Tufts Mindfulness and Resilience Collaborative
Tufts Mindfulness and Resilience Collaborative: Helping to reduce stress in the Tufts Community.
Tufts students practice mindfulness by taking a break from studying to do yoga in Hill Hall. (Rachael Meyer / The Tufts Daily)
The Mindfulness and Resilience Collaborative envisions by 2025 Tufts University as a leader in utilizing mindfulness and resilience practices in all aspects of its operations.
To promote, support and fund coordinated efforts using proven strategies that increase mindfulness and resilience practices to reduce health related problems among members of the Tufts community.
- Recognizes the health needs of all members of the Tufts’ community.
- Willing to address any barriers, albeit political, social, or fiscal that may impede the Collaborative’s progress toward the reductions of health problems.
- Mental Health issues are treatable conditions.
- Health occurs in diverse environments that involve a holistic approach involving the mind, body, and spirit.
- Everyone at Tufts must have access to services that are responsive to their needs.
- Health is more likely to be achieved when there is community support and barriers to access to resources are removed.
- Cultural competency and a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion are essential to effective service development and delivery.
- Consumers, providers, and constituents are treated with respect and dignity.
- Collaboration at all levels leads to efficient, effective, and high-quality services.
- Prevention and social ecological approach are proven public health strategies. Science-based and quality improvement strategies are the foundation of policy, planning, and project implementation.
- Understanding the impact of social determinants of health. The Collaborative allows for the flexibility to meet unique community needs and to adjust to new, innovative approaches.
Upcoming and Current Events
A Time to Grieve, Hope, and Act: Marking a Year Since Tufts’ Campus Closure. March 7, 2021 3:00 to 3:45 p.m. ET. The Tufts community is invited to come together for “A Time to Grieve, Hope, and Act,” as we mark a year since Tufts’ campus closure last March. This multifaith, inter-generational community gathering is hosted by students, chaplains, and staff from the University Chaplaincy and Hillel and will include welcoming words by President Monaco. You can register for the event here. The preceding Wednesday on March 3 from 5-6:15pm ET, we will be hosting a Chaplain’s Conversation about grief, hope, and justice, too. You can learn more about both events and find registration links on our website. I’ll have publicity visuals ready for it soon.
Rest of Us: Reclaim Your Human Being. Register by Feb 25. The frenetic pace of life on our campus can sometimes feel inevitable. But does it have to be this way? This spring, Hillel and the University Chaplaincy invite you to experiment with sabbath practice -- to tend to and lift up all that you are outside of your accomplishments. Sabbath is subversive. It challenges us to reframe our understanding of time and turns ‘productivity’ on its head. In a semester with such unique demands and a shortened spring break, what would it look like for you to embrace rest and restoration? Participants will be paired together to develop and commit to their own unique sabbath practice (however small or grand). For six weeks, you will meet up with your partner (Zoom or phone) once a week to explore the deeper themes of ceasing, resting, embracing and enjoying. The Rest of Us is an opportunity to explore what our religious and philosophical traditions have to say about stepping back from the noise and embracing those things which connect us more deeply to ourselves, the divine and one another. Tufts students, staff, and faculty are welcome to apply by February 25, 2021. Students will be paired with students, and staff/faculty will be paired with other staff/faculty. You can sign up with this Google form.
Koru Mindfulness Resources / Koru Mindfulness classes at Tufts
Feeling Lots Of....Feelings? Journaling Can Help (NPR Life Kit, 11/3/20)
Feeling Overwhelmed? Remember RAIN (Mindful.org)
A Guided S.T.O.P. Practice for Focused Awareness (Mindful.org)
How To Practice Self-Compassion In Trying Times (Forbes, 10/15/20)
Look Inward To Make External Change: Advice From A Meditation Teacher (NPR, 10/20/2020)
8 Questions That Can Help Ease Election Anxiety (Mindful.org, 10/21/20)
What Can We Do Now?: What we as individuals can do now to preserve our well-being and our democracy. (UC Berkeley’s GGSC, 11/4/20)
Bridging Differences Playbook: Learn research-based strategies to promote positive dialogue and understanding (UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center)
The Power of Equanimity (Ruth King, author of Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism From The Inside Out)
Ten Percent Happier Election Sanity Guide
How Humility Can Help Us Bridge Our Political Divides (Greater Good Science Center, October 26, 2020)
A 15-Minute Meditation for Patience and Resolve (Mindful, 10/27/20)
Mindfulness Programs at Tufts
Want to lower your stress, sleep better, and focus more? Take a Koru Mindfulness course at Tufts so you can find more ways to relax while you get things done!
