News

With the goals of creating a sense of community and offering people an outlet to work skillfully through experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Linda Markowitz, PhD, is bringing her mindfulness and meditation gathering online and welcoming all. 

“The pandemic has shown that we are all connected in profound ways,” said Markowitz, chair and professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Sociology. “SIUE has done a great job of bringing us all together during this difficult time. I hope these accessible meditation gatherings demonstrate another positive way community manifests.” 

Previously, Markowitz offered meditation weekly in Lovejoy Library’s Meditation Room. Due to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “Stay-at-Home” order, she is now offering meditation via Zoom. She invites SIUE students, faculty and staff, as well as the general public, to join the online gathering as they’d like. 

On Monday and Friday mornings from 7:30-8 a.m., Markowitz and her colleague Diana Parra, PhD, MPA, assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, will offer meditation as a way to start people’s day.  

On Wednesday’s from 12-1 p.m., Markowitz will offer a guided meditation, followed by a calm abiding (silent) meditation, and finally a short reading about mindfulness with discussion. Participants are invited to hop on and off the Zoom space during the hour as their schedule permits. 

All of the virtual sessions can be accessed at siue.zoom.us/j/3674281586. Participants who desire a reminder email before each session, or who are new to meditation and may feel nervous, should contact Markowitz at lmarkow@siue.edu. 

“Research shows some wonderful benefits of daily meditation practice,” Markowitz explained. “For example, people who meditate daily, even a short meditation, are likely to demonstrate more compassion toward themselves and others, and to feel a greater sense of calm and ease.” 

As a trained sociologist, Markowitz emphasizes how the main ethical foundations of mindfulness and meditation fit into the sociological perspective. According to Markowitz, the foundations help people recognize three truths: 

• Everything changes – the seasons, our emotions, our bodies, everything. 
• We change – depending on the people we’re with, the time of day, the period of our lives. 
• Life can be unsatisfying – sometimes things go people’s way, sometimes they don’t. Life can be organized in a way that creates inequality, and it can be organized in a way that supports people. 

“These three truths are also the foundation of sociology,” Markowitz noted. “The only difference is that with mindfulness and meditation, we are asked to work with our minds, practicing being present with these truths in a kind and gentle way, so that we work skillfully to create a world that benefits most people. In sociology, we are generally working with people, studying how these truths manifest in the world, so that we can create change in society that benefits most people.” 

Markowitz has developed an integrative studies course, Meditation and Mindfulness: Mind, Body and Society, in collaboration with Wendy Weber, PhD, professor in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior’s Department of Teaching and Learning, and Juliet Gray, interim assistant dean and health sciences librarian in Library and Information Services. 

In fall 2020, Markowitz will teach the course, which includes daily practice of mindfulness and meditation, and emphasizes research surrounding how mindfulness and meditation affect the mind, body, and society. Fall course registration is now open, with a full schedule available at siue.edu/registrar/schedules.   

Photo: Linda Markowitz, PhD, chair and professor in the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Sociology.