Ways to Flourish

Welcome back to a new season of Ways to Flourish! Here at the beginning of our 9th season, Lindsay, Cher, and Calder sit down to chat about what to look forward to this semester and what they're each doing 'for the well of it.'Questions? Feedback? Know someone who should be a guest? Reach out to our email wellness@wm.edu or DM our Instagram account @wellnesswm!

Albeit belatedly, the Ways to Flourish is wrapping up their eighth season and fourth year in the usual fashion, by sitting down with the whole team to chat about the past, the present, and the future. Lindsay, Ginny, Calder, Lilly, Jazzy, and Cher reflect on the past semester, our upcoming summers, and the future of the podcast. We hope you all have a wonderful summer break!P.S. It has been such an honor to have been able to work with this podcast and this team for so many years! I'm always going to treasure these little conversations, and thank you to everyone who's tuned in :) --Ginny

The health and wellness industry is currently thriving, but this success can come at the expense of accessibility and authenticity. Dr. Phil Wagner is a Clinical Associate Professor at William & Mary. He is also an instructor with Les Mills, and he hosts the podcast Diversity Goes to Work with the Mason School of Business. Today, we chat about wellness as a business, the toxic messaging that can result from the pursuit of profit, and the future of accessibility in fitness and health.Resources:W&M Health & WellnessW&M Campus RecreationDiversity Goes to Work podcast -- Phil Wagner & Mason School of BusinessMaintenance Phase podcast -- Michael Hobbes & Aubrey Gordon

Environmental wellness is one of the eight Dimensions of Wellness, and it refers to not only nature, but also any physical space that one surrounds themselves with. Creating a physical space that is welcoming to all identities is vital, so in this week's episode, we're sitting down with junior Kenny Ferguson to talk about inclusive spaces on our campus. We go over what initiatives the organizations he is a part of plan for students of color, what factors go into whether a space is inclusive or not, and what we could do better as individuals to be more mindful about creating spaces that are welcome to everyone.Resources:Center for Student Diversity websiteTribeLink cultural & identity organizations

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of drug addiction.Azad Ashim Sharma is a writer and publisher, director of the87press, based in South London. He recently published his latest collection of poems, Boiled Owls, in which he explores drug addiction, mental health, and their relationship to capitalism and personal connection. Azad visited us in the Wellness Center to talk about the place of poetry in history, the role of creative expression in the recovery process, and his own personal experiences navigating through struggles using his art. Resources:Boiled Owls by Azad Ashim Sharma, available nowAzad's bio on Nightboat Booksthe87press websiteW&M webpage about substance abuseW&M Counseling Center

Some of us aren't huge touchy-feely people, and some of us are. No matter what, though, physical touch has proven benefits. Kay Hamlin is our new Massage Therapist at the Wellness Center, and she's excited to be here today to talk about why we all need physical touch in our lives. We talk about what touch can do for us, how COVID has impacted our reactions to touch, and how underdiscussed yet important consent is when we're talking these subjects.Resources:Book a massage with a touch professional at W&M!W&M Wellness therapeutic modality staff webpage

Taking the initiative to learn about ways to make our campus more inclusive for LGBTQ+ students is crucial! Wellness Ambassador Audrey Murcko has been building relationships between the Wellness Center and campus organizations Lambda Alliance and the Rainbow Coalition to help queer students on campus access resources. Today, we go over some of their work by talking about what programs they've been planning, how LGBTQ+ students are sometimes excluded, and what kinds of activism strategies are most impactful for creating a community of inclusion.Resources:Lambda Alliance InstagramRainbow Coalition InstagramCenter for Student Diversity LGBTQ+ Resources webpageW&M Counseling CenterW&M TimelyCare webpage

As we continue through cold and flu season after the peak of COVID-19, it can be difficult to decide as students when we can still make it to class and when we ought to stay home. Dr. David Dafashy, Medical Director and Staff Physician at the W&M Student Health Center, is here to clear up some misconceptions. We talk about the difference between upper respiratory infections and bacterial illnesses, what we should do when we experience a particular set of symptoms, and when we should consider making a visit to the Student Health Center. Stay healthy!Resources:Student Health Center websiteHealth Center appointment webpage

