As we all continue to surf the receding tide of the pandemic, mindfulness practices and physical exercise have taken hold as necessary tools to curb anxiety and depression, uncertainty and stress. For this issue, the team at Texas Connect gathered a list of activities and resources available to staff and faculty on campus to help calm your brain and get you moving.
Yoga by Callie
HealthPoint Wellness features an archive of free online yoga classes from Callie Ogden. Each video is an hour long and starts with a brief meditation to help ground and set an intention. The classes are beginner-friendly to encourage practitioners of all levels. Ogden explains how to get the body in and out of each stretch, and at the end she conducts a final meditation to help carry the practice off the mat.
Hinge Health
UT Select offers free access to Hinge Health, a digital exercise therapy program to help relieve chronic pain. The program does not require doctors visits. Instead, newcomers fill out a questionnaire about the pain they experience. Hinge Health suggests personalized exercises and stretches and offers one-on-one sessions with a health coach and physical therapist over video chat, text, email or phone. The personalized programs typically last 15 minutes and are designed for those with busy schedules.
Mindful Meditation
UTLearn provides brief and approachable meditation classes on Zoom every Tuesday and Thursday. Meditators must register four days in advance to reserve a spot. The classes strive to improve concentration, mood and energy through thoughtful breathwork, visualizations and more meditative exercises.
RecSports Membership
Recreational Sports offers staff and faculty $26 memberships that grant access to all campus facilities. Members can use the staff and faculty locker rooms, a quieter private gym and all courts, such as tennis or pickleball (reservations required). RecSports issues personal lockers per semester and a rock-climbing pass for a small additional fee. A 30-day complimentary membership trial is available for first-time gym users with no contract or payment information necessary.
Massage Services
With the purchase of a $12 RecSports day pass or RecSports membership, staff and faculty can schedule a variety of massages, including pregnancy massages, chair massages focusing on the upper body and table massages. Services at the Wellness Center in Gregory Gym provide 15- to 120-minute massages seven days a week given by licensed massage therapists. Prices vary from $15 to $125 based on appointment with upgrade options available that include hot towels and aromatherapy.
TeXercise Pass
(RecSports Membership required)
For an additional $25 per month, the TeXercise pass offers unlimited access to over 100 in-person studio classes on campus per week, including Pilates, kickboxing and aqua fit. The pass also grants access to the RecSports digital library of more than 150 prerecorded classes and access to monthly calendars that display suggested daily routines to keep pass users working out on a schedule.
Free Classes
The FIT Institute of Texas offers free fitness and lifestyle classes throughout the year, including Mindful Monday Flow yoga and the Fall Fitness and Diabetes series.
