With the arrival of fall comes much change and acclimation for the new and returning students of Loomis Chaffee. Whether it is readjusting to academics and athletics, or dealing with social struggles, students can encounter many hardships throughout the year. However, the Breathing Space program, led by Pastor Ryan Heckman, Campus Religious Life Coordinator, has emerged as a novel resource open to all.

“At Loomis, I feel like students here make meaning out of their academic life, sports careers, and what [they mean] to them. And then we have the spiritual side of Loomis’ mission that we are working towards,” Pastor Heckman said.

Inspired by Yale University’s meditation space, Pastor Heckman wanted to create a facilitated, multi-activity, and non-judgmental spiritual space at Loomis, where Loomis students, regardless of their religious affiliation, could congregate and exercise meditative and spiritual practices.

“I am hoping that the activities [at Breathing Space] will start to grow organically, and the [activity] stations will rotate more frequently,” Pastor Heckman said.

Pastor Heckman aspires for students from different spiritual and traditional backgrounds to share their family practices to ultimately build a library of spiritual practices together as a campus. On account of this, Pastor Heckman hopes that the activity stations will rotate often based on requests and input from the community.

During the first Breathing Space meeting, Pastor Heckman led the group through a Lectio Divina while reading the poem “For Evening.” Stations consisted of quiet coloring, social activities such as word searches and crosswords, and a scriptorium, which is an activity to connect with literature as a source of calm. In addition, there was a station that Pastor Heckman likes to call the “Independent Space” where students used candles and several types of beads to connect themselves with their breathing and meditation.

“I am hoping that we can interweave, particularly around high holiday moments, practices from different institutional religions which are valuable to people.” Pastor Heckman said. “I want Breathing Space to be a very interfaith space, so that students who do and don’t have faith traditions feel welcome.”

Pastor Heckman’s vision is that students will feel comfortable discussing holiday traditions related to their religion to celebrate their commonalities and differences. He believes the Breathing Space community can learn about student’s faith practices through their food, scriptures, and stories.

Pastor Heckman emphasized that Breathing Space embraces mindful meditation yet is also a space where practices and beliefs can be shared. This unique combination of spiritual introspection with access to the greater community, he hopes, will provide a calm and conscious space for the Loomis Chaffee community.

“Anyone who will walk through the doors at Breathing Space will make me so glad that they’re there, and that is how I hope to bring a welcome invitation to the space,” Pastor Heckman said.