On Ways to Flourish, we're often talking about transitions. One of our biggest questions as students is what we're doing and where we're going after college, and it can turn into a big source of anxiety. Luckily, we're not alone! W&M seniors Lily Dines and Richie Carr and UVA graduate Kaitlyn Baker join us to chat about what feelings arise with graduation, what school traditions we're still trying to fit in, and what some coping strategies are for managing our anxieties.Resources:W&M Counseling CenterW&M Career Center

So far in our Music & Wellness series, we've been talking to people who consider music to be a huge part of what they perceive as their well-being. Today, Dr. Max Katz, Associate Professor of Music at W&M, helps us turn a critical lens to music as a form of wellness, as well as what music and wellness are in general. We chat about what role music has in his life, how music can be used in ways that may not qualify as "wellness," and what questions we should be asking to remain curious in our perspectives.

Acupuncture services are now available at W&M! But, chances are, you haven't experienced it before and you don't know much about it. Luckily, Dr. Haunani Chong Drake, our Licensed Acupuncturist and Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, is here to explain to us how she got into the field, how Acupuncture works, and what positive benefits the practice can have on our physical and mental well being.Interested learning more? Want to book a session now? Check out the resources below!Resources:Learn more about Acupuncture at W&MBook an Acupuncture session (30min Acupuncture Lounge or 45-60min individual session)Conditions treated by Acupuncture:The Acupuncture Evidence ProjectEvidence Map of Acupuncture for PainAcupuncture research:National Center for Complementary and Integrative HealthEvidence Based AcupunctureWorld Health OrganizationU.S. Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development

Welcome back to Part 2 of our conversation with Candice Fox, Assistant Director of Health Promotion and Sexual Violence Prevention! We are finishing up our conversation about how social media affect relationships, this time with the lens of creating healthy boundaries and knowing what we want in our romantic or sexual relationships. We cover what it takes to start thinking about your boundaries, what some examples are of seemingly healthy or unhealthy famous couples, and how different forms of media can alter our views on what's right for us.If you missed the first part of this conversation, don't forget to check out Part 1!Resources:loveisrespect.orgThe Haven at W&MSexual & Relationship Violence Prevention webpageW&M Counseling CenterW&M Student Health Center

Ways to Flourish is back with another Valentine's Day special! We sit back down with the Assistant Director of Health Promotion & Sexual Violence Prevention, Candice Fox, to do a little gossiping--what role does social media play in our relationships and the ways we perceive others'? We chat about some examples of couples using their platforms to show off their relationships, signs of an unhealthy relationship based on what they show on social media, and some red flags that could occur in our own relationships.Stay tuned next week for Part 2 of the conversation!Resources:loveisrespect.orgThe Haven at W&MSexual & Relationship Violence Prevention webpageW&M Counseling CenterW&M Student Health Center

Balancing mental health with life is a difficult task for anyone, but this topic sometimes gets pushed aside in the world of sports and being a student-athlete. Amy Schwem, a Psychology and Kinesiology major and member of the Tribe Women's Volleyball team, comes in to continue the conversation about how important taking care of mental health is, not only as an athlete, but also simply as a college student. We talk about what barriers exist to talking about mental health, how student-athletes' lives be glamorized, and what strategies we can use in our busy lives to focus on our mental well being.Note: This episode was recorded by the Ways to Flourish team in October 2023.  Resources:W&M Counseling CenterThe Hidden OpponentTribe Volleyball Instagram pageTribe Athletics website

Welcome back to another semester of classes and the eighth season of Ways to Flourish! Our team has grown: Cheryl will be taking the mic, and Jazzy will be helping out behind the scenes. We're so excited to get started this semester and have some fun conversations with new and familiar faces alike! Stay tuned every Wednesday for a new episode.Questions? Feedback? Know someone who should be a guest? Reach out to our email wellness@wm.edu or DM our Instagram account @wellnesswm!

It's the last episode of the season, which means the Ways to Flourish team is once again getting together to talk about the semester. Lindsay, Ginny, Lilly, and Calder have a cozy chat about how we've been, our favorite episodes of the semester, and what we're looking forward to in the future.Have an idea for an episode? Questions? Just want to reach out to say hi? DM us on Instagram @wellnesswm or email us at wellness@wm.edu.Thank you so much for sticking around with us--we're so excited to see where the next few months take us. Good luck on finals, and have a wonderful Winter Break!

