By Stephanie Hulse
The Student Health Resources Centre may seem like an unlikely place for Sandra McCormick’s office, she admits. But as the manager of the Spiritual Centre, its location speaks volumes about the core values of the program. After all, the centre extends its reach far beyond the spiritual, with its core mission aimed at both physical and mental health.
The centre has been turning to yoga and meditation to tackle the more physical aspect of student health for the past two years, but this year the centre has decided to turn up the heat. McCormick said that the Spiritual Centre acts as a branch for the Student Health Resources Center as it allows a bigger intake for mental health services for students.
“Everything at the college is about student success,” said McCormick.
While the centre is already offering yoga classes every Wednesday morning, McCormick announces that the Spiritual Centre is responding to the increasing school demands around midterm season with additional meditation and mindfulness classes beginning this October. Buddhist yoga and meditative sessions will take place every Monday at 6 p.m., and mindfulness classes will be held every Wednesday from 6-7 p.m.
The centre will provide yoga mats and like all events, will be held at the Spiritual Centre. The sessions are open to students of all faiths and backgrounds.
McCormick encourages students to make it out to these sessions.
“It is important to take time for oneself,” said McCormick, stressing that all the events are posted online on both the spiritual centre and the support centre calendar. McCormick hopes to see more faith groups develop and would like to see more people come out. “The more people that come, the more events (the spiritual centre) can (offer).”