Wellness Week classes and activities

We're offering classes and activities on a wide range of topics all week.

Overview

Find free classes on a wide range of topics:

See all class topics

Some classes are in person, and others are online.

Find out how to earn 250 Virgin Pulse points per class

 

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Topics

Mental wellbeing

Smiling group of four people meeting together

Wellness at Work Kick-Off!

  • Speaker: Nancy Lyons
  • Day: Monday, June 10
  • Time: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Type: Online

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In this engaging session with humor, humility and lots of energy, Nancy will emphasize the importance of developing work cultures and personal mindsets that embrace change, accountability, and risk. Don't miss this opportunity to be inspired, connect with your colleagues, and start creating a work environment where everyone can thrive.

Wellness isn't spas or massages or yoga or kale. It’s putting yourself first, recognizing what you need to feel whole and healthy, and choosing meaningful ways to care for the only you, you have. Wellness is breathing, taking space, seeing beauty, connecting with your people, taking naps. In this session we will learn to value ourselves enough to make wellness, in all of its forms, a life-changing priority.

Unlocking the City's Potential: Embracing and including colleagues with neurodiversity and invisible disabilities

  • Day: Monday, June 10 
  • Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
  • Type: online

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This class is co-sponsored by Learning and Development and Public Works Equity Team.  The session will cover some basics and highlight the different ways we take in information and communicate. We will discuss:

  • The relevance for city employees
  • The advantages of a diverse workforce
  • Engagement strategies for effective communication

Maintaining Wellbeing through Times of Uncertainty

  • Day: Monday, June 10
  • Time: 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Type: Online

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Wellbeing consists of a complex combination of a person's physical, mental, emotional and social health factors. It is strongly linked to happiness and life satisfaction. This session is designed to explore wellbeing through times of change. Participants will learn specific strategies in order to maintain their wellbeing through times of uncertainty.

Adopt a Pet with Minneapolis Animal Care and Control (MACC)

  • Day: Tuesday
  • Time: 1:00 -3:00 p.m.  
  • Type: In person

Are you looking for a new furry companion - look no further than MACC!  Stop by the first floor of the Public Service Building, meet and pet the animals looking for a home. All pets are fully up to date on vaccines, microchipped and spayed or neutered. If you can't adopt today, there are other options.

  • Foster an animal for a night or weekend
  • Volunteer in the shelter
  • Take a dog on a field trip
  • Donate your favorite treats or toys

 

Calming Your Anxious Thoughts

  • Day: Tuesday, June 11
  • Time: 10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
  • Type: Online

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Everyone worries or feels nervous sometimes; this is a normal human response to stress in our environment. Get ideas and tips for calming yourself and improving how you feel. Dedicated Workplace Consultant Debra Grayson will be walking from the PSB and anyone is welcome to walk and talk.  Download Teams on your phone and walk from home. 

Get Off the Toxic Train

  • Day: Tuesday, June 11
  • Time: 1:00 - 1:30 p.m.
  • Type: Online

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This training focuses on recognizing and addressing toxic environments in both our professional and personal lives.

You will learn to identify signs of toxicity, such as:

  • Unhealthy communication patterns
  • Micromanagement
  • Lack of boundaries
  • Emotional manipulation

The training will empower you to:

  • Cultivate positive relationships
  • Enhance your well-being
  • Create a more supportive atmosphere and optimistic outlook on life

Raising Confidence: Elevating Your Wellbeing from Within

  • Day: Wednesday, June 12
  • Time: 2:30 - 4:00 p.m.
  • Type: In person

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This engaging workshop is designed to help participants build confidence and improve their overall well-being. Through interactive exercises and discussions, participants will learn practical strategies to enhance their self-confidence and develop a more positive self-image.

Crystal Singing Bowls Sound Bath with Maria 

  • Day: Monday, June 10 and Thursday, June 13
  • Time: 4:30 p.m. & Noon
  • Type: in fitness center

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What is a sound bath? Sound baths are a meditative practice involving the use of resonant music. This creates an immersive sound that fills the room and the body, aiming to help people relax and let go of stress, anxiety or other worries and concerns. You will lie down on a yoga mat and be immersed in sounds with no movement.

