Put Your Heart Into Wellness This February
February is American Heart Month, and the Wellness Initiative for Faculty and Staff is spotlighting the powerful connection between cardiovascular health and total body wellness. Recent research confirms that heart-healthy habits improve brain function, lung capacity and overall resilience.
This month, subscribe to receive weekly heart health insights, join the National Wear Red Day challenge Feb. 6, test your knowledge with our heart health quiz and explore programs from pickleball to positive psychology.
Whether you’re looking to get active, manage stress or connect with colleagues, find opportunities below to support your well-being throughout the season.
Protect Your Heart
Subscribe!
Throughout February, subscribers to the Wellness Initiative email list will receive a weekly email about heart health.
Plus, each week one subscriber will win a heart-healthy snack basket filled with bare snacks chips and dark chocolate.
Send an email to wellness@syr.edu to request to subscribe to the Wellness Initiative email list.
Wear Red Challenge
Syracuse University Goes Red for Heart Health
Join the movement to raise awareness for heart disease prevention on National Wear Red Day, Friday, Feb. 6. We invite faculty and staff to wear red and submit photos celebrating heart health across our campus community
The school, college or business unit with the highest percentage of employee participation will win a dark chocolate party for their entire team. Submit photos by Monday, Feb. 10.
Pickleball 101
Mondays, Feb. 9 and 23 (Date updated on Feb. 9)
Noon-1 p.m.
Drumlins Tennis Club
These classes will focus on pickleball basics, covering rules, scoring, etiquette and essential skills and strokes, practice techniques through active play. Pickleballs and paddles will be provided. If you have a paddle, feel free to bring it along! Come pickle with us!
Attendees should wear sneakers and comfortable clothing. Locker room facilities and towels will be accessible.
Register for Feb. 9 Register for Feb. 23
Thrive! February Session
Primed for Positivity: Cultivating Optimism and the Benefits of Positive Emotion
Participants will explore the science behind positive emotions, why they matter and how to overcome negativity bias. This session offers evidence-based strategies to rewire your brain for positivity, cultivate optimism in uncertain times and create an upward trajectory of well-being and success.
A light lunch will be provided, choose one of the following February sessions!
Wednesday, Feb. 11
Noon-1 p.m. at Skybarn (South Campus)
Thursday, Feb. 12
Noon-1 p.m. at 500 Hall of Languages
Virtual Department Trivia (Virtual)
Gather your coworkers, select a team captain and register your team!
Friday, Feb. 13
Noon-12:45 p.m.
Trivia questions will alternate between two themes, sports and Disney. Questions will begin at approximately 12:15 p.m. and more detailed instructions will be sent to your team captain.
Register your team by Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Activate! for Self-Empowerment
with Kath Fathers and Singing Solutions
Join Kath Fathers, a faculty member in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, along with the Singing SOULutions Team for a transformative vocal wellness experience.
This six-week program is designed to help participants free their body, breath and voice through guided practice and community building. The content builds progressively across sessions.
Participants are encouraged to attend a majority of the sessions to fully benefit from the program’s sequential structure.
Tuesdays
Noon-1 p.m. at 500 Hall of Languages
Feb. 17 and 24
March 3, 17, 24 and 31
Visual Journaling (Virtual)
Wednesday, Feb. 25
Noon-1 p.m.
In this hands-on virtual session, participants will learn to use visual journaling as a tool to express and process thoughts, emotions and daily experiences. Emily Goldstein Nolan, a faculty member in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, will guide the workshop.
No artistic experience is necessary. This practice focuses on the creative process, not perfection.
Register by Friday, Feb. 13 to receive a supply kit prior to the session. Supply kits will be sent via campus mail or directly to remote employees.
Register for Visual Journaling
Quiz: Whole-Body Heart Health
Take this 10-question quiz to test your knowledge on heart health. Complete by Friday, Feb. 27, to be entered for a chance to win a heart healthy snack pack!
Before you begin: Please take a moment to read the brief research-based articles linked below. They will help you answer the 10 questions in this week’s Heart Health Wellness Quiz.
- American Heart Association: Adults with heart-healthy metrics had better health from head to toe
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Benefits of Physical Activity
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Heart Disease Prevention
Workshop and Webinar Lineup
Join us for workshops and webinars from experts at AllOne Health, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and more! Plus, check out the “In Case You Missed It!” section below for on-demand webinars from the archive.
Presenter: AllOne Health Expert
Wednesday, Feb.11
1:30-2:30 p.m.
This webinar provides self-reflection tools to help participants explore and define what kindness means in their own lives.
Register for The Power of Kindness in Trying Times
Presenter: AllOne Health Expert
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Noon-12:45 p.m.
This webinar explores how attachment styles develop, their influence on emotional regulation and relationship dynamics, and their impact on personal well-being and workplace interactions.
Register for Hardwired for Connection: Making Sense of Attachment Styles
Presenter: Pam Rowlands, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Case Manager and RN
Thursday, Feb. 26
Noon-12:45 p.m.
This webinar covers essential heart health topics, including how heart disease develops and is diagnosed, risk factors to understand, common cardiovascular conditions, prevention strategies and heart attack warning signs.
Register for The Silent Threat: How to Recognize and Prevent Heart Disease
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield YouTube Page (Source: Excellus)
Let’s Chat Immunizations (Source: Excellus)
Navigating Menopause: Empowering Women Through Change (Source: Excellus)
Support for Mental Health and Substance Abuse (Source: Excellus)
The Miracle of Movement (Source: Excellus)