Staying at home without having work or classes to report to has many people lounging in their sweats throughout the day. However, KSC interns and professors are working to help bring at-home workout options and other healthy habits to the public.
Public Health professor Jeanelle Boyer teaches a number of online classes that address holistic wellness.
“One of my favorite topics is stress management and I include quite a bit of yoga and meditation in all of my classes as it is an evidence-based strategy for reducing stress,” Boyer said. “I am also a certified yoga instructor. Once the pandemic occurred and everyone everywhere, including myself, began experiencing increased stress, I decided that now was a great time to offer more yoga and meditation opportunities. So, I created a schedule of four weekly yoga and meditation classes to be offered each week.”
Most of the live wellness workshops on Zoom, as well as pre-recorded tutorials posted to social media, are done by interns at the Wellness Center. According to one of these interns, Jennifer Bellissimo, the interns are currently recording five workshops in the morning to post on social media and running five live workshops in the afternoon. BodyWorks Fitness Center Manager and Practicum Coordinator for Exercise Science Charity Sweeney said many of these tutorials and workshops vary in what they offer and allow for flexibility depending on what people may have available in their home.
“The videos should help provide variety and education on some new cardio and strength activities to keep you active during social distancing. Even though the gym is closed, we can all stay active and healthy, which is so important for our mental well-being right now,” Sweeney said. “Our posts include a variety of workouts, such as bodyweight exercises, using the stairs, alternative for weights, dynamic warm-ups, video game or binge watching breaks, using a resistance band and many more.”
While attendance and participation aren’t what the program had hoped for, they are finding it in some of the more unlikely places.
“So far I have had several faculty and staff who attend the sessions regularly. I have also had a couple of students who attend regularly and a number of students who have at least attended one or two sessions. My hope is to keep spreading the word so that more people, especially students, know about this opportunity,” Boyer said. “I have also opened up my classes to other people in the community. One of the groups that have been the most enthusiastic is a local senior center. I have a group of about 10 to 12 seniors who are attending classes regularly now.”
Another intern involved with the program, Josef Broder, said there are a variety of workshops that are offered.
“We have some workshops based on groups we run at Counseling Services, although modified a bit since the workshops are not meant to be confidential, that focus on addressing anxiety and managing difficult emotions,” Broder said. “There are some workshops around meditation and then we have some more creative ones like Bob Ross Painting, guided journaling and virtual hikes.”
The feedback from those who have participated has been positive thus far.
“The feedback we are getting from participants is that they are happy with having the opportunity to connect with others. The connection may be to talk, or draw, or listen or have conversation in a relaxed and open setting,” Bellissimo said. “Our goals are to encourage people to unwind and disconnect in order to center themselves. What that looks like is different for everyone, which is why we engage in breathing, creativity, mindfulness and open discussion.”
These workshops will continue to be held as long as they are still enjoyed by the community.
“Right now we are planning on continuing to have live workshops in the afternoons, 2 p.m. most days, 1 p.m. on Fridays, through the week before finals week,” Broder said. “After that, we are working on getting some of the workshops up on YouTube and accessible through our other Wellness Center social media sites on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.”
According to Bellissimo, they are also working on ideas for finals week and for the summer. Anyone with ideas for workshops can reach out to the Wellness Center or to Sweeney at charity.sweeney@keene.edu. To view the at-home workouts, follow @KSCBodyWorks on Instagram. The other Zoom wellness workshops can be accessed through the Zoom links that were sent out to all students’ KSC email addresses from the Provost’s office.
“These classes are a nice way to ‘be’ together during a time when we need it most,” Boyer said. “The combination of yoga and meditation help to address both physical tension in the body, too much sitting and time on Zoom and the emotional stress that we are all experiencing. These practices truly help people center, breathe, connect with their feelings and then relax into the present moment. I have had some people tell me that they are even sleeping better at night, especially after the evening sessions.”
Rachel Vitello can be contacted at
rvitello@kscequinox.com
