By Sean Leviashvili
As midterms come to a close, and final papers and exams loom ahead, the one emotion felt by most college students is stress.
The Sacred Space, Northeastern’s spiritual center located in Ell Hall, is hosting NU Spiritual Wellness Week, an annual series of events to help students deal with stress. Between today and Nov. 5, the center will offer various workshops daily, all of which are free.
The week kicks off with a workshop that used to be held annually but has not been presented in the past four years, entitled “Manifesting Your Dreams ‘ Goals Through Vision Boards,” at 4:30 p.m. The interactive workshop allows students to map out their ambitions through art.
Tomorrow, participants will have an opportunity to “Walk the Labyrinth,” a traditional maze that requires focus and energy, known to have a calming effect. Described as a “peaceful experience,” the workshop offers different approaches to the meditative process. Guided workshops are offered at 6 pm.
Other activities include yoga and meditation sessions. Each activity provides a spiritual perspective on relaxation and mindfulness.
The events will vary since students have their own ways of relaxing.
Matt Sauvo, a senior criminal justice major, said his roommates go to the gym to “blow off steam” acquired from the stresses of everyday life. Others said putting faith in the Red Sox takes stress off their shoulders.
“The Red Sox games are a good diversion,” said Beth Meyer, a sophomore economics major.
Meyer said the added pressure of midterms creates a more stressful environment than usual and is happy it falls at the same time as the World Series.
The added pressure from midterm tests, papers and projects is the reason the Sacred Space chose this week for Spiritual Wellness Week, said Shelli Jankowski-Smith, director of the Spiritual Life Center.
“Traditionally, [our event] falls at this time,” Jankowski-Smith said. “It seems like people get stressed and really start to freak out [at this time of the year].”
The series of events offered at the Sacred Space give students a chance to test out methods of relaxation they may not have tried before.
“It’s about the mind, body and spirit connection,” Jankowski-Smith said. “[Our activities] are all about the integration of the three.”
Activities like free yoga sessions and an introduction to Reiki course have proven themselves successful in the past, and continue to attract newcomers, Jankowski-Smith said.
Considered one of the more anticipated workshops, Reiki is classified as a bio-field energy technique and will be explained and demonstrated Nov. 5 from 12 – 3 p.m.
Another anticipated series, the “Yoga Sampler Weekend Extravaganza” is Saturday and Sunday, and offers four different yoga workout options. Led by Matthew Daniels, a former Buddhist monk, students will have an opportunity to experiment with yoga at different levels and concentrations, including gentle yoga with breath-focused meditation.
“It’s definitely a good way to relax and it helps you concentrate,” said Vishal Sheth, a computer science graduate student.
Based on personal experience, Sheth said yoga can increase flexibility and can promote physical and mental health.
However, Sheth had not yet heard about next week’s events. Some students, like Sheth, said the events hosted next week were not actively promoted. Meyer said she noticed flyers posted throughout campus and online, but still thought advertising could be improved.
“Yoga’s always good, but they could always do a better job advertising,” she said.
Whether interested in gaining a mind, body, spirit connection through yoga or Reiki, or even acquiring a new perspective on energy-based healing practices, Northeastern’s Spiritual Wellness Week offers something for everyone, Jankowski-Smith said. Each event is run on a first-come, first-serve basis, and with the exception of the Reiki mini-sessions, requires no pre-registration.
“It’s a safe place to try something new,” Jankowski-Smith said.
