OUS to host event for body, mind and soul

Valentine’s Day, arguably the busiest time of year for florists, chocolatiers and jewelers, is a day meant for expressing love for the special people in your life.

With all the pressure to show everyone else how you feel, sometimes you forget to love yourself.

Ohio University Southern is giving its students, as well as the community, an opportunity to learn how to become more satisfied with themselves. On Feb. 14, the university will be hosting its annual Love Your Body event, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Mains Rotunda.

“This is a time when everybody’s talking about love and loving one another. We think it’s important that you also love yourself,” said Robert Pleasant, director of student services and organizer for the event. “You love your body, you love your mind, you love your soul. It’s just a time for us to really focus on the idea of loving ourselves, appreciating who we are, our bodies and taking care of ourselves.”

Pleasant said the event was started several years ago to get the students at OU, as well and the community as a whole, to start thinking about the total body and promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Troy Allen, a peer ambassador at OU, is also helping to coordinate the event. He said area businesses will be helping with different kinds of demonstrations, such as Jazzercise, kickboxing and Zumba. Huntington’s Kitchen, started by nutrition guru Jamie Oliver, will also have people on hand to give healthy cooking demonstrations.

“If people want to get up on stage and do it with the instructors they would be more than welcome to do that,” Allen said. “We’re going to have the Wii Fit out for anyone who wants to come and do a little exercise and have a little fun.”

The mammogram van from Our Lady of Bellefonte will be there, as well as the Ironton and Lawrence County Health Departments and local chiropractors.

“Anything from sexual health, mental health, physical health, spiritual health, we pretty much have it covered,” Allen also said.

There will also be a kissing booth, but not the kind you might be familiar with. It’s a Hershey’s Kissing booth where they will give out the beloved chocolate candies.

Pleasant said he was pleased that the event continues to grow each year and wanted to encourage the community that it is not just for the students.

“It’s a way to find out what resources are available in the community,” he said. “A lot of the health agencies will be present. A lot of folks don’t understand or realize the number of resources that we have available in our community. It’s just to get students and the community thinking about the total body: mind, body and spirit.”