WELLNESS 132: Breathwork for Wellbeing
1 Unit, Winter Quarter. Discover the power of the breath to reach a meditative state of mind. Details here!
BIOS215: Stanford SKY Campus Happiness Retreat
1 Unit, Fall and Spring Quarter. Discover the power of the breath to reach a meditative state of mind. Details here!
SKY Campus Happiness Retreats
Sign up HERE to be notified about future retreats!
Participants will learn breathwork-based techniques they can practice at home to decrease stress and increase peace and focus. The cornerstone of the retreat is the evidence-based SKY (Sudarshan Kriya Yoga) technique that uses the breath to calm the mind and leads to a deep experience of meditation.
Reviews from our 2020 Retreats
“This retreat is a great way to implement positive psychology and mindfulness into your life through meditation. You learn breathwork technique in detail along with ways to incorporate these exercises into your day to clear your mind and improve your emotional and mental wellbeing. Taking care of yourself is very crucial but easy to neglect in a fast-paced academic environment, so this course is a great way to alleviate stress.”
“Best weekend of my life! Stanford is hectic and stressful and this was an awesome way to relax. Super fun too - loved the activities ;)”
“If you have tried meditation apps, books, podcasts, and still can not develop a constant daily practice, this is the workshop for you. It will give you the structure and understanding you need to develop a practice you will stick to and enjoy.”
"Please do!! If you are looking to grow within yourself, find a toolkit to help you navigate life, and connect with others on a deep level this is the community for you.”
About the Instructors
Julia Tang has been teaching SKY meditation practices through the International Association of Human Values (IAHV) for over 20 years. Julia has taught SKY to students at the University of Virginia, Boston College, Boston, University, MIT, Harvard University, UMass Amherst, as well as at Stanford University where she is a Lecturer in Wellness Education. She currently teaches SKY meditation through the Department of Veterans Affairs in Palo Alto as part of a federally-funded study examining the effects of SKY meditation on veterans with PTSD. Julia received her Masters of Education from Harvard University.
Graham Erwin, Ph.D., is a Stanford Cancer Institute Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Genetics at Stanford University. He is a molecular, chemical, and genome biologist elucidating the functional role of repetitive DNA sequences. This work is guiding the design of new therapeutics and diagnostics for human disease. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was a co-inventor of synthetic transcription factors to treat devastating neurodegenerative diseases. This work formed the basis of Design Therapeutics (San Diego, California). He has published first-author papers in high-impact journals including PNAS and Science. Graham is an advocate for first-generation college students and for programs that support mental health and psychological thriving on college campuses.
Anshul Samar is a Stanford alum (’16 ’18) and 200H certified yoga instructor. On campus, Anshul assisted various programs including MED130 (Meditation Practices for Well-Being), Trancos Frosh Retreat (an overnight reflection-based retreat for new students), and Diversity and First Generation Office's Intergroup Facilitation course on race, sexual orientation, gender, and income. He is passionate about sharing meditation and breathing techniques that helped him through his Stanford experience and making them accessible to the broader community. He is currently an AI research engineer at Cerebras Systems.