After a successful pilot in the Winter 2022 Term, this fall, 75 Niagara College students are getting a lesson in wellness while earning academic credit.
At the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, professor and meditation guru Joanna Cielen is teaching The Pursuit of Happiness: A Practical Guide to Mindfulness (HTLH 1195), a unique course that blends mindfulness with the science of happiness and workplace preparation.
“To have to do certain things that are good for you and get marks – the incentive was extraordinary,” said Cielen. She says her students have responded positively to her unconventional homework assignments, from keeping a daily gratitude journal, to enjoying a cup of coffee mindfully, being mindful about the energy and attitudes they bring to the classroom, and learning to meditate.
The course is offered through the School of Academic and Liberal Studies and took seven years to develop. With support from Health, Wellness and Accessibility Services (HWAS) the innovative course launched virtually this past winter with 75 students in two sections and an additional 10 from the Community Integration through Cooperative Education (CICE) program.
The course includes the teachings in Sharon Salzberg’s book Real Happiness at Work with the goal of equipping students with a toolbox of mindfulness skills to prepare them for life’s challenges. Through Salzberg’s ‘eight pillars of happiness,’ students learn work-ready skills to ease the transition from part-time jobs and co-ops to full-time work upon graduation.
Sharon Salzberg’s “Real Happiness at Work.”
Cielen’s course centers predominately on the evidence-based KORU Mindfulness program, developed for college students by psychiatrists Holly Rogers, MD and Margaret Maytan, MD out of Duke University.
If KORU sounds familiar, that’s because NC Counsellor Michelle MacIntosh has offered a free, four-week KORU workshop to NC students at the Welland Campus each academic term since 2020.
“KORU is a very structured and evidence-based program that has been tested for efficacy,” said MacIntosh, who explains that results have shown that students see significant improvements in mindfulness, self-compassion, perceived stress, and sleep. MacIntosh adds that it is a great intervention for students who may not need counselling, but who want to grow skills that will improve their quality of life.
According to MacIntosh, student evaluations of KORU have revealed a link with retention. “Some students have reported feeling so overwhelmed that, prior to the course, they considered dropping out. The program gave them a sense of community.”
Both Cielen and MacIntosh are Certified KORU Mindfulness Teachers. Together, they travelled to Rochester University in 2019 for a three-day intensive training to learn how to bring the benefits of mindfulness to NC. As part of the certification requirements, MacIntosh and Cielen worked to develop a portfolio and apply the teachings with students in a series of workshops over the course of the year.
While they approach their work with students through slightly different lenses – for Cielen, an academic approach, and for MacIntosh, a therapeutic one – they both want their students to experience the tremendous benefit of daily meditation. Students in both groups are asked to meditate for 10 minutes a day, which has been scientifically proven to have a profound impact on well-being. Through the KORU app, students have an easy guide for daily practice and support from their facilitator at their fingertips.
Having practiced meditation and studied the science behind it for over 20 years, Cielen tells her students that it is one of the most challenging but rewarding and life-changing things she has ever done.
“It takes enormous courage to sit and get to know your mind, and to face emotions, feelings and experiences,” she said.
Cielen credits former Director of Student Services, Lianne Gagnon, for her support and advocacy through certification and help to get the course off the ground. She is also grateful to MacIntosh for her willingness to collaborate.
“Michelle has such an amazing perspective as a counsellor. As I developed the curriculum – which was, at first, excessively theoretical – she explained that what students need more than anything is a hands-on-course with skills and tools they can apply to their lives,” said Cielen.
While not initially designed for virtual delivery, the Winter 2022 pilot was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from students who say they are more centered and self-aware thanks to Cielen’s course.
Teaching two sections this fall, Cielen sees great potential to expand the course and thinks all students would benefit from meditation and mindfulness. In the Winter 2023 Term, the course will be offered for the first time at the Welland Campus.
The duo are intent on bringing the benefits of meditation to the College. In the summer, Cielen and MacIntosh held an on-campus mindfulness retreat. MacIntosh continues to offer KORU each term, and leads a weekly meditation on Mondays at the Welland Campus for students and employees in collaboration with Athletics and Student Engagement.
“Meditation and mindfulness is something we all need to be doing for our wellness,” said Macintosh.
