If you’re on campus on a Wednesday afternoon this semester, you have an opportunity to take 10 to 15 minutes for yourself through Qigong at 4 p.m. on the main floor of the A-Building Library, Room A-206 near the restrooms. Qigong (pronounced: “chee-gong”) is a way to meditate, move gently and practice mindfulness. By participating in Qigong, you’ll be part of “a rich history going back thousands of years,” according to Qigong practitioner Salvador Garcia.

“Qigong, like other similar disciplines, helps us in everyday life and work by helping us focus better,” Garcia said. “It is a mind exercise that helps the body by relaxing it, and the mind by helping it concentrate on our activities.” Originating in China, Qigong balances and helps you master Qi, which Chinese medicine recognizes as a type of energy inside your body.

“Qigong helps us be aware of ourselves and of events that we usually take for granted, such as breathing,” Garcia said, helping you “retreat into a serene state where we can relax.” “Once the mind relaxes, the body follows,” Garcia added. “The end result is that balance is restored.”

You may have heard of Tai Chi Chuan or Yoga. Garcia said that each of these use different movements. However, the three practices are related in that they seek a similar goal. “These three disciplines work harmoniously to relax us,” Garcia said. “Relaxation is the best medicine for the body. We can unwind what we have wound up through challenges, stress, anxiety and tension.”

Garcia said Qigong is appropriate for people with limited mobility, and everyone’s welcome. “The only requirement for Qigong is the willingness to do it,” Garcia said. “Come join us. We’ll be happy to see you.”

For Omar Cabrera, preparing for a career in the automotive industry through the Workforce Equity Initiative (WEI) was worth the long commute from Rolling Meadows to River Grove and a rigorous schedule that meant balancing classes and work. Even his own car trouble didn’t stop his drive. “The first day of school my car actually broke down,” Cabrera said. “For the next few days, WEI was able to help me with transportation issues until I got my car fixed up.”

That’s what WEI, https://www. triton.edu/wei, is designed to do – provide the wraparound support students need to overcome both unexpected challenges and systemic barriers on their way to higher paying careers in growing occupational fields.

As Cabrera invested his time and energy in his Truck Engine Repair Certificate, WEI invested in him, with full tuition and book assistance, a toolkit, workshops, and a team that included a Completion and Transition Specialist. “It really made it worth it to travel this far,” Cabrera said.

The WEI team is “making sure that we got all the knowledge we needed, and we’re not missing a day,” he said. On many of those days, Cabrera applied what he learned about from textbooks and lectures in direct activities, like taking apart a fuel injector. “There’s a lot of hands-on work that really made all the class learning come together,” Cabrera said.

Because WEI supplied a toolkit, Cabrera has something now that’s essential to those he’ll help as a Truck Engine Repair specialist. “Most tools are pretty expensive and there are a lot of tools we need to be able to diagnose problems correctly,” he said. WEI also used workshops on topics like interviewing and resume writing as tools for success. These, too, were student-centered, and Cabrera said many were held both on Zoom and in person. “They’d have multiple times and multiple days,” he said. “They really make sure they’re giving you the best chance to make it.”

Outside of WEI, Cabrera met others at Triton who encouraged him – his peers and Triton professionals. Retention Specialist Hector R. Hernandez told Cabrera about WEI when Hernandez learned what career field Cabrera was interested in, and that his local community college didn’t offer a similar certificate. Students motivated one another. “Most of my classmates also work full-time jobs or they work in shops,” Cabrera said. “They’re still able to make time for class.”

When Cabrera had long days on campus, meal pantries in the T-Building and B-Building Financial Aid Office – now Troy-Mart in the A-Building Room A-106G inside the Counseling and Wellness Center – kept him fueled. If you’re a student at Triton, Cabrera said it’s important to connect with instructors and “figure out your balance” between commitments.

“Have a good relationship with teachers, because if you work with them most of the time, they will always work things out with you,” he said. “At first I would take less hours just to figure out what would be a realistic schedule,” Cabrera added. “Then, I was able to bump up the hours.”

WEI will continue meeting with Cabrera as he graduates and finds the ideal job for himself, and he’s already planning what jobs will fit best with his interests.

“They’re all good-paying jobs,” Cabrera said – $20 per hour or more. “Obviously, if you like what you’re doing here, you’re most definitely going to like the job you’re going for.”

The following is an excerpt from Greater Good Magazine from the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley:

As a coach, I’m happy when my people are ready for change. But the best first move usually isn’t an outer change to our circumstances—to a new job or city, for example. Pursuing achievements that improve our social status and bring us wealth or fame can be tempting—but people who prioritize those things tend to have lower well-being.

Instead, the best first move is almost always inner work. It’s identifying a vision for the coming year that animates our best selves. When we align our aspirations with our intrinsic interests and values, we tend to increase our well-being and the odds of achieving our goals. But that task can feel daunting! Here’s how to get started.

Begin from your strengths rather than your weaknesses

Start by identifying some of your unique attributes: those things that make you you. As a coach, I’m most interested in the person you are without the normal social influences of the people around you. This is your intrinsic self, and it can be a compass for you in uncertain times.

Don’t worry if you’ve lost touch with your intrinsic self. We’re surrounded by external influences that shape us from the moment we’re born. Over time, it can be challenging to determine whether our goals and ambitions come from the hopes and expectations of our family, our culture, the media, our social circle—or our deepest sense of self and our truest values.

When we aren’t in touch with our intrinsic selves, our aspirations and goals are often based on external things like our jobs or roles, our appearance, and status-oriented stuff like houses and cars. These things are by nature all fleeting and fragile.

The good news is that your intrinsic self is always within you. It’s your center. You are like the block of marble that Michelangelo carved “The David” statue into. David was always in there, but the marble needed to be chipped away. I believe that, like “The David,” you are already “in there.”

Sometimes that idea—that you are already, always enough—can be tough to swallow. You are probably more in touch with the areas you want to strengthen and grow than the ones where you already feel good enough. But it can be more illuminating to see who you are than it is to lament who you aren’t.

For example, it’s easy for me to look back on the past year and wish I would have done more of some healthy thing, like meditation or yoga. When I focus on my deficiencies (I hardly meditated at all last year! I paid for a membership to a yoga website I barely used!), I feel inadequate and pessimistic about my ability to change. But when I consider my top strengths—zest and gratitude—I can see how my gratitude practices and love of outdoor exercise were enough. And, also, that I can grow these existing strengths. When I begin there, with my strengths, I feel optimistic about the year to come.

It’s counterintuitive, but, in my experience, people don’t tend to grow or accomplish the goals they set for themselves from a place of deficiency or fear that they aren’t good enough. Something liberating happens when we are no longer on the hunt for things to criticize about ourselves.

So allow yourself a moment to set aside the things you’d like to change about yourself and focus on the unique gifts you bring to the world.

Read the full article here