Koru Mindfulness is an evidence-based curriculum designed for teaching mindfulness, meditation, and stress management specifically to college students. In this course, you will get an introduction to mindfulness and meditation taught as a weekly, four-week, 75-minute class by a trained and certified Koru teacher.
Check out what other Tufts students have said about their Koru Mindfulness experience!
· "Learning to tune into my body and my needs and taking a different perspective of how to do this was really interesting and helpful. I can use this information along with the skills I learned to learn, thrive, and adapt in a variety of situations."
· "I loved learning different ways to meditate and find an inner quietness with other people. It felt very supportive to have others around me, and we all encouraged each other. Everyone was positive about learning."
· feel more confident about regulating my emotion after I learned meditation. I can calm myself without [only] relying on other people's comfort or external stimulus."
· "Having a different practice each class was great because I could add more techniques to my list of ways to be mindful and relaxed."
· "I clearly learned and witnessed the benefits of meditation within 4 weeks. It became a great resource of mine.
· "II will do meditation more often, especially when I am stressed."
· "First time in my life when I truly separated myself from an outcome-oriented mindset. I focused on growth and process. Refreshing and important."
· "I think I have more tools to check in with myself and stay healthier mentally (and physically!) when times are stressful."
· "This was such a meaningful experience for me. I'm so grateful for all of it!"
·
Koru Instructors
Mindfulness Meditation on Mondays and Fridays at noon on Zoom: Join Harsha Menon, Interim Buddhist Chaplain and advisor to the Tufts Buddhist Mindfulness Sangha, for guided meditation (with various lengths of sitting). Various forms of meditation will be led, followed by some dharma discussion.To join the Mindfulness Sangha e-list, please email Harsha Menon.
Morning Meditation with Community Building Fellows
15 minutes of rejuvenating meditation with Hillel Community Building Fellows. Register in advance here.
The stressors of the dental profession begin with dental students in the first year of their education. Tufts Dental School incorporates the teaching of mind-body evidence-based self-regulation and coping skills in the curriculum. These skills support our students from the start of dental school and throughout the four years of their training. The practices of meditation and yoga cultivate conscious awareness and have been proven to reduce stress. Knowledge of these practices help our students manage the stress they incur from their rigorous academic studies and demanding clinical requirements. We value our students health personally and physically and our commitment to our wellness curriculum aims to decrease burnout and increase resilience. This we believe will impacts them beyond their dental education and serve them as they move into dental practice and in their personal lives and their commitment to the care of their patients.
The Student Athlete Mindfulness Program was created in 2018 by a former Tufts Women's Lacrosse player. SAMP was designed to help student-athletes both preform at a higher level in their sport as well as navigate the daily stress and pressures of being a college athlete. Find out more about the SAMP.
Social-emotional learning involves developing the skills needed to recognize and manage emotions, handle conflict constructively, establish positive relationships guided by empathy, engage in perspective-taking, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging situations effectively. As part of a growing recognition of the importance of these skills for a young person’s educational development and lifelong wellbeing, the Tisch College Initiative on Social-Emotional Learning and Civic Engagement (SEL-CE) seeks to further integrate them into educational practices, campus programs, and research throughout Tufts University, with a special focus on its connections to student engagement in civic life.
Social-Emotional Learning & Civic Engagement (SEL-CE) Faculty Fellows Program Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University works to infuse active citizenship and civic learning throughout the curriculum. To understand and advance the synergy of SEL and civic engagement, the Tisch College Initiative on Social-Emotional Learning and Civic Engagement (SEL-CE) was launched in January 2017. One key overarching goal of the Tisch SEL-CE initiative is to encourage and prepare Tufts faculty, across the university, to integrate social-emotional and civic learning dimensions into their teaching and research.
Virtual Mindfulness, Chair Yoga, and Meditation Offerings
Marathon Health, with Tufts Human Resources sponsorship, is pleased to offer a 6-week mindfulness course and weekly drop-in chair yoga and meditation sessions. Details below.
