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Volume CXXXII, Number 21 |
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Made for medititation
GRACE CHO
ORIENT STAFF
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| Mona Paschke, Chakra guru who has begun to teach stress-relieving technique in her weekly classes for Bowdoin students. (Karsten Moran, Bowdoin Orient) |
Have you ever felt stressed to the point of wanting to scream, cry, or possibly break a personal item of value? Do you often ask yourself if there is a healthy way rid of the anxiety of daily world? If these are questions plaguing your mind, you may need a little meditation.
Mona Paschke leads seven-week workshops teaching the art of meditation and Chakras on the Bowdoin campus. Chakras, for those of you who do not know are the discipline of channeling one's seven energy centers in order to relieve stress and prevent physical aliments, which can manifest from stress. Each of the seven energy centers are stationed at a specific spot on the body and revolve around circularly to trap energy from floating around in the outside world. Often times, when a person becomes stressed or full of anxiety, they suppress one of more of his or her energy centers causing illness.
Paschke said she found herself drawn towards Chakras as a form of stress relief when she was facing some difficult experiences. "I was in need of some personal healing. Chakras made me aware of my feelings and made me feel comfortable in my own skin."
Her positive experience with Chakras caused her to pursue the profession of self-healing. She studies for several years to learn the art of healing one's mind, body, and soul in order to help others. After finishing her studies she opened a private practice from her home where she aids clients re-channel his or her energy centers.
Though for Paschke, that did not satisfy her. Working at Bowdoin's Café, she saw students day in and day out stressed, frantic, and ill. "I interact with students all day. Seeing and listening to their problems made me want to help them. They looked to me as their confidant, said P."
Working with counseling services, Paschke wrote a seven-week curriculum and began teaching her workshops in fall 2002. They are held once a week for an hour and fifteen minutes each session where she helps to guide her students through meditation and generate a comfortable, nonjudgmental atmosphere where everyone can talk freely about what is bothering them. "I want to give another outlet for people to go and just release the bad energy from the day or week and be relaxed," said Paschke.
Although the spring session classes have just ended, Paschke plans to continue teaching workshops next fall on campus and also hold short workshops throughout the rest of the semester.
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