malik Giles
managing editor
Mindfulness is a state of being in the present and opening up to one’s thoughts and emotions without judging them to be good or bad, a counselor said during the Mindful Monday Mornings workshop.
It comes from Hinduism and Buddhism and a lot of people today practice it regularly, SE counselor Divya Patel said.
“Mindfulness is an ancient practice and a way of life,” Patel said. “A lot of you have probably heard of meditation, you heard of yoga, mindfulness is actually the foundation of them.”
The term “to be mindful” is overused in ways of being aware of things like one’s actions or words,
“It is evident that mindfulness is for stress relief and now it’s booming, especially after Covid happened. It’s becoming more popular,” Patel said.
Patel said mindfulness will help people who have test anxiety gather their thoughts for a test and stay focus. It helps a person be happy and empathic towards the world.
“It is evident that mindfulness is for stress relief and now it’s booming, especially after Covid happened. It’s becoming more popular,” Patel said.
Meditating is like exercise for one’s brain, she said. This can give one special abilities like staying calm in intense situations, excellent memorization and proper organization.
One must clear their mind of thoughts and emotion and focus on their breathing. Patel does this for 10 minutes and she listens to different types of world music to smooth the setting.
NE student Payton Breeding said that because of the pandemic he had lost his job and was forced to move back in with his parents.
“I did start doing yoga when we had to stay in our homes,”Breeding said. “That helped a lot with stress and helped me keep a schedule going while not being at work.”
NE student Vanessa Mendez never tried meditating but she does take 10 minutes out of her day to relax when her plate is full in order to relieve stress.
“I honestly just read. I really like to read,” she said.
Patel will host three more workshops going over different ways to practice mindfulness every fourth Monday of the month. Her next workshop will be 11 a.m. Oct. 26.
