Well-Being Activities
The Power of Food
Simple, supportive habits to help your body do what it does best.
Food is powerful. It affects more than just hunger – it influences how we feel, think, and function every day. In the Power of Food nutrition series, we’ll explore how simple, realistic habits can support key areas of your health, such as digestion, heart health, immunity, energy, and weight management. You don’t need perfection or major changes to feel better. With small, steady choices and a focus on adding supportive habits, you can help your body do what it’s designed to do, one step at a time.
Pick your path:
When you register for The Power of Food, you get to choose the style of support that fits your lifestyle and goals best.
✉️ Email (Self-Paced Study): Perfect if you prefer to dive into the content on your own schedule. Kelly will email the materials each week. You’re always welcome to reply to Kelly directly with questions or breakthroughs, but no group interaction is required. Spouses or partners are welcome to register for this option.
💬 Google Group Chat (Virtual Community): Want to connect with colleagues without adding another meeting to your calendar? Kelly will post the weekly content here. You can share your experiences, cheer others on, and text-chat about your goals whenever it suits your workday.
👥 In-Person Group Coaching (High Accountability): Looking for more support to make sustainable nutrition changes? Choose this track to join Kelly for three bi-weekly live, in-person group sessions. Together, we’ll set goals, troubleshoot challenges, and celebrate wins as a team. This group is limited to the first 10 participants, and is the only option that will count as a qualifying activity for your wellness reward.
What to expect:
- Register now through July 3.
- This 6-week activity kicks off the week of July 6th
- Topics covered include: Gut health, weight support and body systems, heart health and anti-inflammatory eating, immunity and cancer-protective nutrition, blood sugar balance and energy, food and mood connection.
- Those in Group Coaching will receive the weekly content via email and attend three (bi-weekly), 50 min in-person group sessions led by Macalester’s health coach, Kelly Fang. Dates TBD based on the group’s availability.
How to get started:
How to complete:
- Group coaching participants must complete 3 coaching sessions.
- One group session can be made-up by meeting one-on-one with Kelly before the end of August.
- The Group Coaching option will count towards your 2026 well-being reward.
Questions?
- Contact Kelly Fang at [email protected] (Please note: Kelly will be out of the office from June 25 until July 6)
Gut Health Essentials
Your gut does a lot for you — from helping you digest food to supporting your mood, energy, and immune system.
This new WHAM activity breaks gut health down into simple, practical steps, from how digestion works to how daily habits like eating, moving, sleeping, and managing stress shape your overall well being. This activity doesn’t provide medical advice – see our disclaimer for details.
Get Started:
- Log into your well-being account at healthpartners.com/wellbeing or click the Living Well button in the HealthPartners mobile app.
- If you haven’t already done so, complete your annual Health Assessment.
- Select the Gut Health Essentials activity, and click “Get started.”
- Explore gut health. Take in bite sized lessons about digestion, nutrition, habits, sleep, movement, and the mind-gut connection. Try simple skills like mindful eating and stress-management techniques.
How to complete the Gut Health activity:
If you’re using this activity as a qualifying activity towards earning your wellness reward card, you’ll need to complete 16 steps. Check in each day to complete a step. New steps unlock one at a time and are designed to be short — sometimes you’ll take action, other times you’ll learn something new. Once you’ve completed the activity, completion will automatically show in your well-being account.
The goal is to help you create sustainable change. You’ll build awareness, track your progress, and choose two or three gut friendly habits to practice over the course of this activity. Once you’ve completed this activity, you can revisit the steps and continue tracking your habits to keep your gut (and the rest of you!) feeling good.
Questions?
Contact Kelly Fang at [email protected]
Pivot first, quit when you’re ready
WHAM and HealthPartners are excited to introduce a new way to help you quit smoking, vaping, or chewing at your own pace. Pivot is an app-based digital tobacco cessation program that includes the use of an FDA-cleared SmartSensor (for those who smoke cigarettes), interactive digital lessons, peer support and a certified tobacco cessation health coach designed to support you through your quit journey.
For the first time, with the SmartSensor device you can measure daily improvements and see the impact of your changes in real-time. Simply skip a cigarette, or delay your next one, and watch your carbon monoxide levels drop. Pivot can also provide up to 12 weeks of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) for combustible tobacco users enrolled in the program.
Clinically proven to
- Increase your motivation to quit
- Decrease your tobacco use
You can expect personalized guidance, community support, and six months of access to tools and coaching. To learn more, watch Tyler’s story or view our Pivot flyer.
HealthPartners has made Pivot available at no cost as part of your health plan benefits.
Get started:
- Log into your well-being account at healthpartners.com/wellbeing or click on the Living Well tab in the HealthPartners mobile app.