In the second episode of our Music & Wellness series, we are talking about the benefits of making music. Sound and the body have a strong relationship, and creating music is the livelihood of many. Today, we talk to Townsend T, a singer-songwriter and mental health advocate from Arkansas. We go over how she got into music, how it has helped her during challenging times, and what she has learned by doing her You're Not Alone project. Keep an eye out for Townsend next time she is in Williamsburg, and check out her new EP!Resources:Townsend's websiteTownsend's Spotify profile

College is supposed to prepare us for real-world workforce. However, most people will find at their first job that the learning curve can be quite steep. Nikita Khandheria, a W&M senior and CEO of the fine dining restaurant Ditas in Marin County, has experienced workforce culture shock firsthand on an especially extreme level. Today, she talks about how she got to where she is, how difficult it can be to balance all of life's demands with mental health and success, and what advice she has for those stepping into the workforce.Resources:Ditas Marin websiteNikita's Instagram

It's almost Thanksgiving, so we're all probably thinking about food. Luckily, we have Abe Konick, owner of Abe's Kitchen and previous contestant on MasterChef, as well as Wellness Ambassador Anne Ryan Gareis, to talk to us about how food can appeal to all 8 Dimensions of Wellness. Abe tells us about where his love of food came from, how food brings us all together, why national food insecurity is a problem, and how we can improve our cooking in college. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break too all, and remember to use more salt!Resources:Abe's Kitchen websiteAbe's Kitchen Instagram

The Matoaka Bottom Feeders' Instagram page reads "Tight lines and good times. Conservation, Mental Health, Sustainability." The student org was established a few years ago to allow William & Mary students to engage in their favorite hobby while contributing to local research. This week, we are casting our lines out to Co-Founders Xavier Starrs and Dudley Harmer to talk about why fishing can be wellness, too. We discuss how the club came to be, how getting on the water improves our mental health, and how the club supports conservation efforts.Resources:Matoaka Bottom Feeders TribeLinkMatoaka Bottom Feeders Instagrammatoaka.bottomfeeders@gmail.com

Hey, what kind of music do you like? Listening to music provides a way for us to connect with our emotions and the people around us. In this first episode of our new Music & Wellness series, we talk to senior Lauren Peterson about what her relationship to music is, how she feels like music can change her emotional state, and what she does to expand her music taste.

We are back this week with Part 2 of our Wellness in Greek Life series! We are continuing the conversation with seniors Emma Brooks and Peter Semaan, but this time, we're coming at the topic from a different angle. We recognize and deconstruct systemic issues and barriers within Greek life, as well as explain how these obstacles look from the inside perspective.Make sure to catch Part 1 if you missed it before!Resources:W&M Kappa Alpha Theta Instagram pageW&M Kappa Alpha Order Instagram page

Greek life and wellness are not necessarily things you'd immediately think of going together, but being a member in a social sorority or fraternity goes deeper than people outside that sphere sometimes realize. Seniors Emma Brooks and Peter Semaan join us for a two-part series to discuss the role of well-being in their Greek life organizations. In Part 1, we talk about what their favorite parts about being involved in Greek life are, how their organizations address the 8 Dimensions of Wellness, and how W&M's specific culture of Greek life is especially unique. Stay tuned next week for Part 2!Resources:W&M Kappa Alpha Theta Instagram pageW&M Kappa Alpha Order Instagram page

One must define their own personal wellness. Luckily, the Wellness Center has a new face around to help us do that--meet Dr. Khaliah Wilson, our Assistant Director of Health Promotion! In this week's episode, we chat about what she has noticed about our campus since arriving, how she practices wellness, and how the Office of Health Promotion can be a resource for students.Resources:Health Promotion Wellness Mindset websitekwilson02@wm.edu

