Mindfulness meditation is a staple in UI’s health and wellness programming. Jamie Derrick, an associate clinical professor in the department of psychology, has been leading the practice on campus for the past eight years.
Derrick developed an interest in meditation when she was an undergraduate student. Her interest expanded over a decade and she wanted to be able to teach others the practice. Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of the founders of secular meditation, assisted Derrick in her meditational training while she lived on the East Coast. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles for a year and received her certificate in mindfulness meditation.
“I was interested in being able to bring secular practices that were based on sort of the beneficial aspects of wisdom tradition to the workplace in a school environment,” Derrick said.
After her time at UCLA, Derrick returned to the Moscow campus. She was looking to apply what she had learned to faculty and students at UI. Derrick started using a classroom for her drop-in sessions but also started programs with living groups on campus. Since the start of her mindfulness meditation sessions, other organizations such as the Counseling and Testing Center have started offering meditational practices.
Mindfulness meditation is also offered during midterms and finals week for UI students and professors to help manage stress. The meditation exercises offered, are meant to have calming effects for students during the taxing weeks.
“If you do a meditation, it can calm your body and calm your mind and it can be really helpful for a test, midterms or writing a paper,” Derrick said. “It can be beneficial because it helps with calming and focus.”
The effect of meditation has long-term benefits for the practitioner.
“It leads to more positive thinking and helps people to be more thoughtful about their reactions and relationships,” Derrick said.
Clubs and organizations on campus have utilized Derrick’s meditation programs for their members. Secilia Lopez, a member of the Sigma Lambda Gamma chapter, and Zoe Wilson, president of the Women in Science Society, have both been able to host Derrick for their members.
Lopez asked Derrick to attend a multi-cultural recruitment event where she could provide mindfulness insight to help promote stress management for potential new members and active members.
“She did lead the practice, and a lot of us benefited from it because we were stressed and it really was a good, relaxing event,” Lopez said.
Lopez said that she still uses the mindful practices she’s learned. She takes a minute out of every day to utilized exhalations. This is known as the “Moscow Minute.” It allows Lopez time out of each day to slow down during her busy schedule.
Wilson invited Derrick to host a meditation program for the members of the WSS.
“We found that her (Derrick) coming to do these mindfulness workshops are really beneficial to our members,” Wilson said.
The meditation sessions are hosted every Wednesday and Friday at noon and last 20 minutes. Derrick is utilizing zoom currently for the drop-in sessions, while during a COVID-19 free semester, locations are in physical locations.
Follow the link for more information:
https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/derrick/mindfulness.htm
Sierra Pesnell can be reached at [email protected]