During Covid-19 times, I started offering mindfulness workshops to postgraduate students enrolled at Rhodes University in South Africa where I was working as a lecturer (now, as a research associate). The original intention was to respond to the increasing amount of stress that everyone are facing at this time, especially postgraduate student.

Mindfulness workshops every Wednesday at 2:00 pm SAST: I facilitate and co-create this space of mindfulness every Wednesday for postgraduate students and academics linked to Rhodes University.

Each week, we talk about a specific topic associated with the journey of academia, such as imposter syndrome, dealing with feedback, writers’ block, how to manage time, among others

We typically start with a short practice of mindfulness of breath, then, we dive into the topic, sharing our experiences and commenting on existing research, and we end the practice with a more extended meditation practice.

Interested in joining a mindfulness workshop: These workshops are sponsored by the Center for Postgraduate Studies (CPGS) at Rhodes Universities. So far, all the attendees are linked to Rhodes. Yet, we are a cool community of peers and welcome other postgraduate students and academics who would like join us. If you want to learn more, drop me an email to rox.chiappa@ru.ac.za

Me and mindfulness: I have practiced mindfulness for over eight years, and I am currently enrolled in a Mindfulness Meditation Certificate program (ending in April 2023). I rely on the lesson of mindfulness to teach, do research, reconcile with myself, and remembering who I am when I get lost in my own fears of failure.