Food insecurity and historic food-related inequity is a topic at William & Mary that does not necessarily get talked about enough, as it is something that many students have never had to experience themselves. The Campus Food Exchange is a confidential program that provides access to nonperishable food, household products, and personal hygiene products to students, faculty, and staff. Campus Minister with the Wesley Campus Ministry Max Blalock joins us today to talk about what the Campus Food Exchange does, how food insecurity is a real historic (and often ignored) issue in the City of Williamsburg, and what some misconceptions are about the Wesley House.Campus Food Exchange Hours:Sadler Location, Rm. 157Sunday-Thursday 7:00am -- 12:00amFriday-Thursday 7:00am -- 1:00amWesley Location (526 Jamestown Rd.)Mondays 1:00pm -- 3:00pmThursdays 4:30pm -- 6:30pmSaturdays 3:00pm -- 5:00pm Resources:Max's email: mwblalock@wm.eduMax's phone number: (757) 634-7406Campus Food Exchange website

Dr. Kelly Crace, Associate VP for Health & Wellness at the Wellness Center, joins us once again! This time, we are talking about authentic excellence in organizations, as well as how to create flourishing "&" cultures instead of "or" cultures. We also touch on the Life Values Inventory, which helps individuals determine their personal values and in turn help them flourish in their teams.Kelly's book about authentic excellence for organizations is available now!Resources:Life Values Inventory websiteCenter for Mindfulness & Authentic Excellence (CMAX) websiteAuthentic Excellence for Organizations: Creating Flourishing "&" Cultures by R. Kelly Crace, Charles J. Hardy, and Robert L. Crace

Meet Candice Fox, William & Mary's new Assistant Director of Health Promotion and Sexual Violence Prevention Specialist! Candice is incredibly excited to be on campus and begin connecting with students. We talk about her background, her passion for prevention, and what healthy relationships mean (and don't mean) to her. Stay tuned for future episodes with her!Resources:clfox@wm.eduThe HavenThe Avalon CenterThe Avalon Center's 24/7 Helpline: (757) 258-5051

If you use the dining halls on campus, you've seen the changes this year. Aramark is William & Mary's new food service company that is going to focus on quality and innovation while being accessible to all students on campus. Becky Vick is Aramark's Health and Wellness Manager who is a resource for our students. Today, she talks to us about her background, her passions regarding diet and nutrition, and her role at William & Mary.Resources:vick-rebecca@aramark.com

Today in our bonus episode, find a comfortable seat and get ready to quiet your mind. Becca Marcus, psychotherapist with the W&M Wellness Center, leads us in a guided meditation session. To learn more about mindfulness and get to know Becca better, check out our previous episode "Even You Can Practice Mindfulness." And, whenever you want a few moments of peace and calm, feel free to come back here!Resources:bnmarc@wm.edu

"Mindfulness" is one of those words that can have the tendency to draw someone away if they don't completely understand what it is or how to practice it. Luckily, psychotherapist Becca Marcus is here to explain how mindfulness can be beneficial to anyone's life, no matter if they're practicing a formal or informal version of it. If you'd like an extended tutorial on how to be be more mindful, consider signing up for one of Becca's free Introduction to Mindfulness classes! Also, stay tuned for Friday for when Becca leads us through a mindfulness meditation session!Resources:Link to Introduction to Mindfulness: Bit.ly/MindfulnessWM  Becca's email: bnmarc@wm.edu

Season 7 of Ways to Flourish is here! Lindsay, Calder, and Ginny are back in the recording room after a semester and a summer away. We talk about our past few months, our hopes for the upcoming semester, and some of this season's guests. Ways to Flourish releases every Wednesday, and you can listen to us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or however else you get your podcasts. We hope everyone has had a spectacular FDOC, and we'll see you back here next week!Have an idea for an episode? Have a question? Want to give us feedback? Email us at wellness@wm.edu or DM our Instagram @wellnesswm!

It's once again that time of the semester where we get to sit down and reflect on how the past few months have gone, as well as look forward to the future. Ginny and Calder have a long-distance chat about the expectations versus realities of our semesters, some work culture differences between William & Mary and France, and what we're looking forward to come summer and fall.If you're still tuning into our little conversations, thank you so very much for being here! We love creating this podcast, and we hope our listeners can get as much out of it as we do making it. Good luck on final classes and exams, and Ways to Flourish will see you back here in the fall!

