Quest for Health: The Role of Mindfulness in Healthy Behavior

Course Description

College brings freedom and opportunity, but also a surprising amount of difficulties when it comes to taking care of yourself. This first-year seminar uses mindfulness as a practical framework for understanding and improving the daily habits that most affect student wellbeing, including sleep, nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and relationships. Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all approach, the course invites students to pause, reflect, and experiment, discovering what actually works for them in the context of their own lives.

Grounded in current health research and personal practice, students will examine the connections between behavior, mindset, and overall wellbeing. Throughout the course, students are supported in developing a self-designed health goal project, in which they will identify an area they want to improve and intentionally work toward it with the tools, community, and self-awareness built along the way. This is a class grounded in curiosity and honesty, not judgment.

Tracy George – Lecturer, Psychology

Academic background

Tracy George, MPH CHES CYT is a psychology lecturer at UNC Asheville. George also has a background in public health, as well as meditation and mindfulness. She used to direct the student wellness center at Yale, while graduating there with a public health degree. Tracy brings a passion for teaching and a mind-body connection to the classroom.

What makes this course meaningful for students?

George aims for students to deepen their awareness of their own behaviors, empowering them to change those patterns they wish to leave behind. Through the study and practice of mindfulness and meditation, students not only learn valuable techniques but also discover how these practices foster the development of healthy habits. Importantly, the course highlights that behavior change is rarely an individual endeavor. Students will walk away understanding the perspectives on the western view of individual responsibility, and the eastern understanding of community-based living.

Favorite spot in Asheville

George’s favorite spot is the Pisgah National Forest. George loves hiking, mountain biking, and visiting the waterfalls. She loves visiting places that highlight the temperate rainforest Asheville is surrounded by.