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De-Stress for Finals Success: Yoga and Meditation Resources

Calming the Mind to De-Stress

In this guide, you will be given resources to practice yoga and guide your own meditationsBlack and white image of Kermit, witting criss cross apple sauce with his hands at his sides with his thumb and index fingers touching to make an O.

to help relieve stress during finals week. You might wonder, "Why should I take the time to

do these activities when I am stressed?" Well, it is proven that "Yoga [can] modify stress

response and a person's attitude towards stress, while improving self-confidence, increasing

one's sense of well-being, and creating feelings of relaxation and calmness" (Rizzolo, Zipp,

Stiskal, & Simpkins, 2009).  Along with yoga, meditation increases people's mindfulness. This

is important because "Mindfulness teaches moment-to-moment awareness through purposefully

paying attention to the present experience. Two recent reviews of the literature on the effects of

mindfulness concluded that it reduces stress, anxiety, and depression" (Regehr, Glancy, & Pitts,

2013; Khoury, Manoj, Rush, & Fournier, 2015).

Yoga for Dummies

Cover of the book "Yoga for Dummies" which shows a woman sitting criss cross apple sauce with her hands holding her knees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This E-book, Yoga for Dummies, by Larry Payne, Brenda Feuerstein, and Georg Feuerstein, is available through Coe Library. 

Through the nature of Dummies series books, this E-book is easy to follow and "guides you slowly, step by step, into the treasure house of Yoga. And what a treasure house it is! You find out how to strengthen your mind and enlist it to unlock your body’s extraordinary potential. A sound body requires a sound mind, and we show you how to improve or regain the health and wholeness of both" (Payne et al.). 

The Complete Yoga Book

If you would rather read a book in hand, travel through Coe Library's stacks and read The complete yoga book : yoga of breathing, yoga of posture, and yoga of meditation by James Hewitt located at RA781.7 .H49 1978. 

Yoga Videos

Meditation for Dummies

This is an image of the cover of the book "Meditation for Dummies" that has the title at the top, and then to the left a photo of flat oval stones with a small green leafy plant growing between the stones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This E-book Meditation for Dummies by Stephen Bodian is a non-traditional meditation book, but it is packed with information. Bodian writes, "Unlike those other books on meditation, Meditation For Dummies, 3rd Edition, ­covers all the bases.

If you’re looking for simple, easy-to-follow meditation instructions, you can find state-of-the-art guidance here that’s filled with helpful tips from seasoned meditators as well as time-honored wisdom from the great teachers of old. If you want to get an overview of the meditation field before you zero in on a particular method or teaching, you can catch a glimpse of the primary approaches that are readily available these days. If you’ve been meditating in a particular way and want to expand your horizons to include other techniques, you’ll be pleased to discover that this book features dozens of different meditations for a variety of purposes."

 

Meditation : coming to know your mind

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to read a physical meditation book, traverse the Coe Library stacks to BQ5612 .P57 2017 and pick up Meditation: coming to know your mind by Matteo Pistono.

This book is "an auspicious beginning -- Cultivating stillness and comfort -- Discerning reality -- Opening completely to our world -- Integrating meditation into everyday life -- Working within our mind -- Meditation, contempaltion, and thinking -- Focus, friends, and teachers -- Make a plan for your meditation practice."