So, you’re coming to ASU in the fall? Awesome! You must be excited…to drown in so much information in the first week of school. You have to worry about housing, tuition and figuring out where your classes are — and what’s this you hear about a secret garden?

Fret not, you newbies are in luck.

The SDFC prides itself on being a welcoming, diverse environment for guests and employees alike. SDFC employees come from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities, each with their own unique culture. Outreach Coordinator Chetandeep Singh Gill is one such employee.

Gill hails from a tiny village in Punjab, a state in India. He’s a graduate student at ASU, and he’s set to walk in May with a Master’s in mechanical engineering.

“From an early age, I was fascinated [by] how machines work, how things work, like how we’re able to get electricity,” Gill said.

The Sun devil Fitness Complex is full of talented student workers and I had the pleasure of conducting an interview with one of them. Jack Hiemenz is a senior going into his final semester. He works as a facilities manager at the SDFC and has a passion for golf and hockey. The golf club he is a part of just won a national tournament in Las Vegas. Like a lot of students at ASU, Jack left for his home state for the break and he was nice enough to give me some time of his day for a phone call. Here is what he had to say. 

Most perceive meditation as a complicated art form—but it can actually be quite simple.

There isn’t one right way to go about it—the goal is to quiet your mind in order to be present in the moment and within yourself. You can achieve this in a number of ways.

“[Meditation] can involve focusing on the breath, on bodily sensations, or on a word or phrase, known as a mantra,” according to Psychology Today.

We’re pushing through the Spring semester, and with that comes exams, papers, and other assignments. For some of us, this can be a stressful time with feelings of anxiety and burnout, so now is a good opportunity to check in with your mental health and evaluate how you’re doing. If you find that you are struggling, there are resources available to Sun Devils to help us out and get us back on the path to success. Below are five questions to ask yourself to assess how your mental health is doing and some tips to help bring balance.

 

Welcome to, “Hot Seat” where we take topics in health and fitness and figuratively put them on the hot seat to distinguish fact from myth. I hope you all learn something from this series and continue to read up on all of them as they come out.

For those who spend a lot of time on social media there is a possibility that you have seen a celebrity or public figure promoting a detox tea. Typically they say, “it’s my favorite drink” and urge their followers to purchase said product with their special discount code.

Do you find it hard to fall asleep at night? Do you find yourself reaching for an Ambien or ZzzQuil more often than you’d like?

First, know that you’re not alone, as 60 million Americans — lots of them students like us — admit to having experienced insomnia. But second, know that there are other ways to fall asleep faster without turning to medication.

Here are just five of the many possibilities:

Eating right and sticking to a balanced diet is essential to Building Your Best You. But consulting with a registered dietitian can help students start down a path to proper nutrition and help those already on that path stay focused on reaching their goals. Luckily, the SDFC has its own dietitian to help both sets of students. 

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