Kara Donbrock | Photo by Erin Pence
Wright State University (WSU) Campus Recreation is hosting virtual heartfulness meditation classes in partnership with Dayton Heartfulness Meditation. Dr. Kunal Desai hosts classes every day, and anyone interested in meditation is welcomed to join.
The benefits of meditation
Desai, certified heartfulness trainer and clinical assistant professor for the department of internal medicine, recently finished a research study on meditation and found that the practice lowers stress levels and improves sleep quality.
Desai has been a Heartfulness Meditation trainer for the past several years but was introduced to meditation during his teens. It wasn’t until later, however, that he began practicing and noticed the benefits of meditation.
“It is one of the best things you can do for your personal growth because it is going to help you with everything,” Desai said.
The trainer credits heartfulness meditation to the success that he has had both in his personal life and his career because of the stress-reducing benefits.
According to Desai, heartfulness meditation is different from other forms of meditation because of an occurrence called transmission, which he describes as positive energy. This energy, Desai says, is something people have to experience rather than learn about.
Meditation at WSU
Dr. Desai’s heartfulness meditation found its way to WSU when Fitness and Wellness Program Manager for Campus Recreation Kara Donbrock heard of the research study and the benefits of meditation and asked Desai to lead a class for students.
Donbrock says she knows that college students are stressed, especially now with the coronavirus and online learning, so she wanted to provide a way for them to relieve that stress and take a break from school.
Neuroscience undergrad student James Hart says that heartfulness meditation has helped him manage his stress and anxiety.
“It’s a great way to start the day. You don’t realize how much anxiety there is right when you wake up, so starting with meditation helps calm that anxiety,” Hart said.
The great thing about meditation, according to Donbrock, is that it allows students to engage in wellness and better themselves without having to do something intense such as Zumba or yoga that might intimidate them. Donbrock wants students to know that trying new things is a great way to better themselves.
“You can start to make achievements and changes in your life when you step out of that comfort zone that you’re in,” Donbrock said.
Pros and cons of virtual classes
Because of the pandemic, group fitness classes have been held virtually, including heartfulness meditation. A major downside of having group fitness classes online, according to Donbrock, is the lost connection.
“It’s called group fitness because you are supposed to be a group and be together, and you are supposed to be feeding off of each other’s energy,” Donbrock said.
Despite this, Donbrock admits that a good thing about virtual fitness classes is that more students are able to join, and members of the community outside of WSU can join as well.
Heartfulness meditation classes are held:
Monday 7 a.m.
Tuesday 6:30 a.m.
Wednesday 6:30 a.m.
Thursday 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Friday 7 a.m.
Saturday 7 a.m.
Sunday 8:30 p.m.
To register for a class, sign up at https://www.imleagues.com/spa/account/login
