Wellness as a field of study at Palestra
by the Rector Emeritus of VŠTVS PALESTRA prof. PhDr. Václav Hošek, DrSc.
Wellness has crystallized somewhat chaotically in recent decades as a booming service area for an increasingly affluent and civilization-challenged population. The attraction lies in the offers of a higher quality of life and in the links with the stabilisation of good health. Given that this is a promising area of service and that it is also socially beneficial to refine people's knowledge in this important area and to overcome the primitive simplifications that occur, Palestra offers a comprehensive education in this important area for individuals and society.
The Palestra College of Physical Education and Sport (hereinafter Palestra) conceives the study of wellness as a tool that introduces and shows students all aspects of well-being. Well-being was identified as early as 1948 by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a concept defining health and a healthy attitude towards life. Well-being can be understood as a person's personal well-being in physical (physical), psychological and social terms and contributes to overall quality of life and vital satisfaction. It should be noted that well-being is completely individual for each of us and it is impossible to determine an optimal universal value. How to view personal differences due to biological and cultural evolution of humans is the subject of studying wellness at Palestra.
A basic insight into this area of quality of life improvement is the subject of the Bachelor's degree. Master's students build on this foundation and focus more on individual differences and the broadening aspect of applicability in each person's life as a tool for quality of life. The desire to change attitudes towards life and healthier lifestyles is interwoven into all areas of physical education and sport as well as kinanthropology. However, the field of Wellness offers a more holistic view and the study of new pathways to a happy life.
Wellness has evolved over the 60 years of its existence and has resulted in several types (areas) of wellness, which are intertwined in their focus on the common goal of the aforementioned healthy lifestyle representing a healthy and balanced individual.
The main area is exercise wellnesss, which advocates the need to keep the individual fit through movement and exercise elements that increase his adaptive capacity and at the same time correspond to the principles of posture and movement, determined by human phylogeny. Other areas include medical wellness, which is defined in balneology and dietetics, further environmental wellness (also called naturwellness) is determined by positive environmental influences in the bio-psycho-climatological sense, beauty wellness aims at aesthetic refinement of man by cosmetic, medical and modification approaches and others.
Based on its focus and tradition, Palestra is primarily committed to exercise wellness, which in percentage terms represents approximately 60% of the study focus. A significant part of this is knowledge from the field of medical wellness (20%), which in many respects has the nature of background knowledge. In view of the denaturing trends of civilization, the school also considers it necessary to address environmental wellness (20%), as sports and outdoor activities are desirable to be integrated more intensively into the lifestyle of modern man.
Competences of the graduate of the wellness programme at Palestra
Acquire a basic understanding of the field, aspects and benefits of wellness. The ability to conceive and implement research activities focused on the human being as part of a post-industrial Western society. Skill in synthesizing scientific knowledge from biology, philosophy and social sciences that focus on the human being as an individual who is a product of biological and cultural evolution.
Ability to assess the conditions for implementing wellness services in a selected region, micro-region, city, municipality or facility. Analyze and recommend appropriate interior design and equipment. Develop a wellness services concept including economic and staffing perspectives. Prepare a specific wellness program taking into account the age, gender, health status and other specific needs and requirements of clients, both for individuals or specific groups.
Ability to develop a proposal to promote a region or facility with emphasis on the need to keep individuals fit through exercise and exercise that increases a person's adaptive capacity and targets a healthier population in the region.
The knowledge and skills acquired during the studies can be put to good use in personal life and are a starting point for an interesting professional career.
