The Mindfulness Center provided programming for campus and encourages paying attention to what is happening during each moment of your life.  With mindfulness, we develop the ability to let go of worries and fears about the future, let go of concerns about the past, and experience the present moment with a sense of calm and curiosity. In a basic way, mindfulness gives us the ability to wake up to our life and stop the automatic way of living, which disconnects us from our body, mind, and relationships.

The following programs are open to all students, faculty and staff of the University of Utah community are free, available by Zoom (excluding holidays and breaks) and require registration to attend. Informational flyers are provided via embedded links in each of the programs’ titles. We also offer a paid undergraduate internship, the Change Coalition, focused on building a more compassionate, resilient and just campus community. Please share with your colleagues and students and join us.

• Mental Jargon in the Margins is a podcast that deconstructs barriers to mental health in our marginalized communities and starts looking towards creative solutions for these pervasive problems. The new season starts this fall.
• Drop-In Mindfulness are 30-minute facilitated meditations beginning Aug. 23. Registration is not required. Meditations are held on the following days and times:
  • Mondays | 12:30 p.m.
  • Tuesdays | 5 p.m.
  • Wednesdays | 12:30 p.m.
  • Thursdays | 5 p.m.
• Feel Better Now is a four-week, skill-building workshop series that helps participants to build practical skills to cope with anxiety, depression and stress.  The new series starts on Aug. 26. Workshops are offered on the following days and times:
  • Mondays | 1-2 p.m.
  • Tuesdays | 4-5 p.m.
  • Wednesdays | 1-2 p.m.
  • Thursdays | 1-2 p.m. and 4-5 p.m.
• Mental Coaching is a four-week, skill-building workshop series, which is for neurodiverse students wanting to improve planning, follow through and time management. The series runs on Tuesdays from 5:30-7 p.m. and a new series starts on Oct. 10.
• Mindful Work/Life Balance is a four-week workshop series, which is for U faculty, staff and graduate students. The workshop introduces participants to mindful strategies for managing work/life stress. It runs on Fridays from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. and starts on Sept. 10.
• Radical Self-Compassion for BIPOC Students is a two-week workshop, which is for Black, Indigenous, people of color U graduate and undergraduate students. Workshops will focus on using mindful self-compassion as a source of healing and resistance. Workshop details are TBA.

Additionally, Luana Nan (she/her) has been announced as the interim coordinator of the Mindfulness Center, Luana Nan. Nan is a psychologist at the University Counseling Center and a U alumna. Originally from Romania, Nan immigrated to the U.S. with her family 25 years ago. Shortly after immigrating she earned a B.S. in Psychology from the U, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. During her training, Nan found her calling in serving college students, a path that could express her passion for supporting education, individual authenticity and growth, social justice, diversity, and inclusion. She is excited to be more extensively involved with the Mindfulness Center, and to support its mission, which so much aligns with her passions.

Alexis Arczynski, the Mindfulness Center coordinator the last four years, will be greatly missed! Their tremendous dedication, work and creativity have grown the Mindfulness Center into a campus resource that contributes in several different ways to building compassionate, resilient and socially just communities. Their great presence has deeply touched and inspired so many! Thank you, Alexis, for everything!

The Mindfulness Center also offers programs including providing mindfulness workshops for offices upon request so request a presentation that may be relevant to your colleagues, staff, and/or team members today.