Amid the stress-inducing madness of finals, two Georgetown University seniors kick off their shoes and settle into wooden chairs. A soft gong fills the room. They close their eyes and clear their minds of everything but a four-syllable mantra.
The session, held in a tiny brick building nestled between dormitories, is part of a movement to provide college students more opportunities to relax and reflect through meditation. A study of D.C. college students published this month found the benefits can include lower blood pressure and reduced anxiety and depression.
At Georgetown, students and others can attend general meditation sessions twice a day at the John Main Center for Meditation and InterReligious Dialogue. On Wednesday afternoon, the two students sat quietly along with two university employees and tried to put aside what they needed to accomplish before Christmas break.
Then a buzzer went off. The gong sounded again. Everyone opened their eyes and stretched their arms.
"It has taught me the skill of stepping back," said Bradley Pollina, 21, a senior history major from Long Island, N.Y., who started meditating a year ago. "You teach yourself to slow down."
Georgetown isn't the only college to offer meditation: The University of Maryland at College Park offers sessions one night a week at its recreation center. At U-Md.'s campus in Baltimore County, the women's center has a meditation room stocked with tapes and guides. George Washington University's Mindfulness Meditation group meets weekly in the counseling center.
Many students reported that they enjoyed the experience and felt better, but the most substantial finding was that students who were at risk for developing hypertension often saw their blood pressure drop significantly, Haaga said.
Josh Goulding, 24, participated in the study during his junior year at Georgetown. After three months of meditating daily, Goulding said his high blood pressure dropped significantly and he was able to focus better in class.
"There's no question that it helped me," said Goulding, who continues to meditate. "It's almost like cleaning and dusting your mind on a daily basis.
source
________________________
Visit MEDITATIONSHIFT
