Dim lights from flameless candles and the warm aroma of lavender oil filled the room as students tried to center themselves.
Meghan Mac Rae, the meditation instructor, strolled around the room at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center’s Fall Into Meditation event Wednesday night, directing students to focus on the different levels of chakras, or centers of energy. All of the chakra levels were described as having certain colors and representing various purposes.
Twenty-seven Cal State Long Beach students attended the hour-long, one-time meditation class. Senior kinesiology and fitness major and SRWC intern Kristin Taylor organized the event along with Beach Balance associate Sharon Meyers.
“There were a ton of requests for meditation from students,” Taylor said. “Once a semester [Beach Balance] tries to do something on the wellness side of fitness.”
After hearing of many students asking for meditation classes or events, Taylor said she was motivated to hold an event focused on meditating.
Fall Into Meditation welcomed students whether or not they had meditated before. Nicole Bucaro, a junior anthropology major, said she had previously meditated but not on a regular basis.
“[Meditation] is a calming experience,” Bucaro said. “It relaxes your mind and puts things into perspective.”
During the class, students sat on yoga mats in the darkened Farber Fitness Room with their eyes closed and legs crossed, listening to instructor Mac Rae, who has been practicing reiki, yoga, mediation, auric clearing and soul retrieval for the past several years. Mac Rae has also gone to Peru to live with a shaman.
A consistent message that Mac Rae delivered throughout the class was one of love.
“It is our choice what we bring into our lives,” Mac Rae said to meditating students. “Demand only love.”
According to Mac Rae, by calming the mind and being in a relaxed state, meditation speeds up the natural healing process of the body. She also said that channeling the “high vibrations” of love gets rid of “low vibrations” of fear, which can help reduce anxiety and stress.
Once the class was over, students had the opportunity to ask Mac Rae questions about meditation and express their personal experience with the class. Each student was given a Beach Balance gift bag with a stress ball as a thank-you gift.
Taylor said because the event was a success, she will try to implement it as a regular fitness class at the SWRC.