- If you haven’t already done so, complete your annual Health Assessment.
- Select the Pivot activity, and click “Get started.” You’ll go directly to Pivot.
- Select which type(s) of tobacco you’d like help with.
- From there, it will ask that you verify your coverage by entering a little bit of information about yourself, including your 8 digit HealthPartners member ID.
How to complete the Pivot activity:
If you’re using this activity as a qualifying activity towards earning your wellness reward card, you’ll need to complete six activities each week and be enrolled for a minimum of six weeks. Once you’ve completed the activity, completion will show in your well-being account within one week.
Questions?
- Contact Kelly Fang at [email protected]
FIND YOUR INNER PEACE
Calming yourself improves your mental and physical wellbeing. A new activity, Create Your Calm, is now available virtually and on-demand through WHAM and HealthPartners Living Well. This activity includes mindfulness, breathing and medication-style classes to help you pause, breathe and create calm. All classes are beginner level and under 30 minutes. Here are a few of the featured classes:
- Gratitude Meditation – Focusing on gratitude to enhance positivity
- Finding Stillness – Techniques for calming the mind
- Mindful Breathing – Breathwork for relaxation
- Body Scan Meditation – Awareness-based meditation
- Essential Yin – Gentle yoga for relaxation
What to expect:
- This is a 2-week activity
- There are 4-7 classes each week including mindfulness, breathing and meditation-style classes
- Participating in this activity is voluntary. It’s advised to consult your health care provider before participating in any physical activity or fitness programs.
Get started today. Visit healthpartners.com/signin/livingwell and sign into your online account! Select “Get Started” on the activity, Create Your Calm.
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Check out what HealthPartners has to offer.
Stress can seem like an unavoidable part of life. Responsibilities are pulling you in all different directions, and self-care might be low on your list of priorities. But taking care of your emotional well-being can help you lessen stress and increase your overall health. If you’d like to explore putting some balance back in your life, HealthPartners Living Well has a wide variety of activities and resources to help you stay balanced and positive.
Here are just a few resources to help you find balance:
- myStrength is a flexible and comprehensive digital program with proven tools and activities for stress, depression, sleep and more.
- Tackle Stress teaches stress management techniques via articles and videos to use in your daily life.
- Wellbeats offers yoga, meditation and other mindfulness activities to support and bolster your emotional health.
- Healthy Thinking strengthens your emotional fitness and builds healthy thinking habits.
Whether you’re looking to sleep better, fuel your brain more efficiently or find opportunities for being more present in your life, HealthPartners Living Well has options. Plus, participating in programs like these helps you earn your $150 reward card. It’s a win-win!
Sign in to healthpartners.com/wellbeing to get started. You can also download the HealthPartners mobile app to easily access your health assessment and track your activity progress.
Questions?
Contact Kelly Fang at [email protected]. For help signing on, call HealthPartners at 800-311-1052 or email.
Stay active at work, at home or on the go!
Are you getting enough movement during your workday? Whether you work from home or go into work, it’s easy to get so caught up in the day that you look up and suddenly, it’s been hours since you last got out of your chair. You can easily slip into a sedentary lifestyle without even knowing it.
But there’s good news! Wellbeats, an on-demand fitness tool available to you through HealthPartners Living Well can help get you moving more, even while you’re working, at home or on the go. Wellbeats has so many great tools to help you sneak in movement where you can.
Want to get started right away? Try these quick tips for getting up and moving right now:
- Set a reminder – We’re creatures of habit and if our watch or phone tells us to do something, we’ll do it, right? Setting a reminder on your phone or smartwatch really works. When that buzzer rings, get up to do something even as simple as refilling your water bottle or to use the bathroom.
- Take lunch outdoors – Use your lunch break to walk around the neighborhood or the parking lot. You’ll return to work refreshed and energized, and you’ll have gotten valuable outdoor time that can even help you sleep better at night.
- Meet standing up – If you work from home, get a standing desk or improvise with a sturdy box or two. Taking your meetings on your feet will do wonders for your body. You’ll also stand up straighter and feel more confident.
Living Well moment: Stretch break
Take a moment to change up your movement. This one is called “Workstation.” At your workstation, try to do some of these gentle standing stretches every 20 minutes or so while you’re working. Repeat on both sides where appropriate:
- Rise to tiptoes and slowly lower heels to ground.
- Balance on one leg.
- Without bending at the knee, stretch one leg out and raise, hold and lower.
- Take a step back from your workstation, then lean and step forward with one leg and hold for 15-20 seconds (like a modified lunge).
Get rewarded for healthy choices
You and your spouse can each earn a $150 reward card when you take your health assessment and complete two well-being activities by October 31. Just sign in to healthpartners.com/wellbeing to get started.
