With everything from swine to hula hoops, there’s club for everyone at SDSU.

The newest addition to the growing list of more than 250 organizations is the Meditation Club.

Created by Sean Maher, a sophomore electrical engineering major, was formed for two reasons: to encourage those who are not into mediation to start and to provide people who already meditate with a space to practice together, and share their personal experiences.

“I reached a point where I wanted to meet up with other people who enjoyed meditating, and I couldn’t find anything within the city,” Maher said. “I felt there was a strong need of community for meditators.”

Maher has high hopes for the club, but is starting off small with a 20-minute guided meditation at each meeting. He hopes to expand meditation on campus since the practice has had such a positive impact on his life.

Starting his personal journey with meditating about a year and a half ago, Maher said he began by incorporating about five minutes of practice into his daily life.

“After I got into the habit of it, meditation became more enjoyable and I started to see the benefits that came along with it, I became more interested,” Maher said.

Meditation can help with anxiety, relieve stress and improve mental health among other mental and physical benefits. Maher said since he started meditating he has less stress and anxiety and gets less angry.

“I feel everyone has a certain amount of stress or gets angry sometimes, meditation helps you deal with those negative emotions and changes the pattern habits of your brain in a way that you can react to certain things with less negativity,” Maher said. “You’re basically training your brain to be happier.”

Kendra Hanks, a junior elementary education major and co-president of the mental health club, Lost and Found, thinks Meditation Club is a great addition to campus.

“I think mental health is a value that needs to be stressed at SDSU for the well-being of its students,” Hanks said. “It’s fantastic to have another organization on campus that shares our same values.”

Even students who don’t have experience with meditation are positive about the outcomes having a club could bring to campus.

Nishi Patel, a junior psychology major, said although she has no prior knowledge about meditation, she’s “open to discovering the benefits” of meditation.

For beginners or anyone who is looking to start a meditation journey, Maher suggests they begin small by incorporating five minutes into their daily life and build from there.

“I think a lot of people who start meditating feel like they’re not good at it and they give up, but you can’t expect to be good at something if you’ve never practiced it,” Maher said. “If you aren’t good at it, that’s more of a reason to continue to get better.”

The club is set to meet every Sunday at 5 p.m. in the Pasque room in the Student Union.