Overview of current events (March 2023)
Student Meditation offers a range of events related to mindfulness. Our primary aim is to make meditation as accessible as possible and create a supportive community of people in Amsterdam who are enthusiastic about activities that enhance our mental and physical well-being. For students by students, but non-students and UvA staff are also more than welcome at our events.
Here is an overview of what Student Meditation currently offers:
Guided afternoon meditations (Roeterseiland campus)
Every day from Monday to Friday from 17:00 to 17:30, there is an in-person 20 minutes guided meditation. Then we have a round of sharing and gratitude, and if you want, you can stay for tea. These sessions are accessible, with or without meditation experience, so bring your friends!
How to join? Become a member of the announcements group chats on Telegram or Whatsapp. We send reminders for on-campus sessions through these chats. You can also just show up.
In March 2023, the rooms are the following:
Starting time is 5 PM. Please don't be more than 3 minutes late, so we can protect everyone's peace during the meditation.
Morning meditations (Zoom)
Every day from 7:45 to 8:30 AM you can join silent meditation without guidance on Zoom. You can get in and out anytime you want. At 8:30, the host rings a bell, and we have some sharing and a round of gratitude (so if you want to meditate for 20 minutes and attend the sharing, join at 8:10 and so on). There is no guidance provided, so you can either listen to a guided meditation on your own (for instance, from Insight Timer or Headspace) or meditate on your own. Joining morning meditations is excellent if you need support and structure to keep up your meditation practice. We also find that it's an amazing way to start the day with some wholesome community time.
How to join? Join the announcements group chats on Telegram or Whatsapp where we send the link to join the sessions every morning.
Courses in meditation
We regularly offer courses in meditation, for beginners and more experienced meditators.
In the Beginner's course, we explain all the basic tools and techniques you need to meditate effectively on your own. We occasionally also offer courses in loving-kindness and compassion practice, called Metta. The courses are free of charge for members of the association and usually last between 4 and 6 weeks.
How to join? The organization of courses is dependent on teachers' availability at different moments in the year, so there is no regular schedule. Spots sometimes go fast, so to not miss the announcement of a new course, join the Announcements group chat on Telegram. New courses will also be announced at the in-person meditations.
Community events
Every month, we organize fun and engaging community events such as potluck dinners, experiential dancing, journaling, book clubs, weekly review group, ecstatic dancing, nonviolent communication workshop, singing circle, clothes swap...
Our events are mainly in relation to applying mindfulness to different areas of our lives. Some are simply for community fun and getting to know each other better. You can find out about our previous events on this website ("Past events"), our Instagram, or our Facebook page.
How to stay up-to-date about events? Join the announcements group chats on Telegram or Whatsapp where we send the link to join the sessions every morning.
Deep work sessions (Zoom)
The Deep work chat was created during the pandemic, but since many of us still work from home, it's still going strong. When we deep work, we set away all of our distractions and commit to working with high focus on a goal for 50 minutes. Working together gives us structure and accountability for staying focused on our task. It's not set in stone, but there often are deep work sessions organized by experienced team members between 10-12 and 14-16 during the work week.
How to join? Join the Deep work chat.
Experiential Dancing in CREA (monthly)
Once a month, we offer a 2-hour Experiential Dancing session, which is an integrated movement practice, bridging movement meditation, the joy of dancing, and creative writing. You can register for the sessions here. For the first time, everyone is welcome to the workshop. The second one is members-only.
More?
If you are curious of our work, feel free to approach us at the meditations, send a message on Telegram, or email us an email at [email protected].