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As the semester picks up and activities begin, stress levels rise. It’s easy to let the thoughts in your head overwhelm you, but the best way to keep the momentum going is to get into a routine and take care of yourself. Meditation is a way to escape from college life, homework assignments, and the noisy neighbor next door. It can help bring some calm into your busy life and keep you feeling good!

Here are a few tips to keep calm and stay healthy:

Take deep breaths. This seems obvious, but it’s rare between classes and meetings that we take full, complete breaths. It’s so go-go-go and full of conversation, that just sitting still, closing your eyes, and taking deep breaths will help open you up and calm you down.

Watch that posture. Sitting or standing still can help you, but only as long as you are sitting with your spine straight. Aligning your body can help keep your mind balanced, too. Think of someone pulling a string above your head to straighten you up. Your back will ache less, you’ll hunch over less, and be in a better overall disposition.

Take a bath. It’s easy to quickly shower before getting ready for the day or bed, but taking a bath gives you 20 minutes of peace and quiet. By adding honey and milk or Epsom salts to it (Pinterest has lots of good bath recipes,) you can exfoliate your skin, relieve muscle tension, and come out feeling like a whole new person.

Try some yoga. Whether you just do some basic moves you found online or take a chance in a yoga class at the student rec center, yoga poses are meant to increase your balance, flexibility and sense of calm—all of which will help you in the daily grind on campus. It will also build muscle and help become part of a regular routine to get off your bed or desk chair and get you moving.

It only takes a little bit of effort to calm down and focus. Meditation is a great way to increase personal focus—it’s a small period of time without texts or tweets to interrupt your thoughts. Your ability to relax and meditate will make falling and staying asleep much easier; a must for staying healthy at school! You will be improving your body in little bits as you clear your mind and lower stress levels. Take a few minutes a day to be quiet, calm, and at peace…you’ll be glad you did.