The mission of this page is to provide an ever-growing resource of wellness habits for students, created by students. Awareness of mental and physical health is critical throughout the journey of a SRNA. I created this tab to promote wellness and create methods to reduce stress by giving students the tools to flourish academically, physically, and emotionally.
You don’t need to be in a yoga studio or use fancy equipment to practice meditation and mindfulness. Both can be achieved anytime, anywhere! Below are some helpful links to free guided meditation videos to assist in your relaxation journey.
The roots of mindfulness date back to the fifth century B.C. in northeast India. Buddha offered his teaching as a body of principles and practices that give strength to those in search of happiness and spiritual freedom.1 Buddha's lesson focused on a system of training that leads to perceptual understanding and overcoming suffering.1 The foundation of Buddhist meditation is the discipline of mindfulness; the fourth of the Four Noble Truths focusing on the origin of suffering and the path leading to ending pain.1
Mindfulness meditation is a mental training practice that helps bring one’s thoughts into the present, focusing on the sensations experienced at that moment instead of ruminating on past events or focusing on the future.2
Mindfulness is a learned behavior, and it takes practice and repetition to perfect. Some characteristics of mindfulness include:
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”
-Buddha
Mindfulness-based meditation trains the mind to continually return to a focused point of concentration, thoughts, and emotions in a natural state of stillness, ease, and sensory clarity.3 Practicing mindfulness can be beneficial to SRNAs because it promotes flexibility, acceptance, and present-awareness,4 improving effectiveness in the OR, classroom, and their personal lives.
References