Questions?
When you thrive, we all thrive. If you have questions, contact Kelly Fang at [email protected]. For help signing on, call HealthPartners at 800-311-1052 or email. You can also download the HealthPartners mobile app to easily access your health assessment and track your activity progress.
Don’t underestimate the power of a healthy back.
If you’ve ever thrown your back out or overexerted yourself, you know how damaging back pain can be. It’s easy to underappreciate your healthy back until pain makes it front of mind. Back pain is all too common, especially as you age, but it doesn’t have to be.
Whether you suffer from chronic back pain or are hoping to stop it before it starts, Healthy Back, a well-being activity you have access to through HealthPartners Living Well can help. You’ll learn all the best ways to take care of your back including strategies and stretches to keep your back healthy and strong all year long.
Start improving your back health right now. You’ll get a lifetime of use out of your back with these tips for keeping it happy and healthy:
- Keep moving. Even if your back is actively hurting, it’s important to keep moving to prevent the muscles from weakening over time.
- Consider your core. Core muscles aren’t just those washboard abs you have in front. The stronger your core, the stronger and less prone to injury your back will be.
- Stand up. Add frequent standing and walking to your day. Sitting for too long shortens your hip flexors, puts extra strain on your back muscles and compresses your spine.
- Stand up straight. Good posture makes your mother happy, and it makes your back happy. Undue pressure is relieved from your neck and spine, allowing your back to function better.
- Seek physical therapy. If you slipped in the shower and your back still doesn’t feel quite right, or you’re noticing that an old sports injury is acting up more than it used to, it might be a good idea to ask your doctor about physical therapy. This can help address problems before they get worse and teach you stretches and movement to help your body stay pain-free.
Living Well moment
Take a moment to focus on you. Try this back stretch. Standing back extension: Stand tall with hands on hips, with thumbs on your lower back area. Pull your elbows back and lift your chin slightly upward, while extending your spine slightly up and back. Press your hips forward while keeping the muscles in your rear tightened. View more posture correction exercises.
Get rewarded for healthy choices
You and your spouse can each earn a $150 reward card when you take your health assessment and complete two well-being activities by October 31. Just sign in to healthpartners.com/wellbeing to get started.
Questions?
When you thrive, we all thrive. If you have questions, contact Kelly Fang at [email protected]. For help signing on, call HealthPartners at 800-311-1052 or email. You can also download the HealthPartners mobile app to easily access your health assessment and track your activity progress.
No matter your ability level, WHAM and HealthPartners Living Well have activities for you.
Whether it’s been days or years since you tried a fitness program, WHAM and HealthPartners Living Well give you choices to help you level up your physical activity. From walking or yoga to strength training and cardio, or anything in between, we have activity options to support your physical fitness goals, including:
- 10,000 steps to encourage you set daily step goals and encourage you to make it to that magic number.
- Wellbeats with opportunities for people of every age, interest, and ability level and 1,000+ virtual classes including yoga, strength training, running and walking, cycling, circuits, kickboxing, dance, work breaks, stretching, and more.
- Healthy Back to help you strengthen and protect your back so you can avoid being one of the four in five people who experience back problems in their lifetime.
- WHAM’s on-campus classes offer quick and effective ways to wellness for busy professionals who want to maximize their lunch break.
- Health coaching helps you set realistic fitness goals, work through what’s getting in the way, and gives you someone to celebrate your success with.
Which options will move you to move more? Get moving today! Check out your activities.
And don’t forget about your nutrition goals. Healthy eating is equally as important to your physical health. Learn new habits with activities like Go for Fruits & Veggies and Sugar Smart.
Get rewarded for healthy choices
You can discover rewarding new habits while earning an incentive. By taking your health assessment and completing two well-being activities by October 31, you’ll be eligible to earn a $150 reward card. If your spouse or partner is on our health plan, they’re also eligible to earn a $150 reward card.
Sign in to healthpartners.com/wellbeing to get started. You can also download the HealthPartners mobile app to easily access your health assessment and track your activity progress.
Questions?
Contact Kelly Fang at [email protected]. For help signing on, call HealthPartners at 800-311-1052 or email.
Focus on your emotional well-being with HealthPartners Living Well.
When stress strikes or overwhelm sets in, you need healthy ways to deal. Because so much goes into your emotional well-being, HealthPartners Living Well has a wide variety of activities and resources to help you stay balanced and positive.
Discover your well-being activities.
Here are just a few resources to help you find balance:
- myStrength is a flexible and comprehensive digital program with proven tools and activities for stress, depression, sleep and more.
- Tackle Stress teaches stress management techniques via articles and videos to use in your daily life.
- Wellbeats offers yoga, meditation and other mindfulness activities to support and bolster your emotional health.
