Course Description
Participants will learn techniques they can practice at home to decrease stress and increase peace and focus. The cornerstone of the retreat is SKY (Sudarshan Kriya Yoga), an evidence based technique that uses the breath to calm the mind, leading to a deep experience of meditation. Along with SKY, there will be community-building sessions to make meaningful connections with other students.
Recent Yale study on SKY Breath Meditation and article in Harvard Business Review.
Registration
There are many weekend virtual retreats being offered around the country, take a look at the full list here. At Stanford, SKY is taught as part of WELLNESS132. Retreats usually take place over a weekend with one session Friday evening and one Saturday and Sunday morning. You’ll leave with a breath meditation practice of your own!
To access student tuition for community programs listed here, please register with your .edu account and follow verification steps. To access repeater tuition, please use the same email you registered with in the past (if you’ve done the program under a different email, please reach out and let us know).
Course Material
- Community building and new friendships in a supportive and inclusive space
- SKY Breath Meditation practice – a take home practice that students can begin doing after the course
- 3 beginner & advanced pranayama breathwork techniques to decrease anxiety and increase calm and focus
- 5 practical principles to incorporate meditation philosophy into daily living
- Reflection and discussion on happiness and wellness
- Optional post-course reunions and sessions to practice SKY Breath Meditation and be part of a fun wellness community at Stanford
Registration
If registration is full and you’d like to be on the waitlist or you’d like to be on the mailing list for future offerings, please sign up: here.
If you’d like to participate but are not able to due to financial reasons or if interested in offerings for non-alums, please send an email to asamar@alumni.stanford.edu.
Reviews from our recent zoom mini courses:
These retreats are organized around the country in both in person and virtual formats. Since the pandemic started, we’ve organized 7 zoom breath and meditation retreats for Stanford students, faculty, staff, and alumni and the response has been overwhelmingly positive (we even got a shoutout in an article by Forbes!). Now, with more than 107 course alums since May 2020 and a weekly community of Stanford students and alums who meet every week to practice together, the courses have gone from a weekend program on a breath and meditation to a vibrant and active wellness community.
For the full list of upcoming retreats see here.
Reviews from previous offerings:
- “Best weekend of my life! Stanford is hectic and stressful and this was an awesome way to relax. Super fun too” (August 2020)
- “I cannot recommend this retreat enough. It is very well structured, to the point and run in the most efficient way possible. There is also time to meet the other participants and build an excellent sense of community, that will help in continuing your practice! Whether you are a total newbie or a meditation master you will learn new things about yourself that can help you in living a more joyous and full life.” (Oct 2020)
- “Do it! I never considered myself the ‘meditation type’ but still came away with a new perspective and equipped with a tool to incorporate in my everyday life.” (Dec 2020)
- “This is a great intro to deep breathing and meditation while building a community! The instructors are all really awesome people who seem to deeply care about the participants. Everyone is very nice and friendly :)” (May 2020)”
- “This retreat is a great way to implement positive psychology and mindfulness into your life through meditation… the retreat is well-paced, and there is a great balance between contemplative prompts, discussions (in small and large groups), moments for self-reflection, and a few lecture slides with core information that you will be learning. I highly recommend this retreat and am looking forward to taking all the knowledge I gained from it into my everyday life!” (May 2020)”
- “The techniques taught in this retreat are very effective for those who have never done meditation before.” (May 2020)
- “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.” (August 2020)
- “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.” (Oct 2020)
- “I have been recommending it a lot. I usually start by the fact that the people leading it are very committed, has no religious or cultural overtones and is really directed towards personal experience.” (Dec 2020)
- “While a weekend meditation retreat might sound intimidating to a novice meditator…Julia and Graham made the three-days feel very approachable, brought our group together, and I would encourage you if you’re at all interested in breathing or meditation I encourage it!” (Dec 2020)
- “This retreat allowed me to give much needed attention to myself, body and soul, and has opened new pathways to daily practices I’ve been looking for. Was touched by the warmth of the community in this class, even through video.”(April 2021)
- “wonderful time to pause and reflect on yourself and what brings you internal peace/happiness – highly recommend for anyone who might be struggling with stress, negative thoughts/emotions, and be willing to truly put the time aside to commit to the retreat. Keep a journal of thoughts/reflections from the days to come back to when you need a gentle reminder of the importance of taking a pause.” (April 2021)
- “100% recommend. This was life changing and such a lovely way to connect with alums from all walks of life. Instructors were also fantastic!” (Aug 2021)
- “This can really open things up for you in managing stress, emotions, feelings in a productive, helpful, easy way” (Aug 2021)
- “It takes a few hours of commitment to potentially change your life for the better. You won’t regret it.” (Aug 2021)
- “A very nice course. If you’re considering taking it, then you should just do it.” (Aug 2021)
- “Great variety of tools to add to your toolbox on how to live a happier life” (Nov 2021)
- “the combination of practice and also intellect learning makes this course great because it tackles the question of obtaining “happiness” from two different angles” (Nov 2021)
- “Do it, it is really amazing how much breathing can impact your mood, but you definitely need to experience it for yourself. I really enjoyed how it is such a practical tool that can be easily incorporated during ones day. Very wonderful community and environment!” (Nov 2021)
If you have any questions about the program or would like to know more, please reach out to Anshul Samar at asamar@alumni.stanford.edu.
Stanford Advisors
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 (Math ’16, Computer Science ’18), SKY Breath Meditation instructor and 200H certified yoga instructor. On campus, Anshul assisted various programs including MED130 (Meditation Practices for Well-Being), and Diversity and First Generation Office’s Intergroup Facilitation course on race, sexual orientation, gender, and income. He co-leads Stanford’s Meditation Monday series (now in its fifth year) and 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 and serves on the Stanford Young Alumni Bay Area Board.