Don McKenna, director at the Meditation and Mindfulness Center and meditation director at the Omaha Healing Arts Center, will offer two guided relaxation classes and teach mindfulness techniques to help manage anxiety, stress, and burnout for the typical college student.
This class is offered to UNMC students and staff. It will serve as a follow-up to an introduction to Meditation and Mindfulness in Medicine class that will be presented at a University of Nebraska at Omaha workshop on April 18. Attendance at this UNO workshop is not required to take part in these classes.
The first class will be on April 21 from 2 – 3:30 p.m. in the Sorrell Center, Room 2018. The second class will be on May 1 from 2 – 3:30 p.m. in Williams Science Hall, Room 1038.
Information available on the National Institute of Health’s website PubMed, suggests that meditation and mindfulness practices can help students make it through the rigors of study and testing. McKenna will include some discussion of the evidence-based information now available on the subject of meditation and mindfulness training (MMT) as well as share personal experience and answer questions. The class in meant to facilitate a relaxed and mindful experience and leave the students with a few tools to cope with stress in the future.
This is what one independent article published on PubMed had to say:
"After the six-week yoga and meditation program … self-assessment survey results showed a significant improvement in feelings of peace, focus, and endurance. Improvements in happiness, positivity, personal satisfaction, and self-confidence also were seen. An improvement in unsubstantiated parameters such as patience and fatigue was observed. Conclusion. Yoga and meditation may be effective in reducing stress levels and improving aspects of personal wellbeing in medical students."
These classes are offered free of charge. It is not possible to teach mindfulness meditation in just one or two classes, McKenna said, but evidence shows that as little as one class can significantly reduce stress and decrease anxiety.
McKenna is certified in meditation, mindfulness, and holistic and integrative health. He has lectured at the UNO workshop for four years. Since 1990, McKenna has studied in India, Malaysia, Canada and the U.S.