Since it opened in August, the University of Virginia’s Contemplative Commons building has served as a space for students and community members to attend events, participate in research and attend classes.
At the end of last semester, students asked for more Friday afternoon options. And so “Friday Rest Fest” was born.
Since the beginning of the spring semester, students and community members have gathered on Friday afternoons to enjoy a sound bath followed by a yoga or tai chi session to shake off the week’s stress.
“The sound bath is a new offering we added this spring that is open to the full community,” said Nicole Thomas, director of the Contemplative Commons. “Wind-down yoga and the tai chi were developed in direct response to student feedback for restorative sessions during this Friday afternoon time slot.”
Hiromi Johnson is the founder of Charlottesville T’ai Chi Center. In 2004, she started the center as a nonprofit to spread awareness of the practice’s health benefits. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)
This weekend, the Commons will host a two-day celebration called “FLOURISH: A Weekend for Wellbeing” that offers students and community members opportunities to take classes and hear from experts.
Karianne Michelle, a local sound practitioner, reiki master and meditation teacher, leads the sound bath from 2 to 3 p.m. “It’s an opportunity for students, faculty and community members to set aside everything going on during the day and focus on rest,” Michelle said.
Fourth-year media studies and government student Emily Surratt has been attending sound bath sessions to help deal with the stress of her final year. “It really helps me relax and separate myself from my work,” she said.
Riley Growney, a fourth-year media studies and English student, agreed and said she will continue attending. “It’s a great way to turn off my mind from all the anxious thoughts of my last semester,” she said.
Following the sound bath session, students can attend an hourlong tai chi class led by Hiromi Johnson, founder and director of Charlottesville T’ai Chi Center, or a 90-minute wind-down yoga session with local instructor Allie Redshaw.
Daniel “Cosmo” Kuzmick is auditing UVA classes for free under the Virginia Senior Citizens Higher Education Act. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)
To celebrate her birthday, second-year biology student Julianna Pledgie decided to take the day off work and attend her first Rest Fest last week. She said she attended a sound bath the Commons hosted in the fall and had been searching for an opportunity to return for classes.
“I came to celebrate myself with some meditative practices and say goodbye to my teen years,” she said.
Daniel “Cosmo” Kuzmick is a Charlottesville community member auditing courses at the University (as locals like him, who are over 60 years old, can do for free). He’s currently enrolled in Art of the Moving Creature, a course where faculty from UVA’s drama and architecture departments teach students to craft fantastical creatures for the annual Festival of the Moving Creature Parade.
