Running Head: The Zen Den

The Zen Den

Healing Environment Proposal

Miquella Young

Arizona State University

 
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THE ZEN DEN

The Zen Den

Introduction: Executive Summary

The purpose of this project is to create a safe space for ASU freshman living in the

Sonora dorms to go when they are in need of community, healing, and peace. The objective is to

remodel the existing space, using evidence-based elements of healing environments. Although

several healing elements will be used to create a holistic healing environment, like natural

lighting, fresh air, fine arts, aromatherapy, guided imagery, reiki, and music therapy, the healing

elements of focus for this proposal will be natural lighting and the Bonny Method, which uses

guided imagery and music therapy. These will be appraised through evidence-based research to

ensure participating students are experiencing effective methods for internal and external

healing.

Context & Credentials

The healing environment I envision for freshman at ASU takes place at the Sonora

Center, a student dorm community in Tempe, off of Rural road and Apache boulevard. Sonora

has its own courtyard, housing community assistants, and resident activities. There are common

rooms on each floor, but I chose the third-floor common room as the location for my Zen Den

because it is a middle ground for students on the first and fifth floors. For this project proposal, I

choose a space where I would have easy access and a population I could relate to. Having had

experience being a freshman at ASU and being close friends with Brooke Nelson, a community

assistant at Sonora Center, I could actually implement this healing environment project upon

graduation.
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With my experience teaching mindfulness at ASU with the Center for Mindfulness,

Compassion, & Resilience and Brooke’s studies in the Future for Innovation & Society, I believe

we will be a good team to create a healing space for ASU freshman. We also have resources

available through the Sonora Center and the Center for Mindfulness to provide the tools

necessary for providing quality sound for music therapy, instructions for imagery activities, and

the flyers necessary to promote the renovated room around the dorm community.

Literature Review

The overarching modalities for this project include natural lighting, aromatherapy, fresh

air, fine arts, and music therapy to create a healing space. The goal is to create a space that

appeals to all the senses, healing holistically. However, the main healing modalities for

discussion are the Bonny method and natural light.

For an environment to be healing for students, I propose that the modalities must address

the stress, anxiety, and depression that many students face from both the internal and external

perspective. The value of natural light comes into play by helping to, “increase vitamin D

metabolism and enhance sleep and circadian rhythms, as well as the reduction of pain” (Wagdy,

et al., 2017). The research available pointing to the efficacy of natural light as a supplement to

the healing process is widely accepted and implemented in hospitals through new technologies

like sun breakers and DaySim natural lighting simulators (Wagdy, et al., 2017). Acclaimed to

be, “one of the most successful factors for creating optimal healing environments in healthcare

facilities,” (Wagdy, et al., 2017) natural light can have tremendously healing effects on both the

healthy and the sick; leading to quicker response to treatment, the shorter patient stays, and a

more satisfied staff, patients and visitors.

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The Bonny method is a secondary tool for regulating high amounts of stress through

music and imagery therapies. This method is relatively new, having been established within the

past 50 years, which limits the available research; however, the most recent systematic review

shows, “a series of Bonny Method sessions may be effective for improving both psychological

and physiological health and may be therapeutically indicated for adults seeking treatment with

medical, mental health, and nonclinical needs (McKinney & Hoing, 2016). With frequent

violence reports and a harsh political climate, many ASU students continue to seek community

to support them in their mental health and other nonclinical needs. The Bonny method can

promote wellness through the human connection we have to music. One study, among many,

found that, “people listen to music to regulate arousal and mood, to achieve self-awareness, and

as an expression of social relatedness” (Schäfer, et al., 2013). Through these mechanisms, music

in the Zen Den, will work to regulate the students’ stress response, promote joy, insight

introspection and build community among the residents.

Conclusion: Implications & Limitations

Efforts to create environments for students to function optimally in college result in study

rooms with colorful chairs, white boards, and the most recent technology. With so much

stimulation and work to be done, students need a place to rest their eyes from the screen and

reconnect with themselves and other human beings. In the Zen Den, no phones are allowed,

except to capture the joy of the moment. A variety of modalities are available to allow the

students to individualize their healing process and maximize their relaxation time. Implications

for the restriction of phone use may deter some students from using the room for long periods of

time.
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Other limitations to the Zen Den healing environment are that the hosts, Brooke and

myself, will not be available 24/7 to oversee that the intent to heal is being held in the space.

However, during daytime hours on weekends and sunset on weekdays, Brooke or myself

anticipate being available for an hour-long session of guided imagery and music. This project is

limited by Brooke and I’s ability to provide Reiki and facilitate the Bonny Method. Neither of us

have certification in either method but have read and practiced reiki individually and on each

other. Therefore, it may be most useful for us to teach self-healing reiki to ensure that no student

is harmed by our lack of professional accreditation or clinical experience. Instead of using the

Bonny method, we could use similar music and imagery techniques, being careful not to claim

association with that particular method: avoiding legal implications and appropriation of the

technique.

The Zen Den project is necessary! As I have seen from first-hand experience, students are

required to cope with high demands in college, transitioning to adulthood, bearing the weight of

large course loads, and struggling to maintain and build social connection. In the Sonora center

dorm community “we are more likely to break the molds of standard practice by striving for the

impossible” (Starkey, 2016). Striving to implement natural lighting, fresh air, fine arts,

aromatherapy, guided imagery, reiki, and music therapy into the Zen Den may seem like a tall

order but with available resources, skillsets, and the intent to heal the student body, it is possible.
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References

McKinney, C., H. & Hoing, T. J. (2016). Health outcomes of a series of Bonny method of guided

imagery and music sessions: A systematic review. Journal of Music Therapy, 54 (1).

https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/thw016

Schäfer, T., Sedlmeier, P., Städtler, C., & Huron, D. (2013). The psychological functions of

music listening. Frontiers in psychology, 511(4). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00511

Starkey, C. (2016). Phoebe: Advancing Urban Sustainability. Retrieved from

https://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/blog/2014/06/phoebe-intro/

Thrane, S., & Cohen, S. (2014). Effect of reiki therapy on pain and anxiety in adults: An in-depth

literature review of randomized trials with effect size calculations. Retrieved from

https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/science/article/pii/

S1524904213000805

Wagdy, A., Sherif, A., Sabry, H., Arafa, R., & Mashaly, I. (2017). Daylighting simulation for the

configuration of external sun-breakers on south oriented windows of hospital patient

rooms under a clear desert sky. doi:https://doi-org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/10.1016/

j.solener.2017.04.009