Mind, Body, Nature: Senior promotes holistic healing for peers
By Stephen D'Angelo, Student and Campus Life
Drawing from her personal struggles with anxiety and depression, Joanne Wang ’24 has dedicated much of her undergraduate journey to helping peers find wellbeing through the outdoors and physical movement. As a graduating senior, her hope is to leave a legacy at Cornell for current and future students to benefit from her experience with the healing power of the outdoors.
Wang is currently working on the proposal of a "Mind, Body, and Nature" health resource, which aims to integrate Cornell Outdoor Education activities with Cornell Health mental health programming. The concept would intentionally connect each physical activity or session, such as outdoor yoga, garden meditation, nature walks, and trail running, to a wellness practice, or skill, – combining the healing properties of nature and movement with stress reduction and wellbeing practices.
“I want to help Cornell students prioritize their mental wellbeing and offer this program as an avenue within that process of healing,” Wang said. “My hope is that it will be able to provide a toolbox of wellness and health resources for instructors to incorporate into these outdoor activities.”