Mindful Minute

  • Day: Tuesday - Thursday, June 11-13
  • Time: 9:00 - 9:15 a.m.
  • Type: Online

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Join for a quick 15-minute slow down together, and get ready for your day. The mindful minute takes place every Wednesday during the year, with extra during Wellness Week. Join this community of practice! Join when it works from home, the office or in the field from your car.

Burnout and Self Care with Creative Kuponya

  • Day: Thursday, June 13 
  • Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m.
  • Type: online

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Feel overworked? Can’t make time to take a lunch or walk with a coworker. Do you feel like not using vacation days because you will return with more work to do? What causes burnout and how to bounce back (heal) from it. Grab your lunch and hear why making self care fit into your day is important for overall wellbeing at work and at home.

Finances

Money in jars labeled stocks, travel, house and retirement

Defeating Debt with Bjorn Larson of Life, Money, You

  • 1 Tuesday, June 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 
  • 2  Friday, June 14 11:00-12:00 p.m.
  • Type: Online

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If you’re ready to take control of your money and make it work for your goals, this session is just the thing for you. Designed to de-stress and simplify your finances, this session is full of pointers for aligning your cash flow with what matters most to you.

You’ll get helpful tips for:

  • Breaking out of the month-to-month cycle
  • Improving your credit
  • Saving more
  • Create a spending plan to feed your goals
  • Using technology to make the most of your money

If you’ve put off dealing with your financial situation, now is the time to get the information to need for a brighter future.

Discovering Financial Freedom with Bjorn Larson of Life, Money, You

  • Day: Thursday, June 13
  • Time: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
  • Type: Online

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Paying off debt will improve your financial well-being and independence- and it will reduce your stress. In this session, you’ll learn from a financial expert some practical action steps you can take to

  • Reduce your debt faster
  • Recognize how much is too much
  • Distinguish between good and bad debt
  • Prioritize payoffs and budget for them
  • Avoid going backwards

This workshop will give you strategies for getting debt under control and even show you how to build up an emergency “rainy day” fund.

Smarter Money: Credit and credit scores with Wings Financial Credit Union

  • Day: Monday, June 17
  • Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m.
  • Type: Online

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Knowing how to use credit and manage your credit score can empower you financially.

Join to learn:

  • The basics of credit
  • How credit scores work
  • Ways to improve your credit score

Nutrition and cooking

Meal on a plate

 

No Nuts? No Dairy? No Gluten: No Problem with Beth Dooley

  • Day: Monday, June 10
  • Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m.
  • Type: In person at MPRB

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Enjoy a range of good tasting (and good for you) satisfying snacks that won’t weigh you down. Make these quick, easy bites and pack them up for school and to have on hand. We’ll whip up:

  • Moroccan Carrot Dip
  • Dilly Popcorn
  • Chocolate-Coconut (no bake) cookies

As we demo these, we’ll cover the range of lovely spice blends and how to use them to create flavor and variety for the simplest foods.

I'm Too Busy to Eat Healthy

  • Day: Tuesday, June 11
  • Time: 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
  • Type: online

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This course covers the basics of eating well, addressing why we should do it and how we can make it work in our busy lives. You'll learn myths about healthy eating and weight loss, the science behind healthy and balanced diets, and healthy meal suggestions for busy people.

  • Discuss truths and myths about healthy eating
  • Learn information about foods that stress the body
  • Learn the importance of balancing blood sugar
  • Introduce simple breakfast, lunch and evening meal ideas

Cool Beans! Cooking with Beth Dooley

  • Day: Wednesday, June 12
  • Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m.
  • Type: In person at Firehouse #1

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Cook up a big pot of dried beans and create three easy dishes:

  • Whir them into hummus
  • Simmer them into chili
  • Toss them into a vibrant salad with parmesan cheese and baby tomatoes

Deliciously low fat, high protein, vegan and inexpensive, beans are a sure-fire pantry staple. They are the ultimate kitchen workhorse.

