Last week I wrote about how I recently read an article by Dr. Janet Zadina called “The Critical Next Two Years You Must Prepare for Now.” At the end of the post, Dr. Zadina lists some strategies that other leaders are using to help their faculty. One of those is “Wellness Wednesdays.” The idea of Wellness Wednesdays is that the school system or college offers advice or strategies once weekly for stress reduction. I’ve decided to do that at the division level for our faculty/staff. This week was our second official Wellness Wednesday. This was my message:
Don’t underestimate the power of a walk! Feeling stressed? Anxious? Frustrated? Take a quick walk.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just one little walk can have a big impact. It can improve our sleep, thinking, and learning, while reducing symptoms of anxiety. It’s so simple: it requires, as Deborah Grayson Riegel writes, “little preparation, minimal effort, no special equipment, and that can contract or expand to fit the exact amount of time I have available.” I personally use this strategy regularly, and I can tell you that it makes a difference! So give it a try.
So that’s this week’s Wellness Wednesday tip. Seriously, during my recent illness, I made myself walk almost every single day–even if I could only make it a short distance, even in pain. There were days when the pain was so much and I was so weak that I didn’t want to do it, didn’t think I could. But I did, and I never regretted. Many times it actually helped with pain relief.
Wider than the Sky 