One hundred students applied for 21 spots at a weekend retreat aimed at helping students explore soul-searching questions such as “Who am I?”

SOULscape is a weekend retreat focused on students’ physical and mental well-being. It will take place Feb. 28 to March 1 at the Minnowbrook Conference Center in Blue Mountain Lake. The retreat is free for students and is being funded by Hendricks Chapel and the Office of Health Promotion.

The weekend will include reflective discussions, introductory yoga and activities to help students understand themselves. Sean Martinelli, a senior broadcast and digital journalism major, will be leading the program along with Jill Catherine, former communications director for the Division of Student Affairs.

“One of the big things I want people to leave with in SOULscape is a vision of what they want from life and an understanding of who they are and who they want to be,” Martinelli said.

Martinelli came up with the idea for SOULscape as an extension of his program, Soulful Sit-Downs — a weekly, hour-long conversation where students engage in meaningful discussions about life’s big questions.

One of the activities Martinelli is planning on running at SOULscape focuses on being kind to oneself. In the activity, students are told to think of someone who they love and are close to, and to write down all of their hopes and wishes for that person. After, the students are told that what they wrote down is really what they want for themselves.

“That’s an interesting activity because it doesn’t put the limit on what we are asking for in our lives and really gets us thinking in a new way,” Martinelli said.

Catherine, who will be leading the yoga and meditation during the retreat, thinks that college is a great time for students to get involved in those practices. She began her own journey in yoga and meditation when she was a college student. She said the practice helped her at that time in her life because she was recovering from an eating disorder.

“Because I had an eating disorder, I had to revolutionize the way I thought about my body
— I figured out that my body is a space that holds me,” Catherine said. “It helped to heal me.”

Catherine hopes that SOULscape will provide the time and space that students need at a phase when they are asking a lot of questions about the world and about life.

“Because of being educated, (students) have the opportunity to learn so much,” Catherine said. “The retreat gives them the opportunity to listen to what it’s teaching them, about themselves and about how they want to move through the world.”

SOULscape expands on Soulful Sit-Downs, which Martinelli started two years ago when he saw a yearning from students to reflect on the things that matter in their lives.

Martinelli brings new discussion topics to each Soulful Sit-Downs meeting. Some of the topics he said students connect with the most include discussions on gratitude, vulnerability and purpose. Martinelli selects topics like these by observing students and choosing conversations he believes they will benefit most from.

He emphasized that although aspects of spirituality are touched upon in Soulful Sit-Downs, religion does not play a part in the discussions. People of all faiths and no faith are welcome at Soulful Sit-Downs, and the discussions highlight the similarities of the participants, despite their diversity.

“Every religion in its core points toward the same thing, and every religion helps you get there. We’re all looking for the same thing,” Martinelli said. “Every person that comes to Soulful Sit-Downs wants a sense of validation and wants to know that they’re seen or heard.”

When he started the program, Martinelli reached out to the Office of Health Promotions Director, Katelyn Cowen, who at that time was the health and wellness promotion specialist. Cowen has been supporting the program ever since by helping manage the logistics of Soulful Sit-Downs. She will be attending SOULscape.

Cowen thinks that SOULscape will benefit students’ health on all levels — mental and physical.

“They’re all connected in multiple ways,” Cowen said. “They’re contemplative practices. Having dialogue and practicing mindfulness and practicing yoga all have great benefits in terms of well-being.”

Published on February 26, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Alex: aerdekia@syr.edu