The Office of Student Mental Health and Wellness provides wellness programs designed to cultivate resilience, improve problem-solving skills/coping mechanisms, and promote engagement in positive mental health behavior. Programs aim to assist students outside of the counseling setting in developing skills, gaining knowledge, and increasing self-awareness in personal, social, and emotional functioning, as well as promoting personal and professional growth and development that supports physical well-being and quality of life.
Support Groups
Managing and Mastering Academic Challenges: Thriving through Stress
Academic life can be both rewarding and challenging. When facing academic obstacles, students often experience a complicated mix of emotions and reactions that can impact their ability to effectively manage their circumstances. This virtual confidential group will provide an opportunity for students to connect with other students and develop coping skills to achieve maximum success. Come to any or all sessions. Check the NYMC calendar for dates and to register.
Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole: Fostering Resilience Group
This 4-part virtual workshop reviews evidence-based practices for managing emotions, relationships, and self-compassion. The sessions cover different concepts and do not require consecutive attendance. Students can attend the dates that best suit their schedules. Check the NYMC calendar for dates and to register.
Wellness Classes
SMHW provides free workshops and activities that focus on wellness in areas of nutrition, anxiety, education, stress management, mindfulness, and awareness. We also offer free integrative exercises in yoga and meditation to enhance students' overall health.
Student Zumba
Weekly | Tuesdays
6:00p.m. – 7:00p.m.
Location: Yoga Room – Asprinio Fitness Center, Skyline Building
First time participants must complete the class waiver upon registration.
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Meet our Instructor: Yoshimi Arai
Yoshimi Arai has been a holistic wellness educator in the US for over 25 years, dedicated to helping people achieve complete balance through Japanese language, cooking, art, and exercise. She teaches Zumba, chair exercise, and aquatic exercise at several gyms and private facilities throughout Westchester and Rockland County, while also providing online classes for students across different states and Japan. In 2019, she created "Rejuvex," an exercise program designed to rejuvenate the whole person by connecting three essential elements: the physical body through movement, the mind through intelligent understanding of what you're doing, and the spirit through cultivating a positive mindset.
Her Goal: To set one's body free in happiness and positivity with the right knowledge of the movements, helping more people fall in love with life through movement, balance, and optimal wellness—whether in-person or through her accessible online programs
Student Yoga and Meditation
Weekly | Thursdays
Student Yoga: 5:30p.m. – 6:30p.m.
Student Meditation: 6:30p.m. – 7:00p.m.
Location: Yoga Room - Asprinio Fitness Center, Skyline Building
*Weather permitting, class will be held outside on Alumni lawn. Participants will be notified through e-mail and must bring their own towel or mat for outside.
Meet our Instructor: Mary Butler-Fink
Mary Butler-Fink has been teaching yoga and meditation for more than twenty years. Her training is in the Hatha Yoga Tradition, and she is certified by Yoga Alliance at the highest-level E-RYT 500 hour, YCEP. She has taught in yoga studios, her own included, corporations, spas, the Veterans Administration, hospitals & schools. Presently, in addition to beginning her 14th year working with faculty, staff & students at NYMC, she holds both private & group classes of all levels. Her karma yoga project for the past decade is Gilda’s Club, which has been recently renamed Red Door Community. For more info and to follow her on Instagram.
Self Defense Workshops
Check the NYMC Calendar for dates
Location: Yoga Room - Asprinio Fitness Center, Skyline Building
Participants will develop skills including awareness, safety strategies, verbal de-escalation, and physical techniques that enable someone to confidently avoid, prevent or escape harm. These workshops takes place throughout the academic year in the Fall and Spring. Check NYMC calendar for dates and to register. A consent form is required to join. For any questions, please contact smhw@nymc.edu.
Meet our Instructor: Benjamin Andersen
Ben Andersen is a martial arts and self-defense instructor with over twenty years of experience. His martial arts background includes Goju-Ryu Karate and Brazilian Jiujitsu. He is a co-owner of Edge Martial Arts, located in Dobbs Ferry, NY, where he teaches both martial arts and self-defense programs.
