Healthy for Life: T.E. Atkins UM Wellness Program

UMKC Classes

Bike Rides

For trails, clubs commuting and bike ride information, visit KCBike.info.

Eat for Life

Discover the benefits of this innovative approach to weight management. This ten week program uses mind-body practices (meditations and yoga), the principles of mindful and intuitive eating, skills training, and group support to guide you in making lifestyle changes that will help you create a healthier relationship to your food, mind, and body. If you have a history of chronic dieting, have rigid “healthy” rules about eating, or find yourself eating when you’re stressed, bored, or unhappy, this may be the program for you.

Summer 2013:

Online Orientation: May 31
Online Class: June 7-Aug. 9
Cost: $50 for faculty, staff and family members ($25 refunded with full participation); $180 for community members
Watch informational videos and email csdk89@mail.missouri.edu to enroll.

Fall 2013:

Online Orientation: Sept. 27
Online Class: Oct. 4-Dec. 6
Cost: $50 for faculty, staff and family members ($25 refunded with full participation); $180 for community members
Watch informational videos and email RossyL@umsystem.edu to enroll.

Meditation

Lower your stress and relax for 20 minutes while listening to a CD recording by Dr. Lynn Rossy, Healthy for Life’s Health Psychologist. All you need is a room and a CD player or computer to play the CD. If you are interested in facilitating one weekly session in your own building, email Laurie for simple details.

Million Step Pedometer Program

This is a non-stop program to address physical activity. Sign up any time and receive a pedometer and log book for $15. Walk 1 million steps and receive your money back, certificate and T-shirt. Prizes are given for every million steps. To enroll, e-mail Healthy for Life.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Helping employees manage stress effectively is a key goal of Healthy for Life, the Thomas E. Atkins Wellness Program. The wellness program offers eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction classes at minimal cost to benefit-eligible employees looking to manage today's busy lifestyles in a healthy way. This 8–week class teaching meditation, yoga and other mind-body techniques for managing stress. For more information about MBSR, visit the Program section of this website. There is a $40 registration fee, $20 reimbursement with full participation.

Physical Activity

Mindful Yoga Classes

When: Tuesdays, Jan. 8 – Feb. 12, 2013

Time: 12:10- 12:50 p.m.

Location: UMKC Performing Arts Center, McIlrath Lounge

Cost: 6-week session for $18/Drop-ins: $5 (fee payable to Dana Chamblin)

Open to UMKC faculty and staff. Adult family members welcome.

For more information, contact Dana Chamblin at 235-1096 or ChamblinD@umkc.edu

Iyengar Yoga can be practiced by all. The use of props such as walls, chairs and belts help the practitioner to enjoy the benefits of all the postures, regardless of their physical condition or level of experience. Emphasis is given to mindful movement, precision and alignment in all postures which are taught progressively and build on a strong foundation.

Dana, a member of the UMKC community, teaches yoga throughout the Kansas City region. She has studied yoga for over 15 years with senior teachers around the country as well as in India. She loves sharing with her students yoga’s profound health and relaxation benefits that she herself has experienced through regular practice. Dana is particularly skilled at making yoga accessible to students of all ages, body types and abilities. Space is limited. Contact Dana Chamblin at 235-1096 or ChamblinD@umkc.edu

Bring a yoga or exercise mat and a thick beach towel, if possible
Comfortable street clothes are welcome (no skirts or dresses, please)
McIlrath Lounge is to your right as you enter the PAC front doors and up a flight of stairs. It overlooks the lobby area from the fourth floor. Checks payable to Dana Chamblin.
Open to UMKC faculty and staff. Adult family members welcome.

Ride to Wellness Odometer Program

This is a program to address physical activity. Sign up any time and receive an odometer and log book for $20. Ride 500 miles and receive your money back, certificate and T-shirt. Prizes are given out for every 500 miles. To enroll, mail a $20 check to Healthy for Life at 205 Heinkel Building, Columbia, MO 65211. We will mail your items through Campus Mail. Once you reach each 500 miles, mail or e-mail copies of your booklet to Healthy for Life.

