Introduction

1. Wellness Techniques for Faculty & Students’ SuccessErin Senack-DaumPresident, Productive Visions, LLCM.A., 200 Certified Yoga Teacher, Registered Yoga Teacher, Yoga Alliance Memberwww.productivevisions.comerin@productivevisions.com

2. Introduction Thank you to the committee for allowing me to do this project. With the three suicides and one attempted suicide on the Tarpon Springs Campus (that I know of), in addition to the absence of a wellness program and mental health counselor for our students (campus and college-wide), I am pleased that I could assist with getting our students in the best condition for critical thinking. I would also ask that our college as a whole do some critical thinking around these issues. With that being said, I want to share with you what my project entailed, the positive results occurring from it along with major areas of concern. I worked with two College Experience classes and performed pre-assessments of their wellbeing. I then went into the classrooms and listened to students’ stress/anxiety and how they dealt with it. I discussed research supporting wellness techniques and how they reduced stress and increased academic performance. I then worked with the classes to perform breathing techniques; we did chair yoga and stretching to increase their overall wellbeing. I provided guided visualization to prepare them for successful test taking and paper writing. A couple of weeks later, they filled out the post-assessment The results are as follows:

3. Pre-Assessment Both=30

4. Post-Assessment Both=26

5. Comparison Both

6. Summary Highlights • Down total of 4 students • After wellness techniques, results were found in the following categories: • “I do exercises designed to strengthen my muscles and joints” • “I find it easy to laugh about things that happen in my life” • “I recognize that when I am stressed and take steps to relax through exercise, quiet time, or other activities” • Olsen’s class saw results in the following categories: • “I do exercises designed to strengthen my muscles and joints” • “I have lots of energy and can get through the day without being overtired” • Habers’ class saw results in the following areas: • “I do exercises designed to strengthen my muscles and joints” • “I have someone that I can talk to about my private feelings” • “I find it easy to laugh about things that happen in my life” • “I recognize that when I am stressed and take steps to relax through exercise, quiet time, or other activities” • “I take time alone to think about what’s important in life—who I am, what I value, where I fit in, and where I’m going” • Areas of Concern: • Students freeze up before writing papers • Students have no one that they can talk to about their private feelings • Students do not manage their time well