30 April 2020
At the Graduate School of Management at St. Petersburg University, a six-week course in the practice of Mindfulness has been completed. Within a month and a half, with the help of a system of special exercises, the participants in the course learned to be more attentive to themselves, recognize their emotions, be calmer and make pauses before reacting to any stimuli. The course was launched with the support of the GSOM Coaching Center.
Classes were held online, but this did not prevent the group from finding contact with each other, feeling a commonality of interests and values. The participants learned to listen to each other carefully, discussed their emotional state in pairs and tried to understand what was really important to them.
The course included weekly online meetings, as well as a live chat in a telegram, where on a daily basis, course participants performed small tasks to develop awareness skills in everyday life.
“In the telegram chat lecturer offered daily tasks for the development of awareness and gaining it in everyday life. Perhaps this was the most useful for me during the course: it was these tasks that allowed me to remember about mindfulness every day, changing the perception of familiar things and filling the most ordinary things with meaning. The main thing that I would like to bring in my life after the course is awareness itself, the skill of being in the present with kindness and curiosity, ” said Anna Sidorenko, a participant in the course, a MiM program student.
This is the second year in a row that a course on the development of mindfulness skills has taken place at GSOM, and participants noted the usefulness of the course for students, who often experience severe stress due to an endless stream of information and strict deadlines.
“It is a great pleasure for me to share awareness skills with students and teach simple tools to bring greater clarity and tranquility to my life. I am inspired by their openness and desire for self-improvement, the courage to take a step and look into themselves. Despite the online format of our meetings, we really managed to create a unique atmosphere of friendliness and acceptance in the classroom, ” said Ksenia Kolesnikova, course instructor.
Awareness training programs are in demand in the corporate world: Google, Nike, Apple, Sberbank and many others conduct similar classes for their employees. The approach to the development of awareness — mindfulness — has a scientific and theoretical basis, and has established itself as a tool for working with anxiety and stress, and also as a way to bring greater clarity, calmness and positiveness to life.
Alexander Manshin, Bachelor student
“The mindfulness course for me is one of the best initiatives of GSOM. After each class on Thursdays, I felt peaceful all evening, and some thoughts illuminated my view of the world and myself. The course is very developed and includes both a theoretical view of what mindfulness is and practice, whether it is a whole series of options for formal meditation, daily mindfulness exercises or weekly homework assignments for discovering something new within oneself. All this is realized by the wonderful Ksenia,and is supported by a dedicated group of guys with whom it is pleasant to interact. After each general practice, emotions and feelings always remain, and it is amazing to listen to how your, as you see it, unique experience echoes the experience of other participants, but still differs somehow. The community has developed very well, and it was incredibly nice to be a part of it.”
Anna Sidorenko, 2nd year MiM student
“I would like to describe what Mindfulness taught me in three words — calmness, clarity and happiness.
In pursuit of endless deadlines, without which it is hard to imagine the life of a university student, we often forget what makes us truly happy. The mindfulness course is an opportunity not only to remind yourself of this, but also to make mindfulness practices a habit. Therefore, I recommend the course to anyone who wants to be happier. ”
Christina Kim, 1st year MiM student
“The Mindfulness course taught me to understand my emotions and feelings, and to live here and now. I learned the techniques of conscious behavior both in relation to myself and to other people.”
Anastasia Saraeva, 1st year MiM student
“The course exceeded my expectations! Not only did I gain deeper knowledge about the effect of meditation on the functioning of the brain, I learned the names of researchers in this area and now I understand which way to go in my further study of this subject.
But the greatest value of the course, in my opinion, is the practical skills that we have acquired. We learned different basic techniques of meditation, from the question of what is the best position to take to what to do directly in the process of meditation. I realized how important it is to be aware at least 5 minutes a day, to focus on my life here and now, and how it can make me much happier. I would also like to mention the atmosphere that we managed to create during the course, which was absolute acceptance and kindness.
The course became for me a connection with the real world in this difficult situation for everyone, and each time it reminded me that wonderful people surround me with their unique experience and thoughts. And although we could not be physically close, we still created this atmosphere. It was very pleasant to see how everyone smiled after each lesson, it lifted the mood even more.
I want to say big thanks to our teacher Ksenia for the knowledge, wisdom and support we were given. And, of course, to all the guys who were on the course with me! I think we managed to add a little more awareness to our lives, and I would like as many students as possible to learn about the mindfulness course. I’m sure that this will allow them to look at life from a different angle!”
Alina Maloyaroslavtseva, Bachelor student
The mindfulness course provides a lot: knowledge of various formal practices, and information about their origins, our brain and much more, and, of course, direct acquaintance with the practices For 6 weeks the course completely “plunged me into mindfulness”: I transferred many of the “rituals” that we practiced on the course to my daily affairs.
I want to note that mindfulness in a new way opens up the world and yourself. The course was built as professionally as possible, filled with the necessary information. And if you are not familiar with the formal practices of mindfulness, then the experience of Ksenia, her knowledge and even just her voice will definitely not leave you indifferent!”
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