The month of May is Women's Health Month, which means that there is all the more reason to learn about what resources are available on campus that pertain to women's health. W&M VOX: Planned Parenthood Generation Action is a club that advocates for reproductive justice. Today, we talk to Becca Gaylin, President of VOX (and our very own Wellness Ambassador!), about what the club stands for, what meetings typically look like, why one may choose to use the term "pro-abortion" over "pro-choice," and how reproductive justice is for everyone.Resources:W&M VOX Instagram pagePlanned Parenthood websiteYouth ASC ResourcesREPRO Rising VirginiaSister Song websiteCenter for Reproductive Rights

Being at William & Mary, we've probably experienced imposter syndrome at some point. Although common, it is not insurmountable. Today, we unpack imposter syndrome with Kelly Crace, Associate VP for Health & Wellness. We chat about how imposter syndrome manifests, what factors can lead to imposter syndrome, and how we can create a healthy sense of "enoughness."

Join yoga therapist Patti DeBlass as she leads us through a real-time breath work session! As we talked about last week, breath work includes various techniques that involve our breathing, and it can be a pretty broad definition. Though there are many different techniques for various situations, the session today is meant to help you take a little pause to work on your physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness during a busy time of the semester. So, grab a chair, close your eyes, and hit play!

Yoga therapist Patti DeBlass believes in the power of breathing. In this week's episode, we discuss how mindful breathing can help us through our day, what some misconceptions are about breath work, and how certain techniques are integrated into other meditational practices, like yoga. Stay tuned for next week's experiential episode when Patti leads us through a session of breath meditation!

We have talked a lot on Ways to Flourish about meditation and its benefits, but did you know that you can even take classes about it? Dr. Mark McLaughlin leads a class called "Meditation & Wellness" during which students have the opportunity to learn about how meditation can be integrated into everyone's lives, and with registration coming up, it should definitely be on your list! Today, we sit down with Prof. McLaughlin and three of his students (who also happen to be Wellness Ambassadors!): Kevin Aviles, Max Beers, and Anne Ryan Gareis. We chat about what students learn about in Prof. McLaughlin's course, how meditation has impacted these students' senses of self, and how they integrate meditation into their own daily routines. 

Ways to Flourish hopes that you have had a great spring break and that you are entering the second half of the semester feeling refreshed and mentally well. Speaking of mental wellness, the new wellness tracking app WeBe is launching right now at William & Mary! WeBe allows its users to track their mental health while engaging with their chosen communities. In today's episode, we talk to Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, co-founder of WeBe Life, Inc., about what the WeBe app is capable of, how it differs from other available mental health technology, and how her extensive background in mental health relates to her work with WeBe. Download WeBe today from the App Store or Google Play!Resources:WeBe websiteWeBe YouTube channelWeBe on the App StoreWeBe on Google PlayMore about Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen

We all love our furry friends, but did you know that pet therapy is actually supported by science? We sit down to chat with Dr. Mark Sullivan, the handler of therapy dog Stella, as well as senior Grace Phillips about what pet therapy is, what kind of traits make an animal good at animal therapy, who benefits from pet therapy, and what Grace's research about animal therapy has found.Make sure to visit the Wellness Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 1pm to visit Stella, and keep posted with other pet therapy events around campus!

Our beautiful campus has practically been made for biking, and the recent nice weather means that getting outside is becoming easier than ever. The W&M Bike Alliance has existed for a long time, but it has seen renewed life in the last couple of years. Today, we chat with student Bike Ambassadors Charlotte Russell and Drew Laird about what can be the physical, mental, and environmental benefits of cycling, what amazing places cycling can take you, and how the Bike Alliance can offer a great community (and free bike fix-ups!) to W&M students.Resources:Bike Alliance webpageBike Alliance Instagram

People always say that studying abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and this is certainly true. However, like most things, study abroad brings its own challenges that we sometimes don't talk about enough. In today's episode, we sit down with students Ciara Curtin and Zak Zeledon to talk about how study abroad has changed their habits and worldviews, how study abroad can bring unexpected obstacles, and what advice they have for students thinking about going abroad.Resources:Global Education Office website