6-week virtual Mindfulness course:
Would you like to have more energy, be more productive, and improve your health?
Join us for this interactive series and learn more about mindfulness including health benefits, types of meditations, and how to incorporate it into your lifestyle.
The course will be held from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Choose either the Wednesday or Thursday series.
The Wednesday series will begin on 1/20 thru 2/24. Click the button below to register and receive the zoom meeting information.
Ian L. Wong, MSPH
Director Health Promotion and Prevention
124 Professors Row
Medford, MA 01760
Meeting
Jan 11, 2021 | Joe Golia Office of Campus Life | 11:00 am to 12:00 pm |
Feb 1, 2021 | Sarah Wiener TCU President | 11:00 am to 12:00 pm |
Feb 22, 2021 |
Sarah Hladikova Student Life Chair, Graduate Student Council |
11:00 am to 12:00 pm |
Mar 15, 2021 | Jacklyn Varela Office of the President | 11:00 am to 12:00 pm |
Apr 5, 2021 |
Erica Schonman - Mental Health Promotion Specialist |
11:00 am to 12:00 pm |
Apr 26, 2021 | Katie Mulroy Director of Student Affairs at the Fletcher School | 11:00 am to 12:00 pm |
May 17, 2021 | General Meeting | 11:00 am to 12:00 pm |
email: ian.wong@tufts.edu
phone: 617 627 5495
Send comments or requests to The Collaborative
Evers AG, Somogie JA, Wong IL, Allen JD, Cuevas AG. The adaptation and evaluation of a pilot mindfulness intervention promoting mental health in student athletes. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology. 2020. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a pilot mindfulness program for student athletes by assessing mental health, mindfulness ability, and perceived stress before and after the intervention. The mindfulness program was adapted from a program developed at the University of Southern California. The four-session intervention taught the basics of mindfulness, self-care skills, and guided meditations. Participants completed surveys before and after the intervention. Mindfulness ability was assessed with the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale, mental health was assessed with a modified Short Form Health Survey, and stress was assessed with the Perceived Stress Scale. After the intervention, participants reported improvement in mindfulness ability, t(28) = −2.61, p = .014, mental health, t(28) = −2.87, p = .008, and a trending improvement in perceived stress, t(28) = 1.86, p = .073. A short mindfulness program may be effective for improving mental health and mindfulness ability in collegiate student athletes.
Tisch College launches webinar for students on navigating the pandemic. Eight part weekly series for Tufts undergrads and grad students begins June 10. Tufts Now May 2020.
Twice the pressure. Student-athletes compete in the classroom and on the field, so a lacrosse player came up with a mindfulness program to relieve the stress. Tufts Now. May 2019.
Tisch College's SEL-CE programs fosters social-emotional learning environment. Tufts Daily 2019.
Need to take a deep breath? Online meditation session for the Tufts community offers a chance to calm body and mind. Tufts Now. March 2020.
Animal groups at Tufts provide students with study breaks, emotional support. Tufts Daily September 2019.
Bringing mindfulness to campus. Tufts’ first Buddhist chaplain talks about working with students—and gives advice on starting a contemplative practice. Tufts Now. February 2019.
Health Promotion and Prevention organizes mindfulness initiative. Tufts Daily February 2017.
Christopher Willard, PsyD. Dr. Christopher Willard (PsyD) is a psychologist and education consultant based in Boston specializing in mindfulness. He has been practicing meditation for 20 years, and has led hundreds of workshops around the world, with invitations to more than two dozen countries. Chris currently serves on the board of directors at the Institute for Mediation and Psychotherapy, and is the president of the Mindfulness in Education Network. He has presented at TEDx conferences and his thoughts have appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, minful.org, and elsewhere. He is the authored of Child’s Mind (2010), Growing Up Mindful (2016), Raising Resilience (2017 and eight other books for parents, professionals and children, along with six sets of cards and therapeutic games, available in more than ten languages. He teaches at Harvard Medical School.
Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Mindfulness and Compassion. The mission of the CHA Center for Mindfulness and Compassion (CMC) is to enhance health and well-being by integrating mindfulness and compassion into healthcare and our communities with a commitment to inclusivity, accessibility, and diversity.
Dr. Christina Pastan, Tufts School of Dental Medicine