- Healthy Thinking strengthens your emotional fitness and builds healthy thinking habits.
Get rewarded for healthy choices
You can discover rewarding new habits while earning an incentive. By taking your health assessment and completing two well-being activities by October 31, you’ll be eligible to earn a $150 reward card. If your spouse or partner is on our health plan, they’re also eligible to earn a $150 reward card.
Sign in to healthpartners.com/wellbeing to get started. You can also download the HealthPartners mobile app to easily access your health assessment and track your activity progress.
Questions?
Contact Kelly Fang at [email protected]. For help signing on, call HealthPartners at 800-311-1052 or email.
You can thrive in all aspects of your health with HealthPartners Living Well.
Your best health comes when you care for both your body and your mind. That’s why HealthPartners Living Well and WHAM have activity options that serve both your emotional well-being and physical health.
Discover your activity options.
Get moving with programs like:
- Wellbeats
- 10,000 steps
- Healthy Back
Discover new nutrition options and education with:
- Plant Forward Health
- Go for Fruits & Veggies
- Sugar Smart
Find balance and mindfulness by checking out:
- myStrength
- Sleep Tracker
- Stress Tracker
Whatever your health goals are, you’ll enjoy better outcomes when you look at the big picture. Focus on all of you and you’ll be well on your way to living happier and healthier.
Get rewarded for healthy choices
You can discover rewarding new habits while earning an incentive. By taking your health assessment and completing two well-being activities by October 31, you’ll earn a $150 reward card. If your spouse or partner is on Macalester’s health plan, they’re also eligible to earn a reward card.
Sign in to healthpartners.com/wellbeing to get started. You can also download the HealthPartners mobile app to easily access your health assessment and track your activity progress.
Questions?
Contact Kelly Fang at [email protected]. For help signing on, call HealthPartners at 800-311-1052 or email.
Plant forward eating may sound like a big change, especially for those of us who grew up with meat-centered meals. But never fear! Plant-forward highlights veggies, fruits, legumes and grains, but it isn’t limited to them. The main idea is to be mindful of adding and enjoying more plants as part of a balanced meal.
What to expect:
- Explore plant-forward eating. Challenge yourself to eat more plant-based foods, try new skills and find ways to make plant-forward eating taste delicious!
- Complete 14 steps. Check in each day to complete a step. New steps are available the day after completing the previous one. Steps are short – they often ask you to act, but other times, you just read information.
- Create sustainable change. Reflect on your progress and track two or three new habits over the course of this activity.
- Keep going. Once you’ve completed this activity, you can revisit the steps and continue tracking your habits!
Get started today!
- Sign in to healthpartners.com/signin/livingwell
- Complete your Health Assessment
- Select “Get Started” on the activity card Plant Forward Health
This activity counts as a qualifying well-being activity for your wellness reward. The deadline to earn your reward is October 31. If you have questions about WHAM or your wellness reward, contact Kelly Fang at [email protected]. For help signing on, call HealthPartners at 800-311-1052 or email.
To help support you in your path to Well-being, we offer a number of activities. From tracking habits to moving more, there are a number of ways to participate in our Well-being programs. Some of them include:
Digital activities:
- Wellbeats
- Go for Fruits & Veggies
- Healthy Thinking
- Choose to Lose
- Tackle Stress
- Sugar Smart
Digital trackers:
- 10,000 Steps
- Sleep tracker
- Stress tracker
Macalester Specific Activities
Here are a list of the eligible activities you can complete to earn your wellness incentive:
- Preventive Care Visit (must be completed between September 1, 2025 and August 31, 2026; No tracking or forms are required on your part; HealthPartners will load the completion of your visit 3-5 months after your appointment
- One 6-week WHAM activity class: Circuit Training, Boot Camp, Yoga, Mindfulness, etc.
- One 4-6 week activity coordinated by Wellness Coach
- Leonard Center/Gym: Exercise at the Leonard Center at Macalester, at home, or at a gym of your choice at least 12 times per month (or about 3 times per week) for a minimum of two months.
- Personal Training: Complete at least 3 sessions with Macalester’s Personal Trainer before October 31
- Attend at least 3 WHAM Lunch & Learns (virtually or in-person) between November 2025 and October 31, 2026
- Nice Healthcare: You must use Nice once to refill a prescription, complete physical therapy or manage a chronic condition in order to count it as a qualifying activity.
- EAP Wellness Seminars: Attend at least 3 live seminars or watch 3 on-demand webcasts before October 31.
- Macalester’s Wellness 5K Run/Walk in October.
Wellness Coaching
- 3 in-person or video coaching sessions with Macalester’s on-site Wellness Coach from HealthPartners