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Koru Mindfulness

About Koru

Koru Mindfulness® is an evidence-based* curriculum specifically designed for teaching mindfulness, meditation, and stress management to college students. Koru classes are taught in four weekly 75-minute sessions following a curriculum comprised of a mix of mindfulness skills taught through guided practice, discussion, reflection, at-home practice, and readings that collectively help students manage stress, improve sleep, and focus the mind.

Courses:

Koru Basics: During this 4-week course you will be introduced to the practice of mindfulness and learn several skills, including meditation, for managing stress and enriching your life.

  • Next Session: In progress now.  Stay tuned for summer dates coming soon.

Koru 2.0: This 4-week course is for students who have already completed Koru Basic. Koru 2.0 builds on the skills developed in Koru Basic and provides an opportunity for students to further their practice and deepen their skills.

Questions? Email Laura.Beth.White@dartmouth.edu 

Koru Basics and Koru 2.0

Course Overview

Koru Basics

Week One

We explore what mindfulness is and learn how to start incorporating it into our lives through two breathing exercises (Belly Breathing & Dynamic Breathing) and a guided Body Scan meditation.

Week Two

We dive a little deeper and investigate how to cultivate more awareness through shared discussion, a Walking meditation, and the repetition of a Gatha, or meditation poem.

Week Three

We learn how to relax through the use of Guided Imagery followed by a meditation to help us release our thoughts by way of recognizing, observing, & labeling them.

Week Four

We conclude with an Eating meditation (when is the last time you paid attention solely to the food you were eating without looking at your phone, reading a book, or doing school work?) and will build on the Labeling Thoughts meditation we practiced in week three.

 

Koru 2.0

Prerequisites for this course: Koru Basics

Week One

We revisit what mindfulness is and learn how to continue incorporating it into our lives through a breathing exercise (Ocean Breathing), guided mindful movement (chair yoga series), and using a Gatha (repetition of a series of words).

Week Two

We'll revisit the chair yoga series each week and also explore the notion of compassion, for ourselves and others, through a loving-kindness meditation.

Week Three

This class will follow a different schedule than the other classes as we will come into a mini silent retreat. The purpose of this class is to introduce you to the format and style of meditation retreats and give you the chance to experiment with silence.

Week Four

We conclude with reviewing past skills and practices and discuss ways to maintain a mindfulness practice.

 

*In a randomized controlled trial, college students who went through Koru reported feeling more calm, more mindful, more rested, and had less self-judgment than students who did not go through the Koru program.

To find out when the next KORU class is scheduled, please see above or contact the Student Wellness Center.