February 15, 2018
Balancing Act - Integrative Health and Wellness
Essential Question: How does maintaining a physically and emotionally healthy lifestyle contribute to
increased lifespan, wellness and balance in life, and proprioceptive sensory awareness?
This ECS explores the relationship between mind and body in optimizing self-efficacy and performance.
At the forefront of this exploration will be fitness training, instruction by certified holistic health
practitioners, and research and application of nutrition trends. Students will do frequent reflection to
evaluate how the integration of ECS topics into their own lives betters their mindfulness and physical
ability. Through these experiences, individuals will analyze the distinctions between hobby, passion and
purpose and the direct implications those might have on a person’s life.
We will tap into the Olympic Training Center and local experts including physicians, practitioners of
non-traditional medicine, psychologists, counselors, and dieticians to learn more about the options
available to maximize performance, happiness, fitness, and balance. We will sharpen our media literacy
as we determine how to assess the daily deluge of health information. Besides basic anatomy and
physiology, fitness, and nutrition, we will explore lifestyle diseases, addiction, and stress management. To
complement more “western” ideas of fitness and health, students will also learn more about
non-traditional techniques such as cupping, acupuncture, meditation, dry needling, and chiropractic care.
At the completion of this course, students will understand and be able to explain the health effects (and
risks) of physical activity on cardiorespiratory and metabolic responses, mental health, and body mass and
weight. Participation in a variety of physical tests and therapies will help students understand their
physiology and how this awareness leads to more efficient and effective training practices. Similarly,
physical activity will take place in a variety of conditions, including contained environments and those
with temperature variance, to demonstrate possible adverse effects of physical activity.
Instructors: Jennifer Hedden, Twyla Surritte
