Embracing Mindfulness: The New City Heights Meditation Center

Abbot Venerable Sang Kosol, Venerable Kim Saphia, Venerable Kim Sophia, Venerable Rin Lay and Jackie Sangsanot-Heng, Board Secretary for the Khmer American Mutual Association of San Diego, accompanied by CDC’s Economic Development team, Vice President of Community Development and Policy at CDC, Rosa Olascuaga and CDC President and CEO, Alexis Villanueva.

City Heights is celebrating a significant milestone with the opening of the Wat Champourukha Vanaram's public meditation center on 45th Street. In partnership with the Khmer American Mutual Association of San Diego, the City Heights Community Development Corporation (CDC) is proud to support this initiative, which marks a crucial step in providing accessible mindfulness practices to the community.

Meditating in the community offers a host of benefits. Mindfulness-based treatments, like meditation, have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression. There is also evidence that meditation helps people cope with pain and depression. Communities like ours need sacred places where meditation and mindful practices, such as breathing deeply, taking in the environment, and embracing quiet, are encouraged and accessible.

To help address the need in our community, we partnered with the Khmer American Mutual Association San Diego and local Buddhist temple leaders to help expand their newly opened public meditation center at the Wat Champou Ruckha Vanaram (45th St. temple.)

Alexis Villanueva, President and CEO of City Heights CDC, shared the organization's commitment to non-traditional health options: "Our organization has long valued non-traditional health options as a means for healing in historically underserved communities like City Heights. By actively engaging with community members to identify their needs, we can mobilize our organizational resources to address them and enhance our quality of life. Wat Champourukha Vanaram’s classes and programs offer so much to the Cambodian community and beyond in City Heights, and we are proud to be part of its future."

Although located on temple grounds, the meditation center welcomes everyone. To ensure inclusivity, the center is enhancing accessibility features for disabled visitors, including the addition of handicapped-accessible restrooms. This effort aims to encourage more community members, including adults with disabilities, to explore the center as a sanctuary from daily routines.

Upon entering, you will find yellow platforms around the temple. The platforms are designed for individual meditation in the traditional crisscross position. As you walk leftwards, you will find a garden nestled by green plants and, occasionally, you will be joined by visiting birds and butterflies. There, you can inhale… and exhale.

To visit the center, please note that the temple grounds must be open. For more information on the meditation center, please reach out to Maly at maly@cityheightscdc.org.

Special thanks to Abbot Venerable Sang Kosol, Venerable Kim Saphia, Venerable Kim Sophia, Venerable Rin Lay and Jackie Sangsanot-Heng, Board Secretary for the Khmer American Mutual Association of San Diego, for honoring us with your hospitality and gifts.