Spring break is approaching and as we all know alcohol use increases during this time so Student Health Promotion has just the activity for you! This week on the Newton campus and Clarkston campus we are doing an alcohol activity that asks you to identify the correct serving size for all alcoholic beverages (e.g., beer, wine, spirits, etc.) This is a great way to put into perspective the amount of alcohol you’re consuming in correlation to a serving size for a specific drink. No matter your plans spring beak plans, know your limits and stay safe!

There’s so much more going on……..the Mobile Clinic will be attending Newton and Clarkston campus so please come out to get tested for STI/ HIV from 10-2 pm! We will also have other healthy state activities going on for students who are not interested in getting tested. We will have a sleep activity that asks students to identify health v. unhealthy sleep behaviors to encourage better sleep habits! The Counseling Center will also be there to have students make self-care satchels of self-care jars to promote stress reduction. So please come join us for education and fun!!

WOW! It’s already Spring 2020 and I couldn’t be more excited to continue my journey with Student Health Promotion! There were so many amazing things SHP delivered in 2019 and we are excited to share the upcoming events for the year 2020! If you have not already heard, SHP has been promoting a social media ambassador opportunity for students to a part of #MoveItMonday. These students will help promote a healthy lifestyle by completing fitness challenges in return, they will be able to say they were an ambassador for Georgia State University. A great resume booster 🙂

What else is Student Health Promotion doing?? Well, In February, we are encouraging students to be involved in our #LoveYourBody movement! This will help students practice mindfulness and develop a self-care regimen that is realistic and effective to accomplish a healthy and successful academic career! If you would like more information or stay up to date on what Student Health Promotion is doing, please visit our Instagram page @bewellgsu

Today I had the pleasure to reach out to prospective students during the Panther Preview Resource Fair. At this event, Student Health Promotion represented Integrative Health which includes: Counseling and Testing Center, Student Health Center, Student Victim Assistant, Nutrition, and the Mind/Body Clinic. There were other departments at this resource fair such as the Recreational Center, School of Public Health, Study Abroad Office, School of business and many more.

A highlight from this event was meeting a young lady and her family that flew to Atlanta, GA from Tampa, FL just to visit Georgia State University. With that being said, I had just so many questions for her like, “Why Georiga State University?”, “What do you think you would want to major in?”, etc. In addition to how fascinating the young lady’s future aspirations were, she mentioned that she was passionate about sexual health and education. So, I told her all about what SHP does how she can become a volunteer with us once shes accepted and enrolled as a student. Overall, this was a very informative event and I think it’s important to have so prospective students and their families can learn about the many resources and services GSU has to offer.

I had the opportunity to facilitate a condom demonstration with two other graduate assistance in the office (Tiearra and Barbara) for the 5th Annual Smashing Event. This event hosted a collaboration of organizations such as Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Zeta Theta Ques, Dean of Students Office and of course, Student Health Promotion that was there on the behalf of Counseling and Testing Center and the Health Clinic. Our specific goal was to promote the services and resources of the integrated health system and provide students with sexual health-related information so they can make better-informed choices.

I was very excited to co-present at this event because it was my experience of giving a condom demonstration presentation. My role at this event was to run the “condom game”. What is the condom game? It is when six volunteers from the audience pair into two’s, one person is holding the model and the other is spun around and has to run and put the condom on the model the fastest. Although I was grateful to have a part in the presentation, this event was more significant because I was able to learn and gain knowledge from Tierra on how to interact with students and perform the condom demonstration.

Heres another update about the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction series! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the week 2 of MBSR however, I enjoyed the week threes’ focus and practices.

Week three explored the Pleasure & Power of Presence, and what it means to pay attention to the present. The exercise we did to practice this was mindful walking. We walked around the room in silence and soaked in pleasant and unpleasant observations within us and around us. One thing I learned by carrying out this activity was, I lose focus very easily by directing my attention to others. I am not a fast walker so the ones who were fast walkers around me distracted me. Another activity we did was mindful yoga. We had the same focus as mindful walking, however, while doing gentle yoga we practiced awareness of breathing for roughly 15-20 minutes. These exercises have been very beneficial to me as I continue to grow as a person and enter different stages in life. 

