With midterms in sight and coarse loads increasing, finding time to relax becomes more and more difficult. It seems nearly impossible to find the opportunity to relieve some stress without having to spend money or leave campus. Fortunately, SUNY Oneonta offers a biweekly meditation session that is conducted by one of the professors from the Communications department.
The Crystal Singing Bowl Sound Meditation sessions is a one hour “sound bath” where participant are encouraged to lie on blankets/mats and utilize those 60 minutes to seek a therapeutic sensation through the sounds of the various instruments being played. These sessions are offered on every other Wednesday from 6PM to 7PM in Morris Hall.
I personally have found this experience to be extremely soothing and beneficial to my mental wellbeing. The whole room is dimly lit and filled with tranquil sounds flowing from instruments such as tuned singing bowls, chimes, bells, drums, or gongs (my favorite being the drum that sounds like ocean waves). Kristen Blinne, the facilitator, guides and invites you to open up your consciousness to your entire body in order to help pinpoint the areas where stress has been building up. If you let yourself relax enough you can almost get the sensation of the droning instruments tingling throughout your body (sounds weird but feels like a mental massage!).
This hour of leaving your mind totally blank can end up feeling like an entire night’s sleep has passed and leaves you feeling fresh and rejuvenated. Some people do end up falling asleep but that is also welcomed! That just means that you were probably extra stressed out and just needed to rest. So whether you use that hour to organize your thoughts, relieve stress from your body, or just take a well-deserved nap, the hour of meditation is completely free and you will receive LEAD credit!
I highly suggest that anyone from the SUNY Oneonta campus join the group for the next meditation session (Wednesday March 15th) for an hour of pure relaxation; or if you’re unable to make that time, to find an hour that works best for you and just relax, meditate, and breathe, to help you get through the week!