UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Promoting Health and Wellness reminds students of spring semester programming designed to support students’ physical and mental well-being.
“With the coming of midterms, student stress can increase. Many of these programs are geared toward stress management,” said Erin Raupers, assistant director of Health and Wellness Promotion. “They are hands-on activities for students to practice strategies to reduce their stress by reducing stress and anxiety and build a sense of community.”
Health Promotion and Wellness (HPW), a unit of Student Affairs, aims to increase student awareness and knowledge of health and wellness issues, promote healthy behaviors, provide health education, and advocate for a healthy community. Penn State. It offers a variety of programs throughout the week, including yoga and meditation, mindful Mondays, mindful meditation and wellness Wednesdays. Later in the spring semester, HPW will offer Shinrin-Yoku, the Japanese practice of “forest washing.”
Yoga and Meditation takes place from 5.30pm to 6.30pm on Mondays and 5pm to 6pm on Thursdays at 118 Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. Registration is not required, but there are a limited number of mats and blocks available. All skill levels are welcome. Sessions will be held until April 27.
Students unable to attend in person are encouraged to view recorded Yoga and Meditation classes from previous semesters, which can be found on the Healthy Penn State blog.
Mindful Mondays is an interactive program facilitated by HealthWorks peer educators where students can learn stress reduction strategies. These sessions run from noon to 12:45pm on Mondays in 124 Findlay Commons. Sessions are limited to 15 participants. Students are encouraged to bring their own lunch. These sessions will be offered until April 17th.
Mindful meditation sessions are held on Mondays from 3 to 3:45 pm at the 118 Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. This weekly meditation session introduces students to basic meditation practices and techniques. Each session will include a guided meditation and a short discussion on topics such as stress management, relationship healing and finding meaning. No prior meditation experience is required.
Wellbeing Wednesday Activities, which focus on student well-being, are held on Wednesdays from 4-6 pm throughout the Intramural building. Peer educators organize contact tables in the lobby of the IM Building.
Shinrin-Yoku is a guided walk through the forest where participants engage in various activities that help them connect with nature.
Walks run from 4pm to 5.15pm and 5.30pm to 6.45pm on Wednesdays starting March 15. Registration, which may end through their online form, is needed. Each session is limited to 15 participants.
HPW offers free welfare services where students meet with a HealthWorks peer educator to discuss a variety of wellness-related topics, including sexual health, feeding, physical activity, sleep and stress. Appointments are held in the Wellness Suite, 20 IM Building and can be scheduled through myUHS.
Students are also invited to use the relaxation room, located in the Wellness Suite, 20 IM Building. Open from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday, the space features biofeedback software, coloring pages and books, light therapy boxes, a Zen garden, a Buddha board and relaxing audio tracks.
For more information about wellness programming, students can visit HPW events and programs Web page. Students are encouraged to follow @studentwellnesspsu on Facebook and Instagram. Students can contact HPW by sending an email to promotinghealth@psu.edu or by calling 814-863-0461.
