Wellness Week kicks off Monday, March 10, throughout the Northeastern global university system, bringing in-person and online events to all campuses.
Tai chi, yoga, pottery-making, cooking workshops, community art making, drumming, and animal therapy are among the many activities on the menu for Northeastern University’s Wellness Week, which kicks off on Monday, March 10.
The annual event includes in-person and online events for students’ bodies, minds and spirits on every Northeastern campus.
For example, Boston students can take a self-defense workshop, get their hands dirty with clay or hang out with Northeastern’s favorite pups, Cooper, Sarge and Ryder.
In Toronto, students are invited to check out high-intensity drumming or learn about various recreational activities from different countries.
In London, students can learn about mindful eating, play “Spin the Wheel” to test their knowledge about well-being and mental health or engage in relaxing crafts.
In Oakland, Angel Tseng, the associate director of behavioral health services on Northeastern’s Oakland campus, will be hosting a workshop at 11:30 a.m. March 11 to help students learn more about well-being.
Tseng’s workshop will cover physical symptoms and behavioral signs of stress and anxiety. She will teach students grounding and mindfulness skills to alleviate physical symptoms and discuss cognitive tools that help with overthinking and catastrophizing, for example.
Students beyond the Oakland campus interested in learning more about emotional regulation can attend an online workshop titled “FOCUS: Find Out how to Cope with Ubiquitous Stress.” The workshop takes place at 4 p.m. March 12 Eastern time and is hosted by Eryn Neptune, a wellness program specialist at the Roux Institute in Portland, Maine.
“My goal for this workshop is to help people cultivate this sustainable self-transformation and to show people that there are so many possibilities and strategies that we can adopt to improve our lives,” Neptune says.
The workshop dives deep into mood, emotions and attention. Neptune says it is important and necessary to take time to take care of oneself.
“No matter what, we need to sleep. We need to eat. We need to drink water,” Neptune says.
But beyond these basic needs, it also helps to slow down, take a break, take time to go for a walk or meditate.
“You’re not losing an hour in your day,” Neptune says. “Personally, I found that the more I’ve made time for things that decrease this heaviness of anxiety or fear, the more I accomplish in less time.”
Prioritizing yourself and making tiny changes, she says, can make a big difference over time.
During the workshop, Neptune plans to talk about various coping techniques and tools that can be helpful for different individuals.
More global and campus-specific wellness resources that students can utilize beyond this week are listed on the Wellness Week website.