In the HealthEU course HEU 1345: Joyful Living, Associate Teaching Professor of Education Marna Winter guides students in cultivating presence and intentional reflection.
In the middle of midweek stress, a small group of Elon students gathers to pause, reflect and rediscover joy. For one hour on Wednesdays, there are no screens, lectures or outside noise — just presence.
In the course Joyful Living, taught by Associate Teaching Professor of Education Marna Winter, students cultivate practices to examine their values, discover mindfulness and reframe their relationship to stress.
Winter, an Elon graduate who has spent more than 25 years in education, created the course after her own journey toward holistic health. She became a nationally board-certified health coach and began to recognize how easy it is for students to hold onto stress and push aside the inner work of gratitude, reflection and emotional balance. Joyful Living is her way of meeting that need in the classroom.
Each week begins with intentional reflection followed by an activity that lets students explore different approaches to wellness. Phones and laptops are set aside to allow for genuine connection and focus. In place of heavy reading assignments or exams, the course uses reflection journals that are designed in the Maker Hub during the first week of class. By the end of the semester, students compile their insights into a final reflection called “How I Found Joy,” presented in whatever form feels authentic, whether it be a video, story, activity or journal entry.
“I want students to find what works for them,” Winter says. “It’s not about perfection. It’s about awareness.”
Now in its fourth semester, Joyful Living attracts students from all majors and explores the question: How do I live with more ease? This one-credit course is part of Elon University’s HealthEU initiative and has taught Winter just as much as she teaches her students.
“Our students carry so much,” she says, “and it’s easy for all of us to forget to put ourselves first. This class is a reminder that joy isn’t a luxury; it’s necessary.”
Before you turn the page, Winter invites you to pause for a moment right now and think about something that brought you joy or gratitude. Share it with someone. That’s not homework — that’s practice.
About the Professor
Marna K. Winter G‘98 is an associate teaching professor of education at Elon University. She is a board-certified health and wellness coach (NBC-HWC) whose teaching and research explore wellness, inclusion and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Recommended Materials
- Insight Timer app for practicing mindfulness skills
- “The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World” by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu