It’s a pretty safe assumption that many, if not most, Sidwell Friends clubs have shut down—unless that assumption is about the Meditation and Mindfulness club.

“I wasn’t sure we could continue,” said Hunter Colson ’21, the founder and co-head of the club. “But I thought about it, talked about it with Chilamo [Taylor ’20], and we decided we’d just have the meetings via Google Meet.”

Even though they’re being held online, the weekly meetings have mostly remained the same. After a greeting, either Taylor or Colson will play a guided meditation on one of their phones; sometimes Upper School psychologist Kasaan Holmes leads a live meditation. The group has also added biweekly yoga sessions, led by Upper School teacher Shaakira Raheem and Associate Director of Auxiliary Programs Whitney Ennis, to their offerings

“Now most people don’t feel like they’re in their normal state of mind,” Taylor, the co-head of the club, said. “I think all of us are in different headspaces now; the shift to mostly doing everything at home or doing everything on a screen has caused people to get a little more stressed out. I think now is the perfect time to get into either practicing meditation, or just taking a second to be more mindful about how you’re feeling. I think it’s one thing that’s really helped me to stay level-headed throughout the distance learning. It’s served almost as a binding agent for me so that I don’t go completely crazy not seeing people and not really getting out of the house.

“I would say that I probably do it more now because I have a lot more time to myself in general,” Colson said. “It’s just helpful in all aspects of our new situation. I’d say it’s very important to my life now.

“If you ever feel like you’re just overwhelmed or you can’t focus on something, just give it a shot,” Colson continues. “Just give it one shot.”