By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The National Alliance on Mental Illness-Hays will display a group art project during the Fall Art Walk tonight that couples meditation with art.
The art piece was created during a NAMI educational meeting in August and will be on display at Jackie Creamer’s The Dance Studio, 717 Main St. The art walk runs from 6:30 to 9:30 tonight.
Gene Rice, doctor of philosophy, and Amy Schmierbach, professor of art, joined during the spring semester at Fort Hays State University to teach a three-credit hour art and meditation course. The two professors brought some of the techniques they used in that class to the NAMI group.
Rice presented two types of meditation practice to the group. The first was a basic breathing meditation. Then Schmierbach asked the group to draw their breath by creating marks that coincided with the length of their breath. These marks were mostly straight lines of varying length.
The second meditation Rice presented was a body scan meditation. With this meditation, the group was asked to focus on different parts of their bodies. Rice said this starts with hair and skin and moves inward to muscle and bones then to internal organs and finally blood vessels and blood.
When Schmierbach led the body scan drawing, she asked NAMI participants to create marks and textures that represent these areas of the body.
Rice said art and meditation have many overlaps. Both help people explore their inner world and experience their inner senses and feelings. He said meditation hinges on non-judgment. He encouraged his students to acknowledge their thoughts and create the art without judging it.
“We can come home to ourselves,” he said. “We can become more aware of what is happening in our mind.”
Ann Leiker of NAMI-Hays said meditation can be beneficial for people who suffer from mental illness.
“Being in the present and having mindfulness is very important to good mental health. Not living in the past or living in the future is a huge part of being mentally healthy,” she said.
In Rice’s and Schmierbach’s class, the professors presented other meditation practices, such as eating and walking meditation.
“We ask students to research and practice techniques that they have experienced personal growth,”Schmierbach said. “The final project is a culmination of this personal research where students develop their own series of drawings.”
The professors hope to offer another three-credit hour class in spring 2018.
Both Rice and Schmierbach said meditation can be an enriching and stress-reducing practice for anyone.
Rice said research at Harvard has indicated meditation and mindfulness practice can reduce stress.
Schmierbach said, “In our fast-paced world, many people are focused on the future. We are increasingly stressed and anxious due to world events and/or struggles in our lives. We want to be successful in the future, and we work hard toward our goals. However, most of us do not appreciate the present moment and the wonders that are always right in front of us. Drawing and Meditation can help keep us be present and, in return, allow us to experience the happiness and love in our lives.”
For more information on NAMI-Hays, call the resource line at 785-269-6859. NAMI has monthly meetings on the first Monday of the month unless there is a holiday. In September, the NAMI meeting will be on the second Monday because of Labor Day. Support group meetings are 6 to 7 p.m. and the education meeting is from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. at the Resource Center for Life Experience, 2900 Hall St. Use the east door. You can also connect with NAMI-Hays on Facebook.