Yoga and meditation proved a potent prescription for students who participated in a College of Pharmacy study last fall, reporting decreased stress and anxiety after just six weeks of once-a-week practice.

The study’s 17 participants, all students—half in URI’s intensive pharmacy program— committed to a weekly one-hour vinyasa yoga class led by Virginia Lemay, clinical associate professor of pharmacy and a registered yoga teacher. Immediately afterward, they participated in guided meditation facilitated by Ashley Buchanan, an assistant professor of pharmacy and interim director of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Providence. Questionnaires assessed stress, anxiety and mindfulness levels at the beginning and end of the program.

Student John Hoolahan ’19, co-author of the study with Lemay and Buchanan, says the idea evolved out of conversations he had with Lemay about integrating his spiritual life—he is a Reiki master—with his academic and professional pursuits. “I was coming out of a time when I was very unsure as to what I wanted to be on this earth for,” Hoolahan says. “This showed me I’m capable of merging these two worlds that I’ve found.”

The study was called “Samyama: Stress, Anxiety, Mindfulness: A Yoga and Meditation Assessment,” using a Sanskrit word that describes a state in which the mind and body are unified in focus on the present moment—what’s often called mindfulness. Lemay presented the findings in poster form at the midyear conference of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. Attendees were enthusiastic. “I can’t tell you the number of people who took pictures of the poster,” Lemay says.

Another conference presentation and a paper are planned. The popularity of the study—and a spin-off weekly meditation class—have the trio considering what they might do next. Hoolahan would like to do more research, as well as find a larger place to offer more people yoga, meditation and Reiki.