Student Health Services has a new offering for the frazzled SF State student.

A meditation and relaxation practice clinic began this semester, free of charge, through the SHS.

Sessions are open Monday through Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the SHS conference room and are led by SF State health educator, Albert Angelo.

The sessions are part of a larger stress management clinic that offers workshops in stress reduction strategies and meditation.

“I wanted to include something where students could have a comfortable place and a consistent time available for meditation,” Angelo said.

The sessions are truly drop-in – no sign-up is required and students are welcome to come for as little or as much of the hour-long session as they like.

Experienced meditators can take advantage of a quiet place to practice and beginners can learn the essential techniques from Angelo.

“Anyone is welcome to practice the type of meditation that works best individually. I personally practice mindful meditation where I concentrate on my breath during the meditative session,” Angelo said.

Dr. Amy Saltzman, a holistic physician and researcher specializing in stress issues, defined “mindful meditation” in this way: paying attention to the present moment with kindness and without judgment while attending to the breath.

She described the meditation process as focusing your mind and body on controlled, relaxed breaths. During the meditation, when thoughts enter your mind, you acknowledge them and then let them pass without assigning value to them. The goal is to always return your focus to your breathing.

“The anchor is the breath,” Saltzman said.

Saltzman is aware that there are many techniques to alleviate stress but confessed that she has a personal and professional bias toward mindful meditation.

She said that the stress-reduction benefits of meditation are longer-term than an endorphin boost from a set of laps around the track or relaxing in a hot bath.

Saltzman describes how a typical person experiences what she called “the impulse of thought.”

“You’re taking a test and a thought enters your mind, ‘I haven’t studied enough.’ Then, ‘I’m going to fail this test. I’m going to fail this course, I’m never going to get a good job,’” she said.

Saltzman said that continued meditation practice works like an inoculation from this negative spiral.

“When the thought, ‘I didn’t study enough,’ enters your mind – you can let it go by,” she said. Although it’s unrealistic to expect to banish the experience of negative thoughts, with meditation practice, “they don’t derail you in the same way,” Saltzman explained.

Meditation may also offer physical benefits.

A study published in 2002 by University of Wisconsin’s Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience found that subjects who engaged in mindful meditation produced more antibodies when exposed to influenza strains in vaccine form than subjects who did not meditate. In other words, people who meditate may have stronger immune systems than those who do not meditate.

Cyndera Quackenbush, a creative writing major at SF State, attended the meditation and relaxation hour for the first time last week. Quackenbush said she found the session beneficial.

“It’s a nice place to come to meditate – especially at school where there is a lot of stress. It gives you a chance to get back to yourself,” she said.

For a schedule of Student Health Services’ program of stress management and meditation workshops, visit www.sfsu.edu/~shs/prevention/stress.htm.