Meditation on Mondays reduces Stress

Every Monday Azra Khan from student support services at Stratford University leads a meditation class in the Jefferson room on the fifth floor from 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm. Students from every faculty as well as teachers participate in the meditation session. Now there are around ten students as well as faculty members in this session.

The definition of meditation is a practice of focusing on thoughts in a calm and quiet environment. According to Azra Khan,"To focus on a moment and your breath and not worry about the future or past, enjoy the moment. This moment is going to be the past. Peace in yourself is meditation."

Many people believe that meditation helps to reduce stress, anxiety, tensions and increases happiness, love, harmony and positive relationships. Parth, a student worker at Stratford who has participated in the meditations, said," At the time of meditation I feel relaxed, energized, refreshed and it also helps me to improve my concentration power."

According to www.healthandyoga.com. whatever you do with awareness is meditation. "Watching your breath is meditation. Listening to the birds is meditation. As long as these activities are free from any other distraction to the mind is the effective meditation." Margaret, an ESL teacher and participant in the meditation, said,"Meditation is a quiet time that clears and relaxes my brain focusing on breathing. The process of breathing in and out trains my brain to put everything out and relax."

Azra Khan said "Being a part of meditation and mindfulness project provides a great opportunity for me to connect with students personally and to be able to teach students soft skills."

2015 Earthquake Effects still Noticeable in Nepal

People in Nepal are still suffering from the earthquake which happened last year. In 2015, 25 April there was a massive earthquake which killed more then 8,000 and injured 20,000 more.

     According to www.mercycorps,org more then 500,500 houses were destroyed due to that huge earthquake and 270,900 houses were damaged. According to Newsweek.com the Nepalese government provided 15,000 Nepali rupees($140) to each family and then later an additional amount of 10,000 Nepali rupees($94) per family. 

     Approximately 300,000 Nepali rupees (2796.21$) is needed to build a simple house so the money provided is not enough to re-build a house.  Half of the victims are still living under tents. There had been some financial aid from national and international organizations, but it hasn't been enough to cover the disaster.

     The victims from this earthquake are facing the problem of load shedding, which is when the power is turned off intermittently. The hydro powers as well as electric lines were destroyed due to the earthquake resulting in disruption of power supply. According to www.newsweek.com victims from the earthquake are using lights from their motorbikes to cook food at night in Kathmandu valley.

     After such huge destruction people need many basic things to live like food, water, clothing and shelter. According to pbs.org after the earthquake people needed clean water, blankets and towels, tarps and hygienic materials. 

     Since 2015 there have been other smaller earthquakes as well. According to www.financialexpress.com there have been 428 aftershocks greater than 4 on the Richter scale in and around Nepal since the big one last year. 

     Mahima, a Nepalese citizen living in Washington DC, said, "I am here, however my mind is thinking about my country and scared due to earthquakes which are going on frequently most of the days."