3 minute read
Being Mindful
BEING MINDFUL ASU CENTER TRIES TO LESSEN PANDEMIC ANXIETY
ANNIKA TOMLIN • COLLEGE TIMES
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of people feeling anxious and in need of guidance.
ASU’s Center for Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience is helping the public combat hardships by offering midday mindfulness sessions focusing on the three-prong approach. It offers daily YouTube livestream sessions, social media posts on Instagram and Facebook, and written content and articles.
Mindfulness helps combat anxiety about the future and remember to live in the present, according to Nika Gueci, the center’s executive director.
“We defi ne compassion as simply kindness toward our self and toward each other, which, of course, is something the entire world needs now,” Gueci adds. “Resilience is a way to bounce back not only from very large adversities or trauma but as a way to bounce back from everyday stressors.
“Everyday stressors can lead up to signifi cant wear and tear on our entire system. While practicing the skills of kindness and mindful awareness, we can start to build that resilience bundle.”
The center’s initiative, “Caring and Connection in the Time of COVID-19,” was created on March 16 when it realized it couldn’t host its annual conference.
“It wasn’t just a matter of ‘are we going to have this conference?’ It was the matter of (giving) some kind of certainty, some kind of comfort during this time of uncertainty,” Gueci says.
The initiative includes the daily YouTube Midday Mindfulness series, which tackles topics like joy, happiness and comfort food, based on public feedback.
“On Fridays we have a community forum where people write in their questions and we answer them as a center team,” Gueci says. “The questions are really engaged, and the comments are great. We also have written articles on our website and social media postings that our student intern takes care of.”
Topics for the week can be found on the center’s website or its Instagram and Facebook accounts. The virtual sessions are hosted from noon to 1 p.m. Monday to Friday and are free to the public—nonstudents and faculty.
“We’ve had people from as far away as India come and join these sessions,” Gueci says. “They’re not only for students, although a lot of students do join us.
“Our scope of work is students, faculty and staff, and community members, and we are still dedicated to serving all of those populations. I think the way that we do it has to shift a little, but at least for now that is still our mission and still our vision.”
One of the topics that received the most views was transcending loneliness.
“There’s physical distancing, but that doesn’t mean there has to be social distancing; but we have to fall into social recession,” Gueci says. “What are some ways to combat loneliness even if we are physically alone?”
The Center for Mindfulness, Compassion and Resilience has
its own defi nitions of each of the pillars that it hopes to instill in the community.
“The way we defi ne mindfulness is simply being present in the moment,” Gueci says. “It’s focused awareness, and the reason for this focused awareness is so we can experience life more fully—and that means whatever life has to bring to us at that time.”
Gueci says people should practice mindfulness when there’s distress or discomfort.
“When we talk about mindfulness, we often talk about it not only for being happy and joyful but also as a way to tolerate and deal with discomfort and uncertainty, because the only moment that we have control over is right now,” Gueci says. CT
Info: mindfulnesscenter.asu.edu
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