The Well | March 2020

MARCH 2020 |

VOL 3 ISSUE 7

In this issue:

Houston Happenings
MS4 Advice
Shaping Your Practice
SPOTlight
TAO
Thrive at UT
Wellness Warriors

The Well is a monthly newsletter that serves to

positively impact the well-being of the McGovern student community

by highlighting a myriad of wellness-related content.

Click here to share your thoughts on The Well!

Shaping Your Practice

As the glitz and glam of resolutions fade, how do we stay focused and centered? As medical students, we know firsthand how quickly our workload can shift - from module to module, rotation to rotation, and even day to day. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, but we can employ strategies such as mindfulness and meditation to help drown out the noise. The best part? These tools come at no cost to you!

If you’ve ever participated in a yoga or meditation class, you’ve heard the phrase “your practice” more times than you can count. What instructors mean when they encourage participants to shape their own practice is both physical and emotional. They mean to push yourself but not to the point of dangerous overextension. They mean to identify your goals and focus your efforts toward realizing those endpoints. It’s hard work - pinpointing what you want to accomplish. But once you’ve completed that step, your actions become direct and purposeful. Start shaping your practice today!

Looking for a space to think or pray? Visit McGovern’s new Meditation Room in the basement!

SPOTlight | Yoga

Big Power Yoga | A great studio in the Montrose area to get your zen on. They offer a $10 class a few times a week if you want a more affordable option.

Black Swan Yoga | A local favorite + donation based hot yoga studio. Pay what you can afford and check out their newest Midtown location!

McGovern Yoga | Free yoga at school? Say no more. BSY instructors/students teach a class every Wednesday evening! Check the McGovern Student Orgs FB for updates.

Sunday,

March 8th,

spring forward

one hour!

MS4 Advice

I discovered yoga the year before I entered medical school, and it has created an avenue for me to relieve stress in ways other workouts cannot provide. In the West, yoga is dialed down to merely a physical practice that balances strength with flexibility, but the roots of yoga has 7 other limbs that goes beyond just the asanas (postures). Pranayama (Breathing) is such an integral component of yoga, which sounds funny. But think about when patients are in a panic. We always tell them to take slow, deep breaths until they are calm. That’s exactly what we work on in yoga classes, in addition to the postures. The slow and intentional breath work allows your sympathetic nervous system to shut down, turning on your parasympathetic system. Not only did this help me treat my patients, but it also personally helped me to relieve my own anxiety, when I felt like medical school was impossible. Secondly, teachers who were able to integrate life lessons into the physical practice really spoke to me, and their words reminded me there is more to life than just studying. With this release of expectations and stress, I was able to surpass my fears and concentrate better. I became fascinated by the effects of yoga and found that my fellow yogis walked away from their mats with the same thought: yoga has changed my life. Eventually, the inspiration led me to become a teacher. Now standing on the other side, I am able to offer classes with my colleague and best friend Taylor Riggs, hoping to leave the same impact that our teachers made on us.

| Alex Ngo, MS4

McGovern

Tourney Challenge!

Stay tuned for details.

Wellness Warriors

Welcome back to Wellness Warriors, our column that keeps you up-to-date regarding the latest-and-(hopefully)-greatest accomplishments of the Wellness & Resilience advocacy subcommittee. In the school-wide Independent Student Analysis survey conducted last year, students voiced concern over security in the Texas Medical Center. Although students recognized that much of this is innate to the area, there is still room to grow and improve. The advocacy subcommittee identified the LRC as a key area where UTPD presence could be stepped up; UTPD is open and willing to listen to the security needs of the student body. We are continuing to work with McGovern facilities managers and UTPD to improve security. If you have any ideas, please let us know!

Please submit suggestions here:

Wellness & Resilience Advocacy: Suggestions Form

For updates, please visit this spreadsheet:

Wellness & Resilience Advocacy: Suggestion Status

Houston Happenings

03.01: Houston Brunchfest, Midtown Park

03.01: Once on This Island, Sarofim Hall

03.02-22: Houston Rodeo, NRG Stadium

03.03-08: Come From Away, Sarofim Hall

03.06-07: Eagles, Toyota Center

03.06-07: Lila Downs, Jones Hall

03.06: Marc Anthony, Smart Financial Centre

03.06: Roller Rink Opening Night, Discovery Green

03.07: 48th Annual Buffalo Bayou Regatta, Allen's Landing

03.07: Dancing with the Stars, Smart Financial Centre

03.07-08: Trippie Redd, Revention Music Center

03.08-09: The Illusionists, Smart Financial Centre

03.08-09: Jill Scott, Revention Music Center

03.08-09: Sofia Nino de Rivera, House of Blues

03.08-09: Trixie Mattel, Cullen Theater

03.09: Post Malone, Toyota Center

03.11-12: Harry Connick, Jr, Sarofim Hall

03.12-13: The Office! A Musical Parody, Stafford Centre

03.12-23: Houston Ballet - Forged in Houston, Brown Theater

03.14: Whitney Cummings, House of Blues

03.14-15: HRVY, House of Blues

03.16: Keane, House of Blues

03.20-21: Dance Gavin Dance, Warehouse Live

03.21: 10th Annual Houston Palestinian Festival,

The WaterWorks at Buffalo Bayou Park

03.21-22: Killswitch Engage, House of Blues

03.22: 2020 Houston Kidney Walk,

Houston Arboretum & Nature Center

03.24-30: Fiddler on the Roof, Sarofim Hall

03.27-28: Drum Tao, Jones Hall

03.28: Brittany Howard, White Oak Music Hall

03.28: Houston Mac Attack, Midtown Park

03.29: Hermann Park Conservancy's 7th Annual Kite Festival, Hermann Park

03.29: Tanya Tucker, The Heights

Thrive at UT

Thrive at UT is a free app designed to enhance UT student well-being and help busy students live their best life. Thrive helps you make small changes in your routine that have powerful long-term impacts.

More info about Thrive

Ombudsperson

Are conflicts or concerns causing you undue stress? Don’t forget about UTHealth’s newly created position: the Office of the Academic Ombuds. Robin Dickey, PhD, MA, LPC, is available as a listener, mediator, and coach for all members of our UTHealth family! Make an appointment today!

https://med.uth.edu/news/2019/09/05/uthealth-introduces-office-of-academic-ombuds/

TAO | Therapy Assistance Online

The Student Health and Counseling Clinic is excited to announce a new wellness tool available to all students, faculty, and staff at UTH. TAO (Therapy Assistance Online) is an interactive, self-guided, web-based program that consists of tools and educational materials to help you learn about and change how you think and feel.

More info about TAO

Brought to you by the McGovern Student Wellness & Resilience Committee

Newsletter Staff: Lauren Appel, Lauren Beal, Andrew Eck,

Ashley Ernst, Jay Garza, Ally Limmer, Kelly Masterson,

Malvi Mehta, Nisha Reddy, & Fatema Shipchandler

Questions, Comments, or Contributions to The Well,

please email MS.Wellness@uth.tmc.edu