by Chloe Goldberg
Every other Friday, amid the late morning craze, there exists a small space within Stamp Student Union untouched by hungry students getting to and from class. It is unaffected by the loud mayhem enveloping Chick-Fil-A at lunchtime, unscathed by the sounds of hundreds of footsteps weeding through the food court. In fact, it is so quiet, it is as though this space is detached from Stamp itself.
The Stamp Gallery Meditation, hosted by Yogi Terps in conjunction with Numi Yoga, is a free, half-hour guided meditation session held within the removed silence of Stamp Gallery. It provides students with a midday break from the fast-paced campus that exists just below their feet.
“Coming to your breath and coming towards a place of stillness in your mind can be such a benefit for chaotic things going on around you, whether with school, or studying, or work, life in general,” said Cici English, who led the Nov.15 session in place of her colleague, Numi Yoga founder Kelsey Starr. English manages the yoga studio, located on College Avenue.
The biweekly event began in September, following other event partnerships from Numi Yoga and the university’s yoga club, Yogi Terps. English said the studio had been eyeing an on-campus meditation, and Starr was particularly drawn to the Gallery. With Yogi Terps’ sponsorship, they created the 6-week program in which students participate in short breathing exercises meant to promote focus and well-being. The last session will run on Nov. 22.
Jack Hamrock, a junior aerospace engineering major, first heard about the event through Yogi Terps. Although he had meditated on his own before, the chance to attend group meditation with an instructor, especially at the Gallery, was a welcome change of pace.
“Just the feeling, being in the room with a bunch of people who are, like, removing themselves from the hustle and bustle to just slow down a little bit, it’s nice,” said Hamrock.“It’s a lot more refreshing than just going for a walk, or doing anything else for 30 minutes or more.”
The meditations explore artistic themes related to works hanging on the Gallery’s walls, tapping into the intersection between art and awareness. At the Nov.15 session, after some breathing exercises, participants were invited to create construction-paper quilts based on those featured in the Gallery’s current exhibit, “Still Here: Art on HIV/AIDs.”
The exhibit, which began in late October and will run through Dec. 7, includes panels from The NAMES Project Foundation AIDs Memorial Quilt. Friends and family members of AIDs victims created the quilt in 1987, with each panel memorializing a different person. Today, the NAMES Foundation orchestrates displays of the 54-ton quilt in universities and other sites.
Tara Youngborg, the Gallery’s manager, demonstrated how to create the quilt’s weaving pattern with paper and scissors. Some students stuck to this pattern, while others opted to create a collage using magazines and art supplies provided by Youngborg.
For Kayla Conklin, a junior anthropology major who participated in the session, pairing the gallery’s artwork with meditation made sense.
“I think art kind of is meditation,” said Conklin. “If you’re going to go through an art museum or art gallery on your own, there is a lot of meditation or reflection…because not all artwork becomes legible until you look at it for a little bit.”
Conklin also shared that the meditation offered her a rare opportunity to attend a campus event and take time for herself.
“I think that it’s really good that the university, and Stamp, and the Gallery [are] looking out for us as holistic human beings and not just students,” said Conklin.
Featured photo courtesy of Chloe Goldberg.
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