Meditation is one of the oldest and most commonly practiced forms of self reflection, as well as being a common method to access someone’s spirituality and it is an integral part of many people’s lives.

Because of meditations profound influence on many people and society it’s not surprising that students led by senior Amy Shah, founded a meditation club for the current school year.

“I started the meditation club because I felt that students at West are stressed and they need a way to calm down,” Shah said.

Shah reinforced her belief that meditation is an effective tool for students especially due to the large amount of rigorous courses that many students take.

“Meditation is a great way to relieve stress that people experience and another way to understand ourselves,” Shah said. “I feel that we are constantly surrounded by people and are challenged with lots of decisions. Meditation is a way to find our inner selves and to have time for ourselves after a long day.”

Senior Preston Holley has similar beliefs to Shah’s.

“Well I was skeptical at first, but once my friend Amy Shah talked me into going to the first meeting, I could see why meditating is so useful,” Holley said. “Joining allowed me to get the chance to just relax and forget about everything stressful every once and awhile.”

For many one of the best parts about the club is getting a chance to relieve themselves of all the stress that everyone gradually accumulates over time. Senior Shruthi Sethuraman mentioned the positive effects that meditation has had.

“I joined the club because it was the first time I’d ever heard about a meditation club and I thought it would help relieve much of the stress that I experience on a daily basis,” Sethuraman said. “The reason I enjoy meditation club is due to the fact that it gives me a chance to release stress that every student here at West has.”

Shah was very glad that over the course of the summer, through YouTube and other sources, she was able to better understand meditation and start a club that she felt could benefit the student body and cause a lasting impact on those involved.

“Over the summer I learned that studies have shown that meditation can help improve the overall happiness of those who practice meditation,” Shah said. “I put in a lot of time to better understand meditation due to the fact that I felt it could be an important tool that many students a could utilize if they were exposed to meditation in a positive manner.”