Long Beach City College yoga instructor and mental health advocate Rick Anderson collaborated with the Nursing Allied Health Learning Center programs on Sept. 19, in hopes to reveal the importance of yoga and mental stillness for the nursing students.
“Nursing students carry tension dealing with patients, mental and physical tension,” Anderson said, emphasizing that yoga is a great way for anyone to destress, stay active and get the body moving.
For a lot of nursing students like Monica Silverio, who sits in class for over 6 hours at a time and often attends clinicals, finding time to unwind can be challenging.
When asked what was the importance of having a collaboration like this for nursing students, Silverio said it’s a means for students to destress mentally and physically.
“1000%, yoga helps destress, forcing yourself to shut everything out,” Silverio said.
During the hour-long session, Anderson focused on using breathing techniques to calm the body and remain present.
“Everybody should be moving, breathing and staying in the present,” Anderson said. “Yoga is the calming fluctuation of the mind.”
Students who attended the session expressed their appreciation for the opportunity and offered suggestions for making future classes more accessible.
“If they can get a solid schedule, because I received the email the day before. Or maybe they could do a survey to ask students for their availability,” Silverio said.
In addition to being a nursing student at LBCC, Silverio is also a mother, balancing her academic responsibilities with the demands of family life.
She said the peaceful environment these sessions offer provide a welcome opportunity to step away from those responsibilities.
“I feel like all of the work that you do starts with your mind, in order for you to exude all of the goodness you want to do for someone else,” Silvero says.
Silverio, who has practiced yoga before, also reflected on how the practice helps her approach her nursing education with a greater awareness of her own mental well-being.
Although a very intimate setting, the impact of the event on the students was truly felt. Some students never have even taken a yoga class, but fully immersed themselves in the experience.
Anderson says he wants to make this a once a semester collaboration going forward.
