View Larger Image The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is offering online courses to the public during February and March that teach introductory skills for meditation and Mindfulness.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is offering online courses to the public during February and March that teach introductory skills for meditation and Mindfulness.

UAMS Mindfulness Program to Offer Online Meditation Courses in February, March

By News Staff

| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Mindfulness Program is offering online courses to the public during February and March that teach introductory skills for meditation and Mindfulness.

Six courses are being offered this spring. The course lasts four weeks, with one 75-minute class each week. Upcoming course dates include:

  • 4 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 5, 12, 19 and 26
  • 1 p.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 7, 14, 21 and 28
  • 1 p.m. Wednesdays, March 1, 8, 15 and 22

The course, called Koru Mindfulness, is an introduction to mindfulness meditation and stress-management skills. These skills help participants fully experience life moment-to-moment with kindness and without judgment. It helps participants learn to increase self-compassion while finding balance in life.

The UAMS Mindfulness Program’s certified instructors have taught Koru Mindfulness to students, faculty and trainees at UAMS since 2017. Now, the course is also available to the public.

The course is donation-based; while a donation is not required, participants are encouraged to donate. Donors who donate at least $125 or more will receive a Mindfulness Program T-shirt and course book. All participants will receive the Koru Mindfulness app of guided meditations and learning materials, which participants will continue to be able to access after the course is complete. This course will be conducted in-person on the UAMS campus.

To register, visit Mindfulness.UAMS.edu.

Koru Mindfulness is a popular and widely used program on many college campuses in the United States. It was developed by Holly Rogers, M.D., a psychiatrist from the Duke University Student Counseling Center, and her colleagues. It is now an independent organization with hundreds of teachers worldwide.

Elements taught in the course include:

  • Breath Meditation
  • Belly Breathing
  • Dynamic Breathing
  • Body Scan
  • Walking Meditation
  • Gatha Meditation
  • Guided Imagery
  • Labeling of Thoughts
  • Eating Meditation
  • Labeling of Feelings

Certified Koru Mindfulness teachers from UAMS will teach the classes. Additional courses and dates with our other certified instructors will be announced on the Mindfulness.UAMS.edu website. Puru Thapa, M.D., directs the UAMS Mindfulness Program.

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.

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