Spiritual Well Being

Silhouette of a woman meditating

Table of Contents  

Introduction

Spiritual well-being includes an encouragement of individuals to find purpose, value, and meaning in their lives. It also increases understanding of one’s beliefs, values, and ethics which can help guide a clear path in their lives.

Characteristics of Spiritual Wellness:

  • Take time to reflect each day
  • Relaxation
  • Meditative Activities (e.g. yoga) 
  • Participating in Cultural or Religious traditions
  • Volunteering 
    • Taking part in a Religious Faith
    • Taking part in Cultural Traditions or Events
    • Being part of a civic organization
    • Being part of a group that you identify with
    • Spending time with loved ones 
    • Practicing meditation or prayer
    • Spending time in nature
    • Volunteering to help others
    • Anything that guides your decisions and actions and/or gives you relaxation...

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Evaluate Your Well-being – Complete Survey for a Chance to Win a MUSC Promotional Prize 

Share your story with us on what you already do to contribute to your spiritual well-being and why it is beneficial to you. At the end of each month, we will draw from the submissions and award MUSC Promotional Prizes (e.g. water bottle, beach towel, yoga mat).

QR code. Takes user to Redcap promotional survey about evaluating different health and wellness categories

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Develop or Refine an Activity You Enjoy - Find Your Flow

Have you ever heard the expression "Time Flies When You're Having Fun" or someone like an athlete or artists being "In the Zone?" Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced, mee-hy cheek-sent-mə-hy-ee) and colleagues have studied this phenomenon in athletes, musicians, dancers and others and given this zone state a name—flow. Researchers have learned that being in a flow state not only yields optimum performance, but it has other benefits as well. Not surprisingly, being in the zone is a highly pleasurable experience—it is just fun. More than that, people who experience more flow states also experience more confidence, self-esteem, happiness and meaning in life. 

Watch this TED Talk on flow:

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi speaks during a TED Talk.

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The Science of Yogic Breathing - Research and Exercises

Dr. Sundar Balasubramanian is a Radiation Oncology Researcher at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center as well as an acclaimed Yoga researcher. His recent research provides evidence for how Pranayama (Yogic breathing) practices could promote wellbeing in health and disease. He is a member of International Association of Yoga Therapists and the Integral Yoga Teachers Association, and is an IAYT-certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT). He is the Founder/Director of the PranaScience Institute, and was a speaker at TEDx Charleston 2015. He has recently published a book titled “PranaScience: Decoding Yoga Breathing”. His website is: PranaScience.com. Please watch Dr. Balasubramanian's TEDx Charleston talk and his video on yogic breathing techniques and try them out.

Watch More: 

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Yoga at Your Desk

Desk Yoga is a practice that combines key elements from this ancient practice with modern fitness principles for the purpose of helping office workers, students, and anyone that sits throughout the day increase creativity and focus, eliminate pain, heal computer-related injury, and feel positive throughout the day. 

Yoga at Your Desk typed in white on a black background

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The Benefits of Civility

Civility is an essential behavior of all employees in all organizations. These are the interpersonal “rules of engagement” for how we relate to each other, our customers, and our stakeholders; the fundamentals of courtesy, politeness, and consideration.

Reasons to Practice Civility:

  • There’s no escaping other people! Cliché as it may sound, no man is an island.
  • There are many benefits to practicing civil behavior. Some of the benefits of civility to an organization or an individual employee are even proven by empirical research (less absenteeism, increased productivity, better morale, healthier employees).
  • It’s the right thing to do. If anything else, civility is recommended because it’s the right thing to do. Every person, regardless of age, race, or contribution, deserves to be treated with respect.
  • Civility resonates with many of the positive values of society, including tolerance and mutual support --- it’s the humane thing to do.
  • Civility creates a conducive working environment as well as a stable and productive organization.

Source: Civility and Respect in the Workplace - Linda Burroughs-Glover

Watch Now: Christine Porath – Why Being Respectful to your coworkers is good for business  

Christine Porath gives a speech on the importance of respect in the workplace.

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Try a Daily Wellness App

There are variety of daily wellness apps on the market today that can aid with stress, anxiety and even sleep. It can be overwhelming deciding on which daily wellness app meets your specific goals. The following article gives advice on selecting a wellness app: How to Pick a Meditation App

Examples of 2 daily wellness apps that have been mentioned by students are Headspace and Calm. You can learn more about these apps by watching the videos below. Both apps have free trials and various discounted plans that students may qualify for. Headspace has a student plan and while Calm has discount plan for health care practitioners. 

Watch Headspace video:

A group of cartoon characters socializing in a park.

Watch Calm video:  

Man listening to music, gazing off into the distance.

Disclaimer: MUSC is not sponsored by or affiliated with Headspace or Calm or any other daily wellness app in any way. Their platforms, services and resources herein are recommendations provided by MUSC students. MUSC does not endorse any of the services, organizations, or vendors listed on this challenge.

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Attend a Session with the MUSC Mindfulness Meditation Group

MUSC Mindfulness graphic

Feeling stressed or burnt out? Already have a meditation practice?  Whatever might inspire you to try meditation, you’re welcome to join us at MUSC Mindfulness!

MUSC mindfulness is a student-led meditation group that meets Monday through Friday from 12:00 to 12:15 pm in the chapel of the Main hospital (rm 462 on 4th floor). All are welcome to attend!  We start each meditation session with some brief guidance along with a reading, so we appreciate it if folks arrive on time.

Feel free to email at leahyp@musc.edu for more information on the group.

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