Mindfullness, meditation to relieve college stress

NDSU is offering a mindfulness workshop for the first time.The workshop, offered by the NDSU Counseling Center, 212 Ceres Hall, is an eight-week experience that will address the different facets of mindfulness.

Focus is on Meditationpractices, discussion and handouts that will help students, faculty and staff through the course.

Ronni Arensberg, who holds a doctor of pyschology degree, will be instructing the workshop. She describes mindfulness with a three-part definition.

According to her, awareness is the first part, of present experience is the second part and with acceptance is the third part.

The awareness aspect is significant because it has to do with involving oneself in the present moment and the third part, acceptance, is very important because with mindfulness, as one becomes more aware, one starts to notice automatic judgments that go on in the mind, Arensberg said.

“ The goal of the workshop will be to plant seeds from which participants can grow their own mindfulness practice and start to apply mindfulness in their daily lives,” Arensberg said.

Mindfulness and meditation help deal withStress and keeping your mind in the present moment.

“ Life doesn’t change, stressful things still occur, but you respond differently to those things,” Arensberg said.

Arensberg wants to give the participants a flavor of what it is like so they can come to understand mindfulness for themselves.

“ In bringing your mind back to the present moment you feel more invested, more alive in what you are doing,“ Arensberg said.

The meditation is geared for all different levels, from beginners to experienced. The mediation group is free of cost and is open to all students, faculty and staff.