With New Year’s resolutions slowly drifting out of sight and out of mind, students at Algonquin might be struggling to maintain a balance between a healthy lifestyle and one that is also achievable.
“I think that’s one thing that students struggle with the most, finding a balance between school work, social life and health,” said Wayne Boucher, a fitness and wellness coordinator at Algonquin. “The whole mind, body, spirit. You can’t plug everything into the mind and then sacrifice the body because it will crush the spirit.”
Boucher, who is currently in his 11th year working at the college, said that motivation is necessary and that if people are at a point where they’re unhappy with their physique, but are not truly ready to make a change, the change won’t happen until they are in the right mindset. He also says that without proper nutrition, a physical workout is not going to yield the desired results.
In fact, to help with nutrition there is a registered dietitian offered free of charge to staff and students. Donna Law has been in the nutrition business for over 20 years and meets with students by appointment every Saturday at the college.
“We need more dietitians everywhere. It’s the foundation of your body; it’s what makes you up,” said Law, in regard to the importance of having a campus dietitian.
Law said that the key to proper nutrition is variety and moderation.
“You can’t get any simpler than that,” said Law.
There are also resources for mental and spiritual health. Sandra McCormick, the manager of Health Services, said that she thinks that the spiritual centre is useful for students.
She says that sometimes it’s important for students to spend quiet time with themselves, this can help them refocus their thoughts which can be difficult with the pressures that students face these days.
She said that it’s about balance and perspective. Sometimes meditation or religious meetings depending on students’ beliefs can be helpful in providing that balance.
The spiritual centre is open to all students and offers a wide variety of religious meetings, including classes that students can sign up for to help them try and gain mental wellness while developing their physical health.