University alone provides plenty of stressors. But, the additional stress that students, faculty, and staff alike have faced over the last two years deserves recognition. We have traversed time zones, laughing in the face of our circadian rhythms. We have changed once stable plans almost daily. We have gone into lockdowns, quarantine, and isolation. We cannot ignore the toll this has taken in tandem with the world still going on around us, but we are prevailing. For members of the NYU Shanghai (NYUSH) community looking to be proactive about their mental and physical health, there are many campus resources to help guide you. The following programming is a great way to understand and begin managing stress; programs are not designed to replace counseling or therapy if you feel that you would like to speak with a professional. Addressing physical and mental health is important and these options provide open spaces for everyone in the community to come and learn. Check-in with yourself if you haven't already. Find the time to add mindfulness to your routine.

NYUSH Health and Wellness Programs

NYUSH’s Health and Wellness Office hosts weekly Lunch and Learns (mixed-mode), a series of events held in the newly revamped Calm Corner (in-person), and semester-long campaigns on specific topics. The Lunch and Learn program provides members of the NYUSH community, no matter their current location, the opportunity to hear in-depth talks by professionals in the field, including counselors, campus doctors, and outside practitioners in the community. Past topics have included overcoming test anxiety, patterns of attachment, dermatology, staying healthy in the spring, and Body BeUtiful. If Lunch and Learns do not occur at a time that fits your schedule or time zone, they are recorded and sent out in the weekly Student Health Center email. To sign up, you can check the Engage for events, the aforementioned email, or the weekly University Communications email.

Regardless of what you learn when you do a mental health analysis, walking into the Calm Corner can put you at ease. The area is designed as a self-directed space for the NYUSH community to partake in various activities to de-stress. The Calm Corner has yoga mats, stretch bands, coloring pages, clay, origami, and other hands-on, creative activities. There, you will find QR codes that bring up playlists and guided meditations. The room is specifically designed to forget your academic or other stressors. One to two times a week, there are guided programs that include weekly mindfulness programs and short drop-in meditations during lunch and afternoon hours. The Calm Corner is typically open in the afternoons for drop-ins Monday through Friday, and the guided program schedule is posted outside the Calm Corner room on the door.

Though not a part of the Health and Wellness Team’s programming, NYUSH’s Athletics and Fitness team organizes yoga and other fitness classes. Keep an eye out for their newsletter, sent to your NYU email, for more information on the Athletics and Fitness classes.

Resources Available to Remote, Global Sites, & NYUSH Students

There is virtual programming for NYUSH students regardless of your current location. NYUSH’s Health and Wellness team collaborated with the Academic Resource Center and the NYUSH Library to put resources in one place. As it was originally part of the Long Night Against Procrastination, this includes resources for researching, studying, productivity, and Health and Wellness' resources combined. The Virtual Finals Survival Kit is posted as a Padlet that is accessible for all NYUSH members. Additionally, New York’s Health and Wellness team offers virtual programming. Mindful NYU has virtual yoga and meditation classes that run in Eastern Time. These events do not require an RSVP and the Mindful NYU page has schedules showing the local time of classes for each NYU site.

Students looking to learn more about weekly events should look out for the NYUSH Health and Wellness email sent on Monday mornings (China Standard Time). The Student Health Center’s Engage page or the NYUSH Wechat enterprise account’s Health and Wellness section are good places to look for upcoming events you may have missed in the email blast. Finally, if you are remote, in NY, or looking to participate in the Mindful NYU programs, Mindful NYU’s Instagram page provides more information about their events.

(Feature Source: Dai Yuntong '23)