Mindfulness & Wellness
Classes, articles, and Apps to help you improve your mind and body.
Monday Meditation Classes
If this is your first time or your thousandth time, Monday Meditation is a good place to grow your practice. Each week we offer a guided meditation. The group discusses meditation, the benefits, and reviews relevant apps and methods to enhance practice. All Touro staff, faculty, students, and their significant supports are welcome to join. No experience with meditation is needed. Bring an open mind and a desire to enrich your life.
Monday Meditation is every Monday at Noon. Don't forget to check your Touro email for updates on classes!
Koru Mindfulness Classes
Koru Mindfulness is an evidence-based meditation practice that aims to “give participants tools for quickly reducing distress… [and] emphasizes cultivating positive emotions like self-compassion and gratitude.” Koru Mindfulness was developed with consideration for the challenges that emerging adults often face. Its title, Koru, is derived from a New Zealand Maori word that signifies balanced growth.
The Koru class is a four-session course designed to help participants improve meditation and mindfulness skills, manage stress, and improve sleep. This course takes place over four weeks with one 75-minute session per week. If you would like to register, email tun.koru@touro.edu from your touro.edu email address.
Mental Health Workbook
Adam's Corner "M-Power" workbook, by Adam Carter OTD-S, was created for students to help manage mental health symptoms, stress, and anxiety during the journey through graduate school. The guide contains tips, challenges, worksheets, and other resources so you can learn, reflect, and improve your own mental health.
Wednesday Wellness
Check back weekly for helpful tips, articles, videos, quotes, poems, research data, and more!
“When perfectionism is driving, shame is always riding shotgun, and fear is the annoying backseat driver.” - Brené Brown
How many of us struggle with perfectionism? How many of us are driven by what people think?
According to research professor and author Brené Brown, “Perfectionism is a 20-ton shield that we carry around hoping that it will keep us from getting hurt when, in truth, it keeps us from being seen.” Many of us strive to be perfect because we believe that it demonstrates achievement and growth (totally not true!).
Here is what perfectionism really is according to Dr. Brown:
- It is the belief that if we look perfect and do things perfectly, we can avoid feelings of blame, judgment, and shame.
- It is an unattainable goal because it is more about perception than internal motivation. It is unattainable because we cannot control what others think about us no matter how hard we try.
- It is a never-ending spiral. We all experience feelings of shame, judgment, and blame and believe that it is because “we aren’t perfect enough”. Instead of acknowledging that perfectionism does not exist, we engage in even more perfectionist behaviors because of these feelings.
So how do we overcome perfectionism?
We can overcome perfectionism by choosing to live authentically. Living authentically is a practice and choice that we must make every single day. It is choosing to be vulnerable and allowing oneself to be “seen”. To live authentically, we must be willing to let go of what others think. I know, a lot easier said than done, but it can be done.
If you would like to start the work of overcoming perfectionism, check out the following resources:
Keeping a diary can seem like a juvenile activity, but keeping a written record of your thoughts, feelings, and experiences can be a helpful tool for improving your mental health and overall well-being. A web article by Kaiser Permanente, cited below, noted that prominent historical figures, like Albert Einstein, Frida Khalo, and Frederick Douglass, practiced journaling regularly. It is hard to say what their purpose for journaling was- be it catharsis, strategy, or memory- but one this is certain, their entries have inspired people for generations. Journaling looks different for every person, but its benefits can impact you and those around you. Take a peek at just a few of the many benefits of journaling.
Journaling can help you:
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Achieve goals |
Reduce stress and anxiety |
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Track progress and growth |
Strengthen memory |
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Gain self-confidence |
Find inspiration |
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Improve writing and communication skills |
and more... |
A Healthline article on journaling, cited below, gives great tips for starting up your practice.
Here are a few:
Take a micro-step
Try setting a timer for just one or two minutes a day for your journaling session. -Amy Hoyt, Ph.D., founder of Mending Trauma.
Pick the simplest tools
Start with whatever method is easiest to incorporate into your routine, like writing in a blank doc on your laptop, using a note-taking app on your phone, or putting pen to paper. -Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, clinical psychologist in New York City.
