Hannah Berns: Welcome to Longhorn Essentials: your guide to all things adulthood and UT. I’m Hannah Berns and today’s episode we discuss meditation and mindfulness.

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Berns: With all the hustle and bustle of college life, meditation can be a good way to relax and reflect. UT’s campus has many great meditation spots, from the UT Skyspace to MindBodyLabs, and whether it’s yoga, breathwork, stretching, or guided meditation, this practice of mindfulness can help students check in with themselves and their mental health and maintain a balanced and fulfilling lifestyle. James Butler, Mindfulness Campus Coordinator at the Longhorn Wellness Center, provides a simplified definition of mindfulness, which is…

James Butler: …noticing the present moment with compassion and non-judgement.

Berns: Focusing on being a witness to your thoughts and surroundings is a great way to enhance mindfulness and meditation. Professor Zoe Mantarakis, Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, says, 

Zoe Mantarakis: I used to imagine it; like my thoughts was a whole forest of trees and I imagined that if I was really good at meditating, I would chop the whole forest down. It would just be like this open, quiet field. And that’s just not the case. And the brain is made to have thoughts. It’s gonna have thoughts. But what we can do is take a step back and more be the observer of the thoughts rather than actively engaging in the thinking.

Berns: Recognizing and embracing your thoughts rather than demonizing them is crucial to achieving mindfulness and a more balanced mental state through meditation. It allows you to practice self-compassion while working through anxiety or other issues you may be facing. SKY Meditation and Wellness Club—a UT student organization that teaches students how to deal with stress in healthy ways through meditation and yoga sessions, discussions, and retreats—focuses on this mental awareness in meditation. Shreya Agrawal, Campus President of SKY Meditation and Wellness Club and sophomore Computer Science major—describes what this looks like in practice.

Shreya Agrawal: So the awareness that, you know, whenever we resist something, it persists. So maybe you’re really stressed about something and you tell yourself, wait, no, I can’t be stressed. I can’t be stressed. How could I be stressed? Why am I stressed? And it doesn’t really help, does it? But if you’re able to say, hey, I’m stressed, that’s all right, that’s more likely to get you out of that because you’re accepting your situation, then figuring out what to do from there.

Berns: While these thought exercises are very helpful and great meditation tools, meditation can be done in many different ways. Catherine Whited, Landmarks Education Coordinator at Landmarks UT, UT’s public art program that facilitates personal growth and human connection through interactive art installations on campus, describes how to incorporate meditation into your daily life.

Catherine Whited: It is so important just to take a couple minutes every day just to check in with yourself. How am I feeling? Why am I feeling that? How does my body feel? Can I improve that in any way? And meditation is just, just a really great way to facilitate that check-in with yourself during this particularly stressful time.

Berns: These attitude checks are a way of….

Mantarakis: …priming yourself for success to meditate where you could actually experience stillness and quietness and peace. 

Berns: As James says, mindfulness….

Butler: …can be practiced anytime, anywhere, anyhow. You know, whether you’re brushing your teeth, riding the bus, walking to class, meditating, there’s lots of different ways that you can do this.

Berns: Shreya suggests….

Agrawal: …incorporating like peace and quiet into your life. *Music* So for example, I know a lot of people like to like garden or go on walks or go on runs. That’s one thing you can do. Another thing is, you know, when you do something, if you’re just more concentrated, it, it almost becomes meditative. Like say you’re drawing and you’re like completely focused on that, it kind of helps you forget your worries for a little bit. And that itself is an aspect of meditation.

Berns: With meditation, consistency is key.

Butler: A lot of times you’ll see a push for mindfulness practices or meditation or wellness like during midterms or finals. And they can be really helpful during those times. But if you’re practicing consistently, they can be even more helpful during those stressful times.

Berns: In terms of the amount of time one should spend meditating…

Mantarakis: …15 minutes is more than enough. I was even going to say 10 minutes. If you did five minutes of stretching, and if you’re familiar with any stretches, just do those. Then sit down and do your five minutes of meditation. And that just means sitting up, closing your eyes and breathing deep for five whole minutes. And then if you had those extra five minutes like you said for 15 minutes, then you could journal when you’re done and talk about, you know, what came up for you. How do you feel now versus when you started?

Berns: Focusing on your breath while meditating is another strategy that helps you calm your mind and body. Laura Baker, sophomore Radio, Television and Film major, describes what a typical meditation sequence involving breathwork looks like for her. 

Laura Baker: I would say before bed, just closing my eyes and I have like white noise on *white noise sounds* and just like taking deep breaths in and out. And I like to hold for four inhales, or four seconds, and then exhale for six seconds as a start. And then I just, sometimes I just kind of let my breath flow naturally and just like listen to it and take notice, like if my heart is beating faster or like feeling the surfaces underneath me, trying to like ground myself first.