Sharing Our Stories Through Food with Lachelle Cunningham

  • Day: Thursday, June 13
  • Time: 11:00 - 12:00 p.m.
  • Type: Online

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Join Chef Lachelle Cunningham as she shares her personal food journey and the meaningful stories behind her dishes in this engaging session. This class will not just be about recipes, but about the stories they carry and the cultures they represent. Chef Lachelle will share her food story as she demonstrates the making of a flavorful curry and a side of delectable, sautéed greens, each topped with her unique dressing.

Learn how these dishes connect to culture, wellness and environmental sustainability, and how food serves as a powerful tool for connecting people and addressing equity and justice within our food system. This session promises a blend of culinary learning and insightful discussion, spotlighting the transformative role of food stories in our lives.

Cuisines from India with Exotic Palates

  • Day: Friday, June 14
  • Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m.
  • Type: Online

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Learn to cook up a steaming pot of delicious, curried Dal / Indian Lentils, spiced with perfumed butter, served over a bed of cumin scented pilaf. Serve with beet and carrot salad drizzled with a turmeric-cumin vinaigrette. End the meal with cardamom scented pineapple, fresh off the grill, topped with summer’s all-time favorite, vanilla bean ice cream!

Social connection

People talking in hallway

Corn Hole Tournament in the Commons Park

  • Day: Tuesday - Thursday
  • Time: Various
  • Type: In person

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Grab a friend or come on over by yourself and throw some bean bags!  You don't have to know the rules or how to play, Jordan will hook you up. Have a little fun during or after the work day.

Update! Movie changed **Movies in the Park at the Commons with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

  • Day: Wednesday, June 12
  • Time: 9:00 p.m.
  • Type: In person

Join us as we watch the movie The Ousiders (the classic 1986 movie with Matt Dillon, Robe Lowe, Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio and the rest of the gang) at the Commons.  Bring a blanket or your lawn chairs and sit under the stars.  Updates if inclement weather.

Donate Blood at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

  • Day: Thursday 
  • Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.  
  • Type: In person 2117 West River Rd. North, Minneapolis 55411

There are numerous benefits to donate blood, register today.  

  • Your contribution could help save lives 
  • Regular blood donation has been linked to health benefits 
  • Giving blood fosters a sense of community 
  • Earn 250 points towards your 2025 Medica wellness rate

 

A Night at Target Field for a Ball Game and Prince Night

  • Day: Thursday, June 13 
  • 6:30 p.m.
  • Location: Target Field

Walk to the Target Field for a 6:30 p.m. game! Bring your family or friends. Tickets are available to purchase now, get them by May 31 to sit in the employee sections.

Buy City of Minneapolis Employee Wellness Week Twins tickets by May 31

NE Farmer's Market Walk and Talk with Beth Dooley

  • Day: Saturday, June 15
  • Time: 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.
  • Type: In person

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Venture into the Farmers Market, a whirl wind of color, flavor and the best local foods straight from nature. You'll find the freshest, most nutritious produce, grown to be picked when perfect. We'll meet the farmers and learn:

  • How our food comes to us
  • How to select the best produce
  • What to do with it once you’re home

Discover a range of fruits and vegetables you may not find in our grocer’s store. We’ll share recipes and tips for the best eating of the season. We will meet at 9:30 for 45 minutes, and then you will be free to shop on your own. Grab the Farmer's Market Passport and bring it along.

See Farmers Market Passport

Fitness

Two people walking and smiling

Salsa and Zumba with Marina

  • Day: Monday and Wednesday
  • Time: Noon - 12:45 p.m.
  • Type: In fitness center 

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Come dance with Marina! She is the owner/founder of Arena Fitness Health Club. You will burn lots of calories as you move to the rhythm with Latin-inspired dance moves. The best part is that it doesn’t even feel like exercise! Can’t dance? Who cares? Just come and move to the music. Co-sponsored by SOMOS.

Sunrise Yoga in the Commons Park 

  • Day: Tuesday and Thursday 
  • Time: 7:00 - 7:45 a.m.
  • Type: In person  

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Join Kirsten DeHaven (she/they) for yoga to greet the sun and get your day started. Kirsten believes that yoga is a gateway to learning more about yourself. All levels welcome. Come for fun in the sun.

