Guided meditations promote calm, compassion, and a sense of peace

As part of Penn State’s March 11 Wellness Day, students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in 30-minute guided meditation exercises via webinar on the Zoom videoconferencing platform.

Elaine Berrena, prevention educator for the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center (PRC), will lead the morning session at 9 a.m. on loving kindness.

“It’s an opportunity to way to offer yourself compassion and extend it to those near and far,” said Berrena.

Blake Colaianne, doctoral candidate in human development and family studies at Penn State, will lead the afternoon session at 4:30 p.m. “Participants will be guided through a ‘letting be’ practice, where we allow the breath, the mind, and the body to simply be — to rest in a state of calmness, openness, and ease,” Colaianne said.

To participate in one or both of these 30-minute sessions, access this link at the session start time. No previous experience with meditation is required.

“Our hope is that people leave the practice with not only a sense of calmness within themselves, but also a sense of connection with the Penn State community,” Colaianne said.

Studies show that meditation practices are a key means of building the skills underlying resilience and flourishing, according to Robert Roeser, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State and the PRC’s Bennett Pierce Professor of Caring and Compassion.

The PRC website offers audio files available anytime that guide listeners through meditation exercises covering topics such as gratitude and loving kindness, as part of the PRC’s Promoting Empathy and Compassion in Education initiative.