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A remedy for the rush of the semester was recently added to the campus schedule. Meditation and Mindfulness, taught by psychology professor Dr. Thomas Peterson and sociology professor Amy Deibert, is offered Wednesdays at 1 p.m. in Rasmussen 220.

Meditation and Mindfulness focuses on helping students enhance their focus and stress management skills through a structure of discipline and form of attention.

Each class consists of a reading with 20 minutes of personal breathing and quiet time. Students are encouraged to spend their quiet time focusing their attention on an intention, phrase or counted number. After the breathing exercises, the meditators are awakened by a gong, which produces a healing reverberation.

“We all need it,” Deibert said. “It can be looked at as breathing, counting, chanting or praying. The person can decide what they want to do to get away from all this stuff that is happening in our brain.”

Evan Stober, mass communication senior, said he was interested in Meditation and Mindfulness because it was different and holistic.

“My first time was an awesome experience,” Stober said. “Every week it proves to be a crucial part of maintaining the balance of work, school and life.”

Peterson is an advocate for various people trying meditation; to him it is something everyone can gain from.

“It’s like having a haven sanctuary at least for once a week, where for twenty minutes … boom, peace and quiet,” Peterson said.

Peterson said he feels this class is a tool which allows people to take a break from their busy lives and relax. Meditation and Mindfulness is designed to focus on the personal needs of the meditators, and only they know what to focus on during their time of silence.

“You are paying attention to yourself, which we don’t really make time for with our phones, episodes of Walking Dead or technology,” Peterson said. “It’s sharpening the skill of paying attention.”