Tai Chi

Mondays & Wednesdays, starting July 9, 11:30 am-12:15 pm, Royall Hall, Room 212

Fee is $21. Space is limited. Contact Heidi Updike at 235-1331 or updikeh@umkc.edu

Support Groups

Alzheimer's Support Group
Third Monday of month: 7-9 p.m.
North Kansas City Hospital
Support group for anyone dealing with someone who has Alzheimer's or Dimentia. Registration is not required. For more information, call (816) 691-1688.
Bereavement Support Group
Second Thursday of month: 10-11:30 a.m.
St. Joseph Medical Center, Location: Health Sciences Library, Building D, SJMC campus
Second Thursday of month: 6-7:30 p.m.
St. Joseph Medical Center, Location: Abell-Lorenz Room, Building D, SJMC campus
Support group for those dealing with grief. Registration is not required. For more information, call (816) 943-2782.
Breast Cancer Support Group
First Tuesday of month: 5-6:30 p.m.
North Kansas City Hospital
Support group for breast cancer survivors, newly diagnosed patients and family members. Registration is not required. For more information, call (816) 691-5197.
Chron's or Colitis Support Group
Fourth Tuesday of month: 7-8:30 p.m.
North Kansas City Hospital
Support group for those diagnosed with Chron's Disease or Colitis and their families. Registration is not required. For more information, call (816) 235-2031.
Fibro & Friends Support Group
Second Monday of month: 5-6:30 p.m.
North Kansas City Hospital
Support group for those with Fibromyalgia. This group is open to all persons with auto-immune disorders, their friends and family. Registration IS required. For more information, call (816) 691-1688 or click here for registration page.
Living with Diabetes Support Group
First Thursday of even-numbered months: 5-6:30 p.m.
North Kansas City Hospital
Support group for patients and their families dealing with diabetes or pre-diabetes. Registration is not required. For more information, call (816) 691-1666.

Weight Watchers

Volker Campus: Administrative Center, Loose Park Room
Tuesdays, 12-1 p.m. Contact: Laurie at GoldsteinLJ@umsystem.edu
This course addresses nutrition, physical activity and peer support. The discounted enrollment fee is $39.95 per month if you use the portal. If you choose not to enroll via the portal, the cost is $42.95 per month. To access the portal, visit https://wellness.weightwatchers.com and use UMKC ID 47530 and passcode WW47530.

Hospital Hill: School of Dentistry, Room 250
Wednesdays, 12-1 p.m. Contact: Sarah at MajorSJ@umkc.edu
This course addresses nutrition, physical activity and peer support. The discounted enrollment fee is $39.95 per month if you use the portal. If you choose not to enroll via the portal, the cost is $42.95 per month. To access the portal, visit https://wellness.weightwatchers.com and use UMKC ID 47530 and passcode WW47530.

Online Program
www.weightwatchers.com, Join anytime
If you are a Coventry member, you are eligible for a discounted rate to enroll in Weight Watchers online. Get registration details now. For $55, you can access recipes, tracking tools and chat boards for three months. That’s less than $5 per week!

Wellness Ambassadors

This is an ongoing program that allows you to enroll anytime. Wellness Ambassadors are those people who are eager to help spread the wellness word to their colleagues, friends and family. They spend 5 minutes a week to forward an e-mail, mention an event or program during a staff meeting, encourage healthy behaviors, etc. Some Ambassadors spend more time promoting wellness by staffing a booth during a health fair, leading a class or coming up with great ideas for new programs. If this sounds like something you are interested in, please contact Wellness.

Workshops

Taking care of ourselves during the workday helps us be more productive and have more energy for our work and our lives beyond work. Participants learn how to balance being engaged with taking time for quick recovery techniques throughout the day in order to meet the challenges of a busy workplace. Design your own plan for improvement and find ways of structuring your workplace to create a culture of health and wellness. Understand and overcome the barriers to greater personal and professional success. Contact Lynn Rossy, Ph.D., Health Psychologist for Healthy for Life, for more details and to schedule a workshop for your area.