Yoga with Gabrielle of 612Jungle 

  • Day: Wednesday, June 12 
  • Time: 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
  • Type: In fitness center 

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Try a new way to build strength while calming your mind. If you concentrate on following the guided poses, you won’t think about your to-do-list. This classic Vinyasa class is totally led and accessible to even the beginner. It doesn’t matter what your neighbor looks like; every body is different.

Yin Yoga with Chloe

  • Day: Tuesday, June 11
  • Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m.
  • Type: In fitness center 

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Employees walk out of this class talking about how relaxed they feel! Our slower paced session focuses on stretching stiff bodies and breathing. Don’t worry about doing unfamiliar poses or needing to touch your toes.

Ladies That Lift

  • Day: Tuesday and Thursday 
  • Time: 11:15 - 11:45 a.m.
  • Type: In fitness center and online

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We teach proper form, technique and execution of strength training movements, while empowering participants to build confidence in themselves. Open to all.

Butts and Guts 

  • Day: Monday, June 10
  • Time: 12:00 - 12:45 p.m.
  • Type: In fitness center and online

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This class is highly scalable and adjustable for members with injuries and those who need options. It features strength training, cardio and core exercises with reasonable rest periods to improve your strength and improve mechanics.

Rise and Lift with Jordan

  • Day: Monday and Friday 
  • Time: 7:00 - 7:45 a.m.
  • Type: In fitness center and online

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Wake up and get your lift on! Test your limits with different types of lifting methods. All moves will be low impact.

HIITing Kettlebells with Jordan

  • Day: Thursday, June 13
  • Time: 4:00 and 4:30 (two classes)
  • Type: In fitness center and online

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We designed this class to be fun, electric and mostly done with kettlebells. This is a fast paced, timed interval training class that will keep the heart rate and energy high! No kettlebell experience is necessary to attend class.

Walking Club

  • Day: Thursday 
  • Time: 11:15- 11:45 a.m. 
  • Type: In person

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Join the walking club! We meet every Tuesday and Thursday and walk outside when the weather is great and in the skyways when it’s not. Get away from your desk for 30 minutes, move your body and meet people who work throughout the City. We meet on the 1st floor of the Public Service Building at 11:15am weekly.

Art

People painting on canvas

Art Therapy 101: Drawing 

  • #1: Tuesday, June 11 11:00 - Noon p.m. online
  • #2: Wednesday, June 12 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. in person
  • #3: Friday, June 14 - Noon - 1:00 p.m. online

Sign up

Join Olga Walusimbi Nichols, of Design Sphere,  to make some art and have fun at work, unleashing some creativity. No previous skills needed! This class will give your mind a break, just like a walk around the block, and hopefully open up new mental spaces to move forward in the day.  Class is focused on pencil drawing and shading, or acrylic paints. All supplies will be provided, or supply list given. Online and in person options.

Art Therapy 101: Painting 

  • Tuesday, June 11 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. online
  • Tuesday, June 18 Noon - 1:30 p.m. in person
  • Thursday, June 27 - Noon - 1:30 p.m. in person

Sign up

Join Olga Walusimbi Nichols, of Design Sphere to make some art and have fun at work, unleashing some creativity. No previous skills needed! This class will give your mind a break, just like a walk around the block, and hopefully open up new mental spaces to move forward in the day.  Class is focused on acrylic paints. All supplies will be provided, or supply list given. Online and in person options.

Mask Making: Exploring the Landscape Behind Your Mask

  • Day: Date Change!  Thursday, July 11
  • Time: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
  • Type: In person

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Join Molly Raymond and Andre Koen and explore the dual aspects of your persona: the face you show to the world and your inner life.

We will explore:

  • Our hidden selves and how it influences how we show up
  • Introduction to the concept of personal masks
  • Hands on painting session
  • Creativity and introspection

Contact us

Melody West

Wellness Specialist
Human Resources

Email Melody West

Jordan Buddenhagen

Human Resources

Email Jordan Buddenhagen

Benefits Administration

Human Resources

Email Human Resources

Phone

612-673-2282

Fax

612-284-7989

Address

City Hall
350 S. Fifth St., Room 1
Minneapolis, MN 55415