Health & Well Being

The Health and Wellbeing Program was set up to offer Conservatorium students the tools towards a healthy, happy & stress free student life. 
With training sessions, workshops but also sports & other forms of information with regards to health, the Health & Wellbeing Program tries to focus on both physical- and mental health.
 
The program is mandatory for year 1 and year 2 and optional for higher year students. 
 
Year 1: Lifestyle factors (by Preventiecentrum Zuyd)
The student is able to argue that lifestyle can be of decisive influence on his or her professional development.
The student is also able to indicate the various Health facets or to question others in a 'collegial' meeting.
Year 2: Complaint prevention and treatment (by MUMC+)
The student is able to indicate the most common risks or complaints and knows where the specialists are located in the relevant risk area and knows how to reach them. 
 
HEALTH
It is well known that it is more and more difficult to keep a healthy work-life balance.
Prevalence off stress, tiredness, anxiety, or even depression and burn-out is increasing worldwide over many occupations, also under musicians. 
What are underlying –medical- mechanisms to explain that people obtain these symptoms and what are effective ways to prevent or reduce these problems.  

Within this health part of our Health & Wellbeing program,  mental support and mindfulness is of great importance.
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act.
Workshops we offer among others:
•    Mindfullness & Voice;
•    Lifestyle habits;
•    Body awareness;
•    Time management;
•    Intercultural awareness.
 
Next to these workshops we offer Stage Presence as part of the curriculum: how to be, actively and representative, present on stage, 
and to help you to overcome stage fright and performance anxiety. 

Next to the above we have (mental) support available within the department and within Zuyd:
•    Frans Gulikers (study coach at the jazz department of the  Conservatorium): frans.gulikers@zuyd.nl
•    Hans Houben & Frederike Verhallen (study councillors for Zuyd): hans.houben@zuyd.nl & Frederike.verhallen@zuyd.nl
•    Dianne Verluyten (student psychologist Zuyd): dianne.verluyten@zuyd.nl

WELLBEING
Simply said: wellbeing is just feeling well. Feeling well starts with feeling happy, feeling healthy and feeling comfortable.
We try to improve our students wellbeing by offering not only courses on how to (theoretical base) but also on just do it. 
These just do it courses provide actual exercises to keep, not only your body, but also your voice in shape.
Workshops we offer are among others:
•    Body/Muscles or Voice (voice- and physiotherapy);
•    Prevent pain by playing in an ergonomic posture (Mensendieck);
•    Posture: best or better (occupational therapy);
•    Yoga;
•    Kung-Fu;
•    Running clinics.

As an extra we also offer the students health checks done by students and teachers of the nursing department: intake and measurements in order to obtain information about general and basic health. 
This can lead to specific health suggestions, or suggestions concerning further specific health measurements.
 
It’s important for musicians to preserve and maintain optimum health as “Olympic athletes in music”.
With this program the students & also teachers learn more about health risks as an “Olympic athlete in music” and which – medical- explanations there are for health problems often seen in musicians. 
They will be actively involved in reflecting about their health in the perspective of being a life-long musician, keeping the work-life balance and a healthy career.