With over 400 clubs on campus, Colorado State University does not suffer from shortages in extracurricular opportunities. They range from pre-medical science to pre-law, from the fly fishing club to the yerba mate club and from hundreds of members to a mere five or 10. In an attempt to expand communities on campus and make CSU feel a little more like home, many students put their emails down on every list during the Involvement Expo and attend way too many meetings the first week of school.
While the larger clubs might have more recognition, it can be very worthwhile to explore some of the smaller, more inconspicuous clubs. One of these clubs is the Holistic Health Alliance, dedicated to educating its members on the marvels of naturopathic resources and holistic wellness practices while empowering individuals to make changes in their own lives.
Holistic health practices are often overlooked by western medicine, the HHA is trying to bring some attention back to natural wellness methods. “Holistic health is the pursuit of complete, total-body wellness. It’s about taking care of mental, physical, spiritual, sexual and emotional health,” senior biological sciences student Carly McLain said.
“It’s about learning how to pay attention to the cues and patterns that show up throughout these systems so that we can understand when something is off, and to be able to work with our body to resolve the issue at its root cause.”
A consistent trait among smaller organizations is passion. It takes strength, effort and a hell of a lot of courage to start your own club, so the dedication truly shows.
One of the HHA’s officers, McLain joined the HHA because she was eager to “embark on the journey of learning her body’s natural way of communication and find a group of individuals focused on living their life more holistically.”
Her contagious energy about health mirrors the dedication of the club. Carly said the club is set up a little differently than others.
“(I) liked that the club was based on education from professional practitioners and research discussions,” McLain said. The club consists of like-minded, empowering members who are searching for information to better their lives. Though the club is small, the energy in the atmosphere during the meetings is very powerful.
The club hosts a variety of events throughout the semester focusing on making mindful changes in students’ lifestyles. Movement, functional foods, aromatherapy, meditation, acupuncture and cycle-tracking are a few of the practices the Holistic Health Alliance focuses on. The events are typically held at 5 p.m. in the Gifford building.
The passion displayed by the members of the Holistic Health Alliance is aligned with many other small clubs on campus. Though small, they truly are mighty.