Try free writing
Start by taking several deep breaths, noticing your immediate surroundings, and writing whatever comes to mind . If you’ve drawn a blank, “describe that experience until something else comes forward in your journaling.” -Lori L. Cangilla, PhD, a Pittsburg-based psychologist, avid journal writer, and member of the International Association for Journal Writing
Anchor your journaling
If you like structure, journal at the same time every day. For example, write your thoughts when you first wake up or process them before bedtime.
You can also anchor your journaling to a well-established habit to make it more likely you’ll stick with it. For example, journal before or after a nightly prayer, when you’re in the car rider line, or during a commercial break on TV. -Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, clinical psychologist in New York City.
Switch shoes
If you’re journaling about a disagreement, try writing with empathy. Consider the other person’s perspective and motives behind some of their actions. Putting yourself in their shoes may help you gain clarity on the situation, reduce resentment, and possibly even find a solution. -Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, clinical psychologist in New York City.
Check out these articles!
- Tartakovsky, M. (2022, February). 6 journaling benefits and how to start right now. Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-journaling#takeaway
- (2020, March). 7 benefits of keeping a journal. Kaiser Permanente. Retrieved from https://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/health-wellness/healtharticle.7-benefits-of-keeping-a-journal
If you're an avid yoga student, you may be familiar with the term pranayama, as it is a core foundation of yoga practice. Pranayama is the practice of breathing regulation; it involves various patterns of inhalation, exhalation, and holding the breath. As a component of yoga, these patterns of breathing are paired with different poses and movements in the yoga practice. The purpose of pranayama is to connect the body to the mind, cleanse toxins through deep breathing, and regulate the body. Although it is often associated with yoga, pranayama can be practiced independently as a meditative exercise or just a breathing technique to engage in throughout the day.
Here are just a few of the benefits of pranayama!
- Decreases stress
- Improves sleep quality
- Increases mindfulness
- Reduces high blood pressure
- Improves lung function
- Enhances cognitive performance
- Reduces cigarette cravings
Check out these resources!
- Nunez, K., Sullivan, C. (2020, May). 7 Science-backed benefits of pranayama. Healthline.
Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/pranayama-benefits#fewer-cravings - Pranayama: Extend your life by extending your breath
(YouTube) https://youtu.be/Z4rWY-gY96A - Tobe, M., Saito, S. (2020). Analogy between classical yoga/zen breathing and modern clinical respiratory therapy. Journal of Anesthesia. 34:944–949.
Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s00540-020-02840-5 - 3 most effective pranayamas - deep breathing exercises
(YouTube 3:12) https://youtu.be/395ZloN4Rr8
Wellness Apps
Touro University Nevada’s Student Counseling Services has partnered with Aura, a personalized mindfulness and meditation app company, to bring each member of the campus community a free subscription.
The award-winning app offers thousands of mindfulness meditations, life coaching, sleep stories, and psychoeducation from coaches around the world. Aura gives you personalized support to help with stress, anxiety, sleep, personal growth, and more.
How to redeem your free subscription from Aura:
1. Visit the Aura website (https://app.aurahealth.io/redeem/touro).
2. You must use your Touro University Nevada email address.
3. Follow the directions to download the app and log in.
| Application | Price |
|---|---|
| Aura |
Free with a TUN Community email address |
| calm |
$8.99/year with an Amazon Prime Student Membership |
| down dog - meditation | Free for students and teachers |
| Headspace |
$9.99/year for Student Plan |
| insight timer | Free |
| open |
$19.99/month subscription |
| simple habit | Free |
| sleeptown |
$1.99 |
| UCLS MINDFUL | Free |
| application | price |
|---|---|
| Free for students and teachers | |
| Free | |
| Free | |
| Free | |
| Free | |
| $10.99/month |
| application | price |
|---|---|
| Forest |
$3.99 |
| Free | |
| Free | |
| Free | |
| Free | |
| Free |
| application | Details | price |
|---|---|---|
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Resist the Urge to Self-Harm |
Free |
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Mood Diary |
Free |
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Overcome Anxiety |
Free |
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Help Teens with their Mental Health |
Free |
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Connect with others through open conversations |
Free |
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Manage Depression |
Free |
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Mindfulness, Breathing, and Education |
Free |
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Learn and Practice Tapping Techniques/Meditations |
Free |
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AI Chatbot for Mental Health Service |
Free | |
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Help Self-Worth and Body Image |
Free |
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AI Chatbot for Mental Health Service |
Free |
