Noting a lack of mindfulness programs within campus two years ago, youth and community studies senior Omar Lopez spoke to the Longhorn Wellness Center’s mindfulness coordinator, James Butler, about founding one. In response, a large team of students and facilitators created a mindfulness summit to build community.
On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Longhorn Wellness Center, the Blanton Art Museum and the Native American and Indigenous Studies program will host the second annual Mindfulness Summit. The summit kicks off conference-style with a short welcoming of the various breakout sessions attendees may participate in, as well as a land acknowledgment blessing by Elder Alvarado from the Lipan Mescalero Apache tribe. Presented by various professional facilitators, the session options include activities such as self-guided mindfulness through the galleries and yoga. Students can sign up on the HealthyHorns website.
“A lot of times people think (mindfulness) is something that you do individually,” Butler said. “Really, it’s a collective thing. When you’re taking care of yourself, you’re also taking care of the community. So, (the summit) is thinking about it from not just an individual standpoint, but from a collective standpoint.”
This year’s theme is “We are Connected: Somos Unidos.” The theme references Blanton’s commitment to providing English and Spanish descriptions for all the pieces, and the newest addition to the summit, the program. Ashni Guneratne, one of the Mindful UT program’s student assistants, said the partnership between the three feels natural.
“(Mindfulness) is able to be integrated into so many different areas,” psychology junior Guneratne said. “With our collaboration with the Native American and Indigenous Studies, that relates to our overall theme — ‘We are Connected: Somos Unidos,’ because seeing that mindfulness is not an individual experience — it’s also about our greater connected experience.”
Besides the addition of the Indigenous Studies program, the organizers made sure that they provided more opportunities for students to experience mindfulness this year.
“I think we have a better balance between guided events and activities versus ‘Choose your own,’” Guneratne said. “People have more opportunities to decide what they want to incorporate.”
The mindfulness opportunities this year include yoga, guided meditation, a sound bath and several ways to artistically express oneself. The ‘Choose your own mindful adventure’ sessions are independent mindfulness opportunities around the Blanton, such as a nature walk.
“This is the message that (Butler) wants to bring across: (mindfulness) is fairly simple,” Lopez said. “Having something revolve around mindfulness, such as art, we could bring that into the museum along with other practices.”
Butler said he hopes the wide variety of options allows students to regularly practice mindfulness after the summit.
“I want students to think about how they can take what they’ve learned at the summit and be able to bring it into their everyday lives,” Butler said. “Even for just a couple of minutes a day — bringing the mindfulness summit into your daily life.”