Berns: Shreya also talks about why breath is such a powerful tool for mindfulness and meditation.

Agrawal: If you’re able to channel your breath, like for example, if you have short and shallow breath and you slow it down, you make it a little more bouncy, you might start feeling happier.

Berns: When you incorporate breathwork in meditation, you consciously focus on an involuntary movement of your body, putting you more in tune with your body and positively shifting your emotions and mindset. Shreya explains how students can utilize SKY Breath Meditation, a specific breathwork meditation taught by the club, to better their wellbeing.

Agrawal: It’s a mix of learning like ancient pranayama. So pranayama is basically, prana means life force energy, and yama means the practice of, you know, channeling it through your body. So pranayama is how you channel the breath through your body to, you know, augment your life force energy. So that’s a part of the SKY Breath Meditation and then, at the end, there’s a technique known as SKY, which is called Sudarshan Kriya, and Sudarshan Kriya is about, so I believe Su is your self, darshan means vision in Sanskrit, and Kriya is the practice of it. So basically, through the practice you’re getting a vision of yourself, so it’s like the deep meaning behind it. So it’s a combination of that, and it’s like a 25-minute practice.

Berns: To sum up, in terms of meditation, including yoga, breathwork, intentional thinking, and other practices…

Mantarakis: …It’s a rare moment when we intentionally do nothing. And yoga time feels like a time where we say no to thoughts and no to other distractions. And we just say, right now I’m just gonna sit still and essentially do nothing. And we need that balance. We’re not built to only DO all the time.

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Berns: In terms of campus mindfulness and meditation resources, the Longhorn Wellness Center partnered with Landmarks UT to create a wellness tour, which leads students through meditative moments at specific artworks throughout campus and can be accessed via the Landmarks app or QR codes on the artworks’ signs.

Whited: At about 10 of the works across campus, you can encounter a mindful moment. You’ll be led through a grounding mindfulness exercise. Some of them are meditations, some of them are just, you know, using your senses to ground you in the space you are. We focus on looking at the artwork, but we also focus on engaging your other senses to bring your attention to the present and be more mindful. If you need that guidance, we have that.

Berns: These moments of engagement are not just limited to those 10 works, but extend to all artwork on campus, which are easy to find and access. 

Whited: You can take that opportunity to say, I’m going to take five minutes. I’m going to look at this sculpture. I’m going to engage with it with all of my senses. I’m going to walk around it. I’m going to look at the environment. I’m really going to be present in this moment and have a meditative moment. So it’s, that is one of the wonderful things about having public art, is that you can take a moment right outside your classroom to have a little meditation, bring yourself back to the present, not focus on what assignment you have to do next, and then continue on with your day.

Berns: The Longhorn Wellness Center’s meditation and mindfulness resources also include Mindful Moments, a collection of 1, 5, and 10+-minute mindfulness exercises, Thrive at UT, a free app with a variety of mindfulness-related practices and reminders, and the UT Longhorn Wellness Center Spotify playlist. 

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Berns: Finding the right spot to meditate can be just as important as the meditation itself. One great location on campus is the UT Skyspace, The Color Inside. This skyspace is an art installation on the third floor rooftop of the William C. Powers, Jr. Student Activity Center created by James Turrell, whose art focuses on light and our perceptions and interpretations of it. The installation is a large cylinder-shaped room with an open-air oculus to view the sky through. The Skyspace features sunset viewing and light sequences that are available for free by reservation. These sequences allow for quiet reflection and meditation.

Whited: So you sit there, the room changes colors around you very slowly. It goes from deep reds and greens and pinks and blues and purples. At the same time, the sky is changing colors, which again, you can see through the oculus as the sun sets. And so it produces a really, I mean, it really augments that meditative experience that the room already lends itself to. You really focus on the colors and how they make you feel.

Berns: When I visited the Skyspace for the sunset sequence, I felt its meditative qualities immediately. I kept having to check the color of the sky through the oculus against the sky outside to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me, it was so beautiful. As I laid on the floor of the installation with a blanket looking up at the sky, I felt very calm and at peace. Looking at the sky can help you put your worries and concerns into perspective, as it does for me, allowing you to deal with them more easily. The Skyspace is a great space in which to do this.

Whited: It certainly allows you the opportunity to reflect on, you know, just how small everything is, how much, how small, you know, whatever project or test you’re working on in that moment is, to focus on, I mean, you know, the biggest canvas that we have, which is the sky.

