PHILADELPHIA – Penn Campus Recreation has kicked off the Wellness Wheel Project, based on the 8-spoke wellness wheel adopted by the University. The goal of the project is to model wellness in the workplace while strengthening staff partnerships.
 
The project, developed by the Penn Campus Recreation staff, focuses on completing actions from each area of the wheel as a group. The actions are meant to be reminders to take a few moments of reflection during the day to do something promoting wellness and self-care.
 
 "We sat down as a group to brainstorm events and actions from each of the eight spokes of the wheel," said Erica Hildenbrand, Assistant Chief of Staff who oversees Campus Recreation Programming. "Everyone came up with something different; some ideas were complex and some were as simple as setting a positive intention, but none were dismissed. The takeaway here is that we all define wellness differently, and we have to keep that in mind as we develop programming and partnerships for the Penn Campus Community. Not everyone wants intense physical exercise, meditation, or gentle yoga.
 
"We might not have the perfect program for you, but we have a partner at Penn who does. In that way, we are a resource to the resources."
 
The first action of the Wellness Wheel Project is the Intention Wall. When you enter the Pottruck Health & Fitness Center, you will see a window where the Penn Campus Recreation community is invited to post their intentions. Some intentions inscribed include "be considerate," "eat more whole food," and "make more time to reflect."
 
The next group outing will take place on Monday, Jan. 27 at noon when Penn Basketball head coaches Mike McLaughlin and Steve Donahue host a Weekly Themed Wellness Walk from College Green to the historic Palestra. These walks—which are free and open to the entire University community—are done in collaboration with the Division of Human Resources, Wellness at Penn, Student Wellness Services, Penn Libraries, and the Center for Public Health Initiatives.
 
"We hope by modeling wellness in each area, we'll develop better practices of self-care and reinforce to our community that there is more to wellness than lifting weights and running on a treadmill," said Hildenbrand. "While physical exercise is beneficial to achieving optimal health, taking time to build interpersonal relationships, developing healthy financial practices, and paying attention to the other disciplines from the Wellness Wheel are also key to maintaining a balanced lifestyle."
 
To follow Penn Campus Recreation's progress toward completion of the Wheel, or to get information on wellness events on campus, please visit recreation.upenn.edu or contact Erica Hildenbrand at ericah@upenn.edu.
 
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