"Try to stay as still as possible," said Aviva Gerber '07, the leader of the Meditation Club. "If you feel an itch on your arm, try to let it pass instead of immediately reaching out to scratch it."Suddenly I felt an itch over my right eyebrow. It spread to my left temple, then my leg twitched and my stomach made a burping noise.

"We spend most of our days thinking about what happened yesterday or about what's going to happen tomorrow," Gerber said. "Try to concentrate on the present."

The thoughts were already racing-the reading assignment I dreaded, the time crunch to get this article written... I think I locked my keys in my room. What if my French professor hates me?

Gerber rang a small cup-shaped bell three times with a stick and the meditation began. Although inwardly sick at imagining 25 minutes of nothingness, I aimed for positivity.

I tried, as instructed, to focus on my breathing. I felt the pulse of my heartbeat and the waves of air flowing to and from my lungs, imagined them inflating and deflating like an accordion.

Twenty-five minutes later the bell sang again and we ended.

Although slowing my racing thoughts was the most difficult activity imaginable, it was profoundly soothing.

I felt a bit awkward at first since the others clearly had more experience than I did, but their friendly attitude and willingness to share the experience eased my discomfort.

Gerber gave me some posture suggestions, such as sitting cross-legged on the edge of the pillow-which encourage a straight spine-resting my legs on the floor and relaxing my hands in a comfortable position.

The meditation club meets three times a week-Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays-in the Peace Room, which lies off a small corridor in the Usdan Student Center near Levin Ballroom.

The club has around 260 people on its listserv, and as many as 10 people come to each "sit," though the numbers average around four or five, according to Gerber.

I heard clattering in the hallway as I left.

"Good thing we meet before the tap dance club," Eli Davis '07 said.