- Erin Link,
Coordinator for Health Promotion and Wellness
NORMAL, Ill. – While exercising and consuming nutritious foods is often advocated by health experts, there are other aspects involved in becoming a healthier person. SEVEN is an annual program sponsored by the Illinois State University Health Promotion and Wellness office to educate the campus on the many paths to achieve overall health and wellness.
This program promotes seven dimensions that make up a healthy person including emotional, environmental, intellectual, social, spiritual, vocational and physical wellness. These dimensions are believed to be the key to a balanced, healthy life.“SEVEN started around five years ago and has been an important program for many people,” Erin Link, coordinator for the Health Promotion and Wellness office, said. “We are trying to get people to think of all aspects of wellness.”
From September to April students, faculty and staff are eligible to receive prizes by logging how they incorporate the seven dimensions of wellness into their daily lives. To log information, participants first need to go the wellness website and make an account. They then log in every time they use one of the seven dimensions throughout the day. Examples include volunteering with registered student organizations, humane societies, recreation activities and off-campus activities with the spiritual and vocational dimensions.
Participants earn points for taking part in both individual and campus-wide activities. First-time participants of a particular activity or event receive a bonus of 10 extra points, and every subsequent event logged earns 10 points. “It’s a healthy competition that we want students, faculty and staff to be a part of. This program can help you become healthy and also attribute to the greater good,” Link said.
To be eligible for monthly prizes, participants must earn at least 100 points by the end of each month. Five winners are drawn the first Monday of each month. Examples of prizes include tickets for events, small appliances such as household blenders and ISU apparel. There are some incentives that the program is promoting in the hectic months of November and December, too. In November, logging 200 points will earn you a wellness water bottle.
“The whole point of SEVEN is to get people to consider wellness in a broader term, to get new things on your radar both spiritual and vocational,” Link said. "A healthy environment, social health, which is the need to be around positive people, spiritual health, such as acting with core values, all help contribute to be a better you.”
James Almeda, also a coordinator for the Health Promotion and Wellness office, agreed with Link on the importance of programs like SEVEN adding, “We want people to take care of themselves, and we are trying to push people in the right direction to stay healthy by encouraging them to stay active. We understand that some people don’t have time, this program allows them to track that, and and have a support system to keep you going,”
One of the best things that can keep participants motivated is to look back at where they started before joining the program, or looking a few months in to see how much they have progressed. “If a person started walking just a bit here and there, and then a few months later is walking three times a week, that is progress, and participants can see how far they’ve come,” Link said.
Students, faculty and staff from ISU can join the SEVEN program at any point during the year. For more information, visit https://seven.illinoisstate.edu/ or http://wellness.illinoisstate.edu/.