I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the best when it comes to relaxing — and I mean really relaxing.

Living with five other people makes finding moments to relax difficult, which is why I was a little hesitant to join the Mindful Meditation session. If I wasn’t able to completely relax on my own, there was no way I was going to relax during a 30-minute session.

Despite my doubts, I went into the session optimistic, hoping I could relieve some tension and find some peace going into the rest of the day.

That’s where Craig Oreshnick comes in. Oreshnick is the facilitator of the Mindful Meditation group he created last year. It’s held virtually every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. The group provides a calming environment, and all students have to do is find a peaceful space.

Each session takes participants through a deep relaxation process using a variety of techniques that focus on abdominal breathing to help release stress and tension.

At the start of the session, we set individual goals for ourselves about how we hoped we would feel after the meditation. Oreshnick then guided myself and a few others through the meditation and had soothing Reiki sound music playing in the background.

Oreshnick also included moments throughout the meditation were we practiced mindfulness silently to ourselves.

According to Oreshnick, mindfulness is all about being present in the moment and taking time to practice mindfulness daily.

During the moments of mindfulness, I realized how much kinder I needed to be to myself and practice more moments of self care.

“Meditation and mindfulness is more important now with everything going on in the world today,” Oreshnick said. “Being kind to yourself and holding yourself accountable for positive self care is really important.”

After the session we went over our goals and how we were feeling. I felt more relaxed than I had in awhile. It was nice to have a feeling of extreme relaxation. I was completely present in the moment and had some uninterrupted time for myself.

“Even though these sessions are completely virtual, I hope they provide a realer experience than YouTube videos,” Oreshnick said. “I encourage students and faculty to drop in on the group anytime and judge it for themselves.”