Approximately 275 million people around the world meditate. Across the United States, the number of adults who meditate or practice yoga tripled between 2012 and 2017**. Studies have even shown that meditation reduces stress and anxiety, improves sleep, concentration, and memory, generally enhances performance and productivity, and can even be used as an intervention to treat chronic pain.*
It is, then, of no surprise that more and more spaces are incorporating some form of meditation into their common spaces and cultural practices. In 2021 PAFA repurposed a room on the 3rd Floor of the Hamilton Building to offer a yoga and meditation space for students. We even offer a KORU Mindfulness training and certification course. Some primary schools across the nation are also experimenting with meditation, teaching mindfulness and mediation in schools and choosing to replace punitive practices like after-school detention with yoga. And as we celebrate Bodhi Day, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah this season, we remember that each of these religious holidays incorporate some form of reflective meditation into their activities for the season.
As you make your preparations for the holidays and the end of 2022, we hope that you will find peace, calm, and stillness to carry you into 2023.
Rest. Relax. Release.
-- Dr. Ronke Oke
The Office of Institutional Safety & Equity
*[Source: TheGoodBody.com and HealthLine.com]
