Diversity & Community Health Equity

UI Health Celebrates Diversity
Inclusion Calendar
UI Health CHAMPIONS
UI Health Honors Black History Month
Women's History Month
Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
LGBTQ+ Pride Month
Disability Pride & Awareness
National Hispanic Heritage Month
UI Health Honors Native American Heritage Month: Honoring Resilience, Healing, and Heritage
Jewish American Heritage Month
Arab American Heritage Month
Filipino American Heritage Month

UI Health Honors Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Embodied Healing—AAPI Traditions for Regulation, Resilience, and Care

This May, UI Health recognizes Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month by highlighting culturally rooted approaches to health and healing that emphasize balance, prevention, and whole-person care.

Across many AAPI traditions, health is understood as the integration of physical, mental, emotional, and environmental factors. These perspectives offer valuable insight for today’s healthcare environment—particularly as clinicians and staff navigate increasing demands, workforce burnout, and the need to deliver culturally responsive care to diverse patient populations.

This event provides an opportunity to explore these traditions through both a clinical and practical lens—bridging cultural understanding with applicable strategies that support staff wellbeing and enhance patient-centered care.

Embodied Healing—AAPI Traditions for Regulation, Resilience, and Care
May 20
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM (CT)
Register Now!

Advancing Cultural Understanding Through Practice

Healthcare professionals routinely care for patients whose beliefs about health, illness, and healing are shaped by cultural traditions that may differ from Western medical models. Building awareness of these perspectives is essential to delivering equitable and effective care.

At the same time, healthcare teams are seeking sustainable approaches to manage stress, improve focus, and support resilience in high-pressure environments.

This session brings these priorities together through a structured, experiential format featuring Ayurveda and Qigong—two established systems of care rooted in Eastern traditions. Participants will engage in guided discussion and live demonstrations that translate these practices into accessible tools for daily use.

Attendees Will:

  • Develop a foundational understanding of how Ayurveda and Qigong approach balance, prevention, and overall health
  • Examine the relationship between stress, emotional health, and physiological response
  • Gain practical techniques to support regulation, focus, and recovery during the workday
  • Strengthen cultural awareness of how AAPI healing traditions may influence patient perspectives and care preferences
  • Identify opportunities to incorporate culturally responsive approaches into clinical and workplace interactions

Embodied Healing—AAPI Traditions for Regulation, Resilience, and Care

Discussion and Practice Focus Areas

This session will include a facilitated discussion and guided experiential components focused on:

Holistic Models of Health and Prevention
Exploring how Eastern traditions conceptualize balance, energy, and long-term wellbeing, and how these frameworks differ from—and complement—Western approaches.
Stress, Regulation, and the Mind-Body Connection
Understanding how stress and trauma can manifest physiologically and how breath and movement-based practices can support regulation.
Culturally Responsive Care
Recognizing the influence of traditional healing systems on patient beliefs, behaviors, and expectations, and how this awareness can strengthen patient-provider relationships.
Practical Tools for Daily Integration
Learning simple, time-efficient techniques that can be incorporated into daily routines, including during clinical workflows.
Application in Healthcare Settings
Identifying appropriate and respectful ways to integrate awareness of these practices into care delivery while maintaining clinical standards

This session is designed to move beyond awareness toward application—equipping participants with both insight and practical tools that can be used immediately.

Event Flow

  • 11:30 – 11:40 am: Arrival & Light Refreshments
  • 11:40 – 11:50 am: Welcome & Framing
  • 11:50 am – 12:30 pm: Moderated Discussion & Q&A 
  • 12:30 – 12:45 pm: Ayurveda & Qigong Overview & Guided Practice
  • 12:45 – 1:10 pm: Interactive Group Practice (Breath + Movement Integration)
  • 1:10 – 1:20 pm: Reflection & Audience Q&A
  • 1:20 – 1:30 pm: Closing & Key Takeaways

Light refreshments will be provided.

Featured Speakers

  • Meenakshi Wadhwa; Moderator
  • Pushpa Soundararajan, RD; Ayurveda Practitioner and Dietitian; Founder, VPK Nutrition Integrated Wellness
  • Damian Saucedo, Qigong Practitioner; Specializing in movement-based approaches to physical and emotional wellbeing

Our Commitment

At UI Health, we are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion by strengthening cultural humility and delivering care that reflects the communities we serve.

We invite staff, clinicians, students, and community partners to join us in honoring AAPI Heritage Month through learning, reflection, and the integration of practices that support both workforce wellbeing and high-quality, patient-centered care.

For additional information or to get involved:
Office of Diversity and Community Health Equity
UIHDiversity@uic.edu

Visit: ODCHE.UIHealth.Care

Archives

Read more about the achievements and contributions of Asian and Pacific Islanders in our community throughout the years.

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