A group of first-time meditation students left Rose Hill Baptist Church Saturday with new knowledge.

“Meditation restores the body to the point of nothing, it’s a kind of conscious resting,” said Ralph Jennings one of the event’s organizers. “Meditate so you do not have to medicate.”

Meditation had been proven to reduce stress and anxiety, allow for better sleep, think more clearly and fight heart disease said Kofi Kondwani, Ph.D., who led the class.

The session lasted from 8:30 a.m. to noon. During the session tools were used to clear the mind of thought. The goal of each class is to concentrate on nothing.

“Some people can achieve the state during their first session,” Kondwani said. “It is similar to learning how to swim; it is a natural process.”

Most of the people who attended said they left with a sense of peace and tranquility.

“I am going to need a little more practice, but I really enjoyed the class,” Connie Burns said.

Burns said she and her husband Pat went because they were curious and looking for health benefits.

“I have been exercising, so I figured this would help further my reduction of stress,” Pat Burns said.

Kondwani is an assistant professor in the departments of community health and preventative medicine and family medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine. He has been teaching meditation for more than 30 years.

Kondwani has made proposals to teach soldier meditation before being deployed in order to minimize post-traumatic stress disorder.

In addition he has taught middle school children how to meditate in order to receive better test scores.

“You need nothing to meditate,” Konwani said. “It is so simple, there is no reason to not practice it.”

Saturday’s session was the third such class Kondwani has led in Natchez. Kondwani said he plans on returning to Natchez due to the following he has established.