The mindfulness meditation taught me how to meditate but also provided me with an outlet to calm my body and mind that I didn't know existed previously. I never would've tried it if it weren't for this class.” 

“I really enjoy meditation; it helps me focus more on my school work. I like how there's this program specifically to encourage students to meditate.” 

“I think the mindfulness meditation program is a great thing that college students should consider participating in.  At first I did not take it seriously, ….. but after it was over, it changed my view on life and looking at my thoughts and emotions, and it truly helped a lot.”  

Contact

Lynne Andreozzi Fontaine
Knight Campus
Room 3093
E-mail: [email protected]

Justine Egan-Kunicki
Flanagan Campus
Room 2259
E-mail: [email protected]

Renee Saris-Baglama
Knight Campus
Room 3094
E-mail: [email protected]

Amanda Vanner
Flanagan Campus
Room 2256
E-mail: [email protected]