Beginning 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 7 in SSC 1225, guided meditation workshops will be held every week. Run by Margaret McKenzie and hosted by the Mental Health Awareness Team and Counseling Services, the workshops are 100 percent free and open to any interested.

McKenzie is a licensed social worker and has taught meditation in past COD courses. She has practiced meditation and Zen Buddhism for over 20 years and hopes to share valuable knowledge with stressed out college students.

The structure of the workshops will begin with easing students into the new practice. McKenzie has structured the workshop to begin with a simple 10 minute meditation post-instruction. After students meditate, then an open forum for discussion and questions begins. Another smaller meditation begins afterwards to give students another opportunity to arrive.

With each session, McKenzie will direct the group on a different focus such as a phrase or their bodies. Doing this for no pay, it proves McKenzie believes in the power of meditation.

“I began meditating because I had a lot of questions about why is life the way it is?” said McKenzie. “So that made me both a meditator and a person who studied psychology. It was a lifelong journey investigating the question about life. Meditating answered that question for me.”

Dennis Emano, mental health counselor, professor and avid meditator help bring the workshop to life and supports the strong positives meditation has to offer.

“I meditate regularly, which helps when I try to teach and explain meditation practice to students,” said Emano. “To be an effective meditation teacher, one must engage in regular meditation practice.  I practice meditation for all the wonderful benefits it has to offer, from stress reduction to finding a greater sense of peace within. As a meditator and mindfulness practitioner, I personally believe in the benefits of meditation and mindfulness.  If I did not experience any benefits from mindfulness meditation practice, I honestly would not be recommending it to others.”

From personally experiencing the benefits, Emano believes that meditation could be an answer for many students that they have yet to discover.

“Through regular practice, students can potentially learn to better relate to school and life stressors so as not to exacerbate their stress and levels of anxiety,” explained Emano.

“Students can learn to better concentrate on their studies and things important to them.  Students can potentially learn to be more present rather than be vexed by things of the past or the future.  Students can also learn to better accept the things they can’t control and, as a result, experience less suffering.  Students can learn to value being in the moment no matter what experience is, and by doing so know they can fully live in the present.”

Meditation as a way to relieve stress may not seem like it could work with everybody, but McKenzie and Emano truly believe that through the weekly guided meditations, anybody can be affected by the peace meditation may bring.

“I believe everyone has the potential to meditate, regardless of how distractible they may be,” said Emano. “There are some who say they can’t meditate because their mind is too busy and can’t seem to be still.  Meditation, as some gurus would say, is like an exercise of the mind.  Meditation works out the mind in the same way going to the gym workouts the body.”