In celebration of World Mental Health Day, SVSU’s Student Wellness Program put on a meditation and yoga day in the Ryder Center on Wednesday, Oct. 10.
The program started with a yoga routine led by Jenny Martinez. She took the participants through many basic positions and exercises that were meant to relax the body and the mind.
The exercise room where the program took place was a serene environment, with candles that dimly lit the room and soft music in the background to complete the ambiance.
After the yoga program, the meditation program began. This was led by Jennifer Wilk, a yoga instructor in the Saginaw area. She began the program with a short Q&A about meditation, such as the purpose of mediation.
“Just remember: Meditation’s number one goal is to relieve stress and relax the body and the mind,” Wilk said.
Wilk took the participants through a 40-minute series of guided meditation to promote relaxation. She gave the partakers words of encouragement throughout the session.
Sierra Hessbrook, a representative of the Student Wellness Program was pleased with the experience she had.
“It was my first time doing it,” she said. “I was pretty tense at first, but it became a comfortable environment as time went on. It was definitely something that I would recommend and do again.”
Wilk also noticed the change of the energy from the beginning of the session to the end.
“At first everyone seemed kind of nervous,” she said. “That’s pretty normal, considering there were a lot of first-timers there, but once people realized that everyone had struggles, the room became warm, and the students began to relax and had fun with it.”
