Seven ways to stay active and healthy at college

I recently graduated from college, and my four years of higher education were exciting, challenging, and exhausting. There was always something to be done, and the long hours and hard work could leave me wanting nothing more than to binge-watch Friends while eating a bunch of cookie dough. I spent my days sitting at the piano, sitting in class, sitting talking with friends, sitting at the computer, and sitting in recitals.

"Humans weren't made to sit!" my friend liked to say. I knew to stay balanced I needed to fight my inner sloth. Problem is, I am not a gym person. Luckily, I found lots of ways to still be healthy and active.

Walk

I found out that everything I might need (groceries, the bank, post office, coffee shops, restaurants, parks, trails) were only a 15-20 walk from campus. This is the benefit of the small-college-mid-size-city life! When school got to be too much, I'd take a walk around the neighborhood and let myself daydream and relax. Take a friend along and share the stroll!

Bike

Two years ago my school—Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota—implemented a bike-share program. Now, students can borrow bikes for four hours at a time. I took advantage of the trails along the Red River, went on errands, and explored. Communities all over the country are seeing the benefits of bike shares. It's easy, fast, and eco-friendly.

Yoga

I can't afford yoga classes, but luckily with YouTube I can do yoga for free on my own schedule. (Your campus may also offer free or reduced-price classes for students.) The benefits yoga has given me are amazing: I've learned to focus my breathing, improve my balance, and become bendy! It's both a spiritual and physical discipline—just like music—and finding that correlation between the two has made it all the more meaningful for me.

Meditation


How often do we devote time to stillness? Hardly any, I realized. In my third-year religion class, our professor decided to devote the first two minutes of each class to silent meditation. Two minutes sounds like a blip in time, but it became the most cherished moments of the week for many of us. Not surprisingly, very few students showed up late that semester. Training my body and mind to be still left me feeling refreshed and calm.

Dance

Taking a social dance class to finish my P.E. requirements was one of the best decisions I made in college. Other fun opportunities were Concordia's swing-dancing club, which met twice a month; and free Zumba nights in the gym. Sometimes visiting artists would also give workshops#8212;that's how I spent a whole Saturday morning dancing flamenco!

Avoid drama

Conflict and disagreement is bound to happen. Drama is a whole 'nother beast. Before it drags you down, ask yourself, "Is this really my business? Will any good come from me saying these words? Why am I involved in this?" Drama creates stress, and stress will give you a heart attack at age 30, and no matter what, your student loans will live on without you.

Cook fresh food

I did this as much as time and money would allow. The trick is to set your budget, plan actual meals, shop with the seasons, and set aside the time. If I made something substantial on Sundays, I knew I'd have enough left-overs to get me through the week, thus saving a lot of time and money. Cooking has always been a way for me to relax, and it simply feels to good to make good food.

Emily Feld is a recent graduate of Concordia College, where she studied piano performance. She is an active chamber musician, singer, and composer of choral music, and is excited to see where those three passions take her in life.

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