While the faculty and students of the Wayne State University School of Medicine are dedicated to the health and well-being of the mind and body of others, a new research assistant will offer classes in meditation so that they may take a little time for their own mental state.

Michael Fronczak will offer the classes in the Faculty and Staff Meditative Epicenter, located in Room 2202 of Scott Hall. The room formerly reserved for students is now available for quiet relaxation, introspection and meditation.

Fronczak, 30, of St. Clair Shores, recently joined the school as a research assistant in the labs of Christian Kreipke, Ph.D., assistant professor of research, and Jose Rafols, Ph.D., professor, in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology.

The non-denominational sessions will be open to faculty, staff and students free of charge. Sessions in insight meditation, concentration development and loving-kindness meditation will run from 45 to 60 minutes.

“I have led classes intermittently for a few years now,” Fronczak said. “They have been in religious and non-religious settings. Outside of a Buddhist temple, the non-religious settings have included post-partum groups, private sessions, yoga studios and retreats.”

Meditation has been benefited him in a number of ways, said Fronczak, who has led sessions for the last four years, most recently at St. Joan of Arc Church in St. Clair Shores. He began practicing meditation 12 years ago at age 18, and has led classes in Sri Lanka and Australia.

“I actually began because I thought it would make me smarter,” he said. “I stayed with it because of the insights I found it helped me to discover.

“I have learned much about the nature of my mind,” he added. “Each person’s journey is different.”

While he said he has never led meditation classes in a university setting, Fronczak explained that “when I saw the room was opened in the newsletter, the thought just occurred to me, and I think it could be of great benefit for this population.”

The sessions will be held from noon to 1 p.m. the first and third Friday of each month beginning in September. The popularity of the initial classes will determine whether additional sessions need to be conducted.

For more information on the classes, and to RSVP for an initial headcount, contact Fronczak at mfroncza@med.wayne.edu.