Counseling Services and Campus Recreation at Union University have joined forces and are halfway finished with their eight-week program dedicated to teaching girls every Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. how to improve their sleep, mood and mental clarity through physical movement at the “Moving Through Stress” support group.
Studies have shown that exercising is a valuable tool for lowering anxiety and depression, and young women from various disciplines and experiences on campus are coming together to utilize this resource each week in order to learn more about physical and emotional health while still having fun and supporting one another.
“Part of our heart is helping students find ways on campus that they can do exercise knowing that not every student is comfortable running or working in the fitness center,” said MaryLawson Day, counselor at Union University and co-instructor of the support group. “If we can introduce them to a broad range of different movements, then hopefully they can find a way that works for them when the group is over.”
Each class begins with a discussion topic that covers the various degrees of health, and each student can learn how to apply fitness and health sciences to their stress management such as learning how to improve their sleep, nutrition and exercise routine in order to improve their overall mood.
“We generally apply all the things we talk about to how it can affect your mood, productivity, focus and energy throughout the day,” said Jonathan (Jonny) Wilson, director of campus recreation and co-instructor of the support group. “We’ll cover what stress is and how the body responds to stress, and then we’ll talk about ways we can use the principles of rest and exercise to manage stress.”
It is easy for students to gain the misconception that this support group will become like an episode of “The Biggest Loser,” with fitness instructors screaming to run faster and forced weigh-ins, but Day wants students to know it is all about the students’ overall health, mood and productivity.
“This has nothing to do with a particular weight or a particular size,” said Day. “We just want them to have the opportunity to get a good workout because you can find numerous resources that back up how movement can reduce stress and anxiety.”
Along with learning how to manage stress and depression, the support group has become a safe place dedicated to growing a community of young women committed to improving their physical and emotional health.
“There are people from all parts of campus that can come together in the group and find community there,” said Wilson. “They are all willing to be vulnerable through the discomfort of doing unfamiliar things and activities, and they’re growing meaningful relationships, talking about meaningful things and building a culture of support through it.”
Jamie Hodge, a sophomore art major, participated in the “Moving Through Stress” support group last semester, and she saw the group affect her life in more ways than just physical fitness. It not only taught her how physical movement is important for mental health, but it also gave her a group of girls to confide in that she would have never met outside the support group.
She said it is easy for students to sometimes build this false reality that everyone around them lives a perfect life, but with the group, she realized otherwise.
She was allowed to share personal stories and personal pain with girls who were understanding and had their own struggles, and it was there that she realized the beauty of living in community with others.
“The group taught me how important it is to be with others and share in our suffering, even if that’s scary sometimes,” said Hodge. “There is a lot of hurt and pain at Union and being able to talk about it made campus a lot less lonelier.”
Hodge wanted to apply all that she had learned from the group and to continue exercising routinely after the group was over, so that is when she decided to join the Jillz team, Union University’s women’s frisbee team, which, according to Hodge, “was the best decision ever.”
Hodge attributes her newfound importance for healthier routines and habits to everyone from the support group. She said the group reminded her how wonderful it was to move around and to have fun, but it also taught her how to balance homework with her sleep and diet routine.
“Staying at your desk, reading and studying till 3 a.m., is not healthy, and getting good sleep and exercise is more important than grades,” said Hodge. “I obviously still struggle sometimes, but I feel like such a healthier person both physically and mentally thanks to all the things I learned from the group.”
Day and Wilson hope to see the support group grow even more in the next few years in order to help create a community of young women on campus learning how to make better decisions and how to manage stress together.
Registration for the support group will reopen in the fall of 2018, and all female students are encouraged to sign up HERE.
“Our hope is to see every girl on campus, all shapes and sizes, feel empowered to move and exercise because it’s how they take care of themselves,” said Day. “I want them to know this is how they can take care of the body God has given them.”
