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Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to explore the effects of a mindfulness practice on participants' levels of self-compassion, perfectionism, attention, and perceived and biological stress.

Method: This was a between-groups design. Experimental participants engaged in a short mindfulness practice weekly for one academic semester; control participants did not. All participants completed three self-report scales measuring perceived stress, self-compassion, and perfectionism before and after mindfulness sessions. In addition, electrophysiological measures were taken before and after to determine changes in biological markers of stress and attention. Experimental participants also kept reflective journals that were analyzed qualitatively.

Results: Compared with control participants, by the end of the semester, experimental participants' perceived stress levels and potentially negative aspects of perfectionism decreased and biological markers of stress and selfcompassion improved. Experimental participants' reflective writings indicated they perceived the sessions to be beneficial. Although the results are promising, no significant effect was found for attention.

Conclusions: Engaging in a 20-min mindfulness practice using simple yoga posture and breath work across an academic semester appears to be effective in reducing students' perceived and biological stress levels and maladaptive aspects of perfectionism and in increasing their self-compassion. These are all factors that can improve students' overall well-being.

College in general can be a stressful time of life (Hurst, Baranik, & Daniel, 2013). In some instances, stress can be positive and facilitate growth (Beck & Verticchio, 2014b). High levels of stress that are not appropriately managed, however, can result in negative psychological and physical outcomes (McCall, 2007) and can also negatively influence an individual's productivity, ability to learn, and overall attitude (Lincoln, Adamson, & Covic, 2004; Ross, 2011).

For graduate students in clinical programs, such as speech-language pathology (SLP), the stress of college might be exacerbated not only by the increased academic demands of graduate work but also by the demands of clinical placements (Rizzolo, Zipp, Stiskal, & Simpkins, 2009; Sleight, 1985). Sleight (1985) documented that SLP graduate clinicians were anxious before their initial clinical placements and that, although some of this anxiety was alleviated after completing this first placement, students remained anxious about the clients' well-being and their own ability to put theory into practice until after they completed their student teaching. More recently, Beck and Verticchio (2014b) documented that...

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