Twenty of my classmates, barefoot or in socks, rock on their heels.
The stifling silence in the movement room of my university is broken only by occasional giggling and loud breathing.
On the schedule today: walking around carefully, rolling foot movements at a snail's pace, surprised and amused looks.
I feel a little silly.
We all chose a course with a promising title this semester.
"Stress Less" was suddenly on the list of events with which we can complete our practical module.
And if the alternative is to have to sit down in another seminar, then the decision is quite easy for many.
At the latest after the first event, however, it became clear to us that meditation is not just relaxing together on yoga mats with incense sticks.
Meditation and mindfulness is above all work on oneself. Exercises such as the so-called "body scan" are intended to help us to remain fully attentive to our own body.
In between there are practices that make you frown again.
For example, eating raisins mindfully.
Everyone sits in a circle and chews on three dried grapes.
For ten minutes.
In addition, the lecturer provides us with scientific studies and texts.
The positive effects of meditation are now scientifically proven.
When you meditate, you promise yourself a lot.
It should lift the spirits, improve dealing with one's own feelings, increase the ability to concentrate and ensure clear thoughts.
That sounds so gorgeous that I got a little suspicious.
If the term "chakra" comes up, I'm gone
The greatest difficulty, however, was self-reflection in the form of essays.
This is also part of mindfulness and meditation.
Being forced to listen to myself had a surprising effect on me: the feeling of understanding myself and my body better.
And I could really use a bit more stress resilience.
According to a study by the German Center for Higher Education Research and Science Research, I'm not the only one who feels this way: 24.4 percent of the students surveyed stated that they had possible harbingers of burnout.
This is where a course like this comes in handy.
But I don't believe in chakras, mantras and karma.
That's why I said to myself before the start: If such terms were used, I would have disappeared from the course faster than I had enrolled for it.
Spoilers: they are not.
Mindfulness and meditation courses at universities are not new.
It has been part of the curriculum at Munich University of Applied Sciences since 2010.
But also in the USA and Great Britain it is almost normal to offer such courses.
It has also been available in Düsseldorf since 2022.
Our teacher has more years of meditation experience than I am old.
Alexandra Habot-Jacobowitz teaches English and studies psychology and coaching in London.
The "stress-free" course was created as part of her studies.
Her colleagues were enthusiastic about the idea of implementing the course in Düsseldorf as well.
In the current winter semester, Habot-Jacobowitz is entering the second round.
The essays that we have to submit in order to successfully complete the course flow anonymously into the master's thesis of our lecturer.
I can now say: I owe a lot to the course.
It didn't automatically make me a more relaxed person, but it opened a door for me that I didn't want to know about before.
Short meditations are now part of my everyday life.
Namely whenever the day gets too much for me.
With the right apps and noise-cancelling headphones, this can be done anywhere: on the train, at work and even in a quiet place.
Tom Konjer, 20 years old, is studying English and Politics in Düsseldorf. Still firmly believes in graduating within the standard period of study, although it's already too late for that.