Berns: For about a month, once in the fall and once in the spring, the Skyspace hosts Sound Bath Practitioner Sonic Starchild, who performs sound baths in the installation that enhance the experience of the Skyspace. During sound baths, people are immersed in vibrations and other musical sounds while meditating that help them relax. The sound baths in the Skyspace take…

Whited: …all of those meditative qualities, it takes all of the colors in the sky, and it really just, I mean, your focus is entirely meditation. You’re surrounded by these colors. You’re focusing on how you’re feeling in the moment and how the colors make you feel, and how her voice makes you feel.

Berns: Once a month, the Skyspace also hosts UT student musicians and professional musicians from the Austin music community for the hour-long light sequence. These performances also add to the Skyspace meditation experience, interacting with the light to evoke certain emotions and reflection.

Whited: It’s interesting how different genres of music affect your experience of the light sequence. Even if you’ve seen it once, seeing it with music is very different.

Berns: The UT Skyspace does not have a door and is open to all students during building hours, not just the sunset sequences. Students can feel free to sit, study or do homework, hang out, or meditate in the Skyspace or on the benches surrounding it when they need an escape from the rest of campus, or just for fun.

Whited: It is a truly meditative space. Even though it’s open, even though there are no doors, even though it’s in the middle of one of the busiest parts of campus, it really does block out a lot of sound. And so it’s kind of like a little secret clubhouse when you get in there.

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Berns: The UT campus has many other spots that can be used for meditation and moments of mindfulness, including the Rec Sports massage chairs, 3rd floor PCL Reflection Space, Student Services Building, tower lawn, turtle pond, and MindBodyLabs, which are spaces designated for mindfulness that provide meditation resources. For Shreya…

Agrawal: …One of them would definitely be the WCP. On the third floor, they have some really nice balcony rooms and in those balcony rooms, they have like a floor-to-ceiling window and then they have like a sun deck right outside. I think you can see sunsets from there. You can sit outside. It’s really nice. I think one of the big things for meditation is honestly having some fresh air. 

Berns: James agrees. He suggests utilizing the transitions from your house or apartment to class as mindful moments. While walking…

Butler: …You know, maybe just like notice your senses as you go. Notice the trees. Notice the wind on your skin.

Berns: Through its Nature Rx program, a program that encourages connection with the outdoors to support mental and physical wellbeing, the Longhorn Wellness Center developed a map for students that includes some of the best outdoor spaces on campus that can be utilized for mindfulness and meditation. 

Berns: As Shreya says… 

Agrawal: I feel like nature really forces you to be in the present moment. And, you know, when you see like a bird flying by, your attention goes to things that are like right in front of you. They’re happening right now. And that just kind of helps you feel rested and get out of the chaos of every day.

Berns: Meditating outside can be as simple as sitting down with headphones. One trick that Mantarakis provides is to…

Mantarakis: …put some earpods in and sunglasses, and you can sit on a bench. You could even open your laptop. You could meditate in public without looking too weird. It’s like you’re going undercover and meditating, right?

Berns: Overall, James believes a good meditation spot is…

Butler: …a place that’s comfortable. A place where people feel welcome, where they feel like they can let their guard down a little bit.

Berns: Yet, at the end of the day, it does not really matter where you meditate.

Mantarakis: The reality may be you may never find that spot. You might always hear distractions, sounds, people, dogs, cars, whatever. So the idea is just meditate, period. Just sit down where you are and do it. If your roommate’s walking around cleaning their room, that’s their business. You can still meditate. You know, if there’s construction jackhammers, you can still meditate.

Berns: It also does not really matter how you meditate, as long as you are focusing on what works best for you.

Butler:  A lot of times people think of mindfulness or meditation as you have to be still, you have to have your eyes closed. You have to be perfectly quiet. You have to, you know, be in a dark room or be wearing Lululemon or something like that, it’s really just a matter of, what, what serves you best? If you need to move, let your body move. Maybe it’s walking. Maybe that’s how you can be more present. There’s no one right way to practice, it’s just kind of finding the right way for you. 

Berns: No matter how or where you meditate, the personal benefits are abundant.

Baker: You can learn about your own body and mind so much and you can make your reality what you want it to be. I think you can also learn that through meditation, you can manifest kind of what emotions you want to happen. But yeah, just at least try it out. And if it’s not for you, that’s fine, but give it more than three times, because at first it’s going to be hard and you’re just going to wanna turn it off, but it takes patience and once you have more patience, it’ll show up in other areas of your life and you’ll just be a like better person all around.

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Berns: More information about the UT Skyspace and other UT mindfulness and meditation resources and locations can be found on the websites linked in the episode caption.

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Berns: This was audio reporter Hannah Berns. Longhorn Essentials is a production of the Daily Texan’s Audio Department. More episodes can be found on your streaming platform of choice. Follow us on Twitter at texan audio (@texanaudio) and check us out at the daily texan dot com (dailytexan.com). Thank you for listening. Music by Blue Dot Sessions and editing by Mercy Solis.

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