So, if my blog was not enough evidence on how amazing MBSR series is, I would like to leave you with a quote that was sent from our home practice packet: “The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself” Henry Miller.

So what is MBSR? GREAT QUESTION! it stands for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction! It is an amazing program that promotes body acceptance through skills training in relaxation and meditation methods in addition to gentle stretching (yoga) exercises. This program requires a great commitment for 8-week sessions (Every Monday) held by our wonderful liaison Linnie and a guest speaker who’s highly experienced in mindfulness and relaxation.

I attended my first session this past Monday and already I’ve gained so much knowledge in mindfulness and meditation. I mentioned in my last post that as a student-athlete I was always very active but by participating in this program, I have learned the following so far:

• Enjoy being in the present moment
• Be intentional in paying attention
• Internally learning my body through body scans and gentle stretching.

For those who are already experienced in these qualities, there are endless opportunities in the MBSR program that will push you past your comfort zone. Linnie has created safe spaces for individuals to be vulnerable in a judgment-free zone while being introduced to new practices of mindfulness. So if you’re interested in hearing more about my experience, be sure to check back in next week for another post on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction session!

Mindfulness, Mindfulness, Mindfulness!!!

I just had the pleasure to engage in gentle yoga at the Mind-Body Clinic located at the Counseling & Testing Center! For my time as an athlete, I have been so accustomed to high-intensity activities that yoga gives me a different perspective of self-care/ self-love. Gentle yoga is a judge-free zone where you are practicing meditation and expanding your awareness around deep breathing.

The ambiance of the Mind-Body Clinic is coherent to the wonderful instructor, Linnie. Inside the meditation room, there is a rock waterfall with calming melodies playing in the background throughout your session. Linnie has such a sincere and relaxing demeanor that will have you in a deep sleep by the end of your mindfulness session. I choose to partake in gentle yoga but you also have to option to participate in pace to breathe at the Mind Body Clinic!

At the Mind-Body Clinic, there are few handouts that you’re more than welcomed to take such as suggestions for a daily practice of cultivating mindfulness and other helpful guidelines to improve personal care! A few tips that I took from experiencing gentle yoga and the handouts are that your mind is going to wander, and that is okay, just keep in mind that this is just what minds do, so there is no need judge it. Also, before entering the meditation room, you may have a high-stress level, anxiety or worry about the future, but that is okay, just let that be part of your awareness at the moment without judgment or criticism!

If you’re interested in the biggest event of all regarding the Mind-Body Clinic, they are hosting a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction class on Monday from 5-7:30pm held in the College of Education Room. I have not been but I look forward to being apart of this wonderful experience!

If you couldn’t already tell by my title, I am super excited to talk about the mobile clinics here at Georgia State University. Before I get ahead of myself, I have been a Graduate Assistant for about three weeks now and it has been such a pleasure to be apart of Student Health Promotion! I was not aware of all the resources and services while I was an undergraduate so let me just tell you, I have a lot to talk about!

So far, I have been able to work two mobile clinics! I was able to attend Decatur and Alpharetta’s Campuses to promote Student Health Promotion that provided FREE STD/ HIV testing. Although, the big bus that says “Healthy State” brings a lot of attention, SHP Health educators (myself included) promoted the services of the Counseling and Testing Center, Student Victim Assistance, the Student Health Clinic, and of course the STD/ HIV testing. Additionally, we educated students on condom usage with a lovely demonstration for external/ internal condoms and passed out dozen of safer sex supplies.

At the mobile clinics, I love interacting with the students and creating relationships with them, even if it is for a 2-minute conversation! So many of them were unaware of the services they have provided to them at their fingertips so it was so exciting to be an informative resource for them! As I continue as a Graduate Assistant, I am very excited to continue out the work of the Student Health Promotion Program!

Make sure to check out my next blog post, I will discuss my experience of the gentle yoga session with our wonderful representative Linnie!