Meditation and Stress Reduction

A variety of ways to find calm, connection, concentration this Spring

If you’re looking for peace in your life and your mind—and who isn’t?—meditation and the cultivation of mindfulness are two time-tested ways, says Mirna Sawyer, faculty in CSUN’s Health Sciences Department/Public Health and also Director of CSUN’s Institute for Community Health and Wellbeing. Throughout the year, eight-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) meditation courses are facilitated by the Institute, as well as a series of mindfulness practices sessions via CSUN Sangha held on select Tuesdays. “Sangha” means “community” in Sanskrit.

The benefits of meditation are many, Dr. Sawyer says, and practitioners report feeling “more mind-body connection and more tranquility, and an awareness of the possibility of approaching life with more equanimity. People might try meditation once and think, ‘Oh, I didn’t feel calm, my thoughts were all over the place,’ but that’s why we call it a practice. A daily practice has been shown to have many benefits, including increased concentration.”

Mindfulness practice sessions via CSUN Sangha will be held Tuesday February 11, 18 and 25, and March 11 in the FacDev Commons in the Garden Level of the University Library, and are free.

The February MBSR class will be held at the Tarzana Treatment Center in Woodland Hills, and classes started February 14, with another series beginning April 26. The eight-week course is $250, and scholarships are available.  

For more information, email mirna.sawyer@csun.edu.