A room in the Henry Madden Library is providing students and faculty with a place to meditate and pray on campus.

The room, which is administered by the Cross Cultural and Gender Center, contains prayer rugs, a bench with pillows and a clock with a partition placed in the center of the room for privacy. ­­

“Some religious cultures pray two to six times a day. The room provides a quiet place to do so. Prayer rugs are supplied,” said Idalia Morgutia, the center’s administrative support coordinator. “There is plenty of room to easily have four to six people in the room at once. There are eight prayer rugs available in the room.”

Actress Goldie Hawn created a foundation called MindUP. This program visits schools teaching the students mindfulness.

Sara Uhlig of MindUP said part of the program students enjoy are the guided meditations, which is also known as brain breaks.

“Sitting with feet flat, closing eyes and feeling grounded is how they start. Students either listen to a long chime, or the teacher guides a meditation,” Uhlig said. ­“Some guided meditations are simply a comfortable focus on clearing their minds, breathing and focusing on nothing.”

Practicing meditation may help with having better interpersonal relationships and getting better grades, organizers say. ­

According to a MindUp research, students who meditate are calmer, focused and responsible.

“They do their homework, more readily help others and practice being grateful,”Uhlig said. “Students are learning more about their brain and how it works. Mindfulness is about observing one’s whole self, whole environment, mind listening, grounding oneself, being present and aware at all times and taking time to ask oneself, ‘Is this good for myself or others?’”

The room is located in the library, Room 3202, during the normal hours of operation.