In celebration of Valentine's Day, this week, Ways to Flourish is again diving into conversations about healthy relationship practices! Hannah Artiles-Stravers from the Office of Health Promotion and sophomore Krithika Layagala discuss an article posted to the New York Times entitled "Dating is Broken. Going Retro Can Fix It." We talk about what we agree with in the article, what the benefits and drawbacks are of the popular event "Marriage Pact," and how some "retro" dating practices can be reincorporated back into our modern dating society.Resources:Original articleOffice of Health Promotion websiteThe Haven website

The Black & Brown Girl Expressive Arts initiative seeks to provide a therapeutic environment for Black and Brown women on William & Mary's campus. Today we talk to the creator of the initiative, Wellness Ambassador Raven Pierce, about what the Black & Brown Girl Wellness Series is, how art can be effective as a form of therapy, and why it is necessary to have spaces on campus dedicated to different cultural groups. Stay updated with upcoming wellness events on the Wellness Center's website!Resources:Wellness Events Calendar

Nutrition and diet never have to be boring. Today, we have a great chat with the school's new Dietitian Julia Green about the history of dieting, some common misconceptions that we can bust open, why we often get caught up with "diet culture," and how the Campus Dietitian can be a great resource for students. If you see Julia around campus, don't hesitate to say hello (and in the meantime, don't forget to drink water)!Resources:Dietitian's webpageContact Julia at jgreen01@wm.edu

Happy FDOC! You may have heard of or seen Fun Max by now, but do you know why he exists? Today, we sit down to chat with Wellness Ambassador Max Beers to discuss what the Fun Max initiative is, why he dons the Fun Max mantle, and what some upcoming plans are during the new semester.Catch up with Fun Max's shenanigans @wmfunmax on TikTok or at @wellnesswm on Instagram!

Ways to Flourish is back for Season 6! We hope you feel ready to return to campus and begin the year of 2023. Once again, campus will be bustling, but this time the weather will be warming us over the weeks. We've had some really incredible conversations this semester. Although they have been pre-recorded, we are still around, so please do not hesitate to reach out! Email wellness@wm.edu, or visit our website to learn more. 

Whether this past semester for you has been filled with vigor, lethargy, or both, it seems to have left many of us feeling drained and in need of some well-deserved rejuvenation. As Winter Break gets underway, the team chats about the past few months as well as what we're looking forward to in the new year.We at Ways to Flourish wish you peace and warmth wherever you are, and we'll catch you back here very soon for Season 6!

During finals week, we at Ways to Flourish hope you are taking time for yourself and caring for each and every one of your dimensions of wellness! We are finishing out our two-month 8D series by talking to Wellness Ambassadors Rebekah Cohodas and Punnammal Gross. We take a deep dive into how spirituality is related to religion, how we can tell we should better tap into our spiritual wellness, and what we can do to seek activities that leave us feeling fulfilled and spiritually satiated.Resources:8 Dimensions webpageSpirituality & Faith webpage

As we are continuing on with the last week of classes for the fall semester, we may be thinking about making plans with friends for the weekend, which means it's as great a time as ever to talk about the social dimension of wellness. We chat with Wellness Ambassadors Emma Herber and Raven Pierce about how to find your people at W&M, how social interactions can and should make us feel, and what we do to care for our social well being. Have a wonderful and safe LDOC!Resources:Nod app website8 Dimensions webpage

We at Ways to Flourish hope you've had a rejuvenating Thanksgiving! Today, we're forging on with our 8D series by talking to Wellness Ambassadors Lily Dines and Marion Biondi about physical wellness, one of the most well-known (but neglected!) dimensions. We chat about how physical wellness encompasses more than just exercise, how important sleep is while in college, and what ways we like to care for our physical well-being.Resources:Campus Recreation webpage8 Dimensions webpage

We are continuing on with our 8D series today by talking about occupational wellness! "What are you doing after college?" is the dreaded question that so many college students are asked on a daily basis, and while it definitely isn't necessary to know quite yet, taking steps to care for our occupational wellness can lower stress and add meaning to our lives. We talk to WAs Claire Aminuddin and Emma Voorhees about when we should begin worrying about our careers, how we can care for occupational wellness without having a long-term plan, and what resources on campus will help us explore our career options.Resources:Career Development & Professional Engagement website8 Dimensions webpage