We hope you enjoyed practicing gratitude last month as part of your emotional wellness. Reflecting on what you’re thankful for is a lovely beginning to the holiday season. As we move into December, we encourage you to stay in tune with your emotions, and also to take time to connect with your body for your physical wellness.
Newsletter content prepared by Be:Well member Alissa Jolly
Live:Well – Physical Wellness
Physical wellness has many definitions – essentially, it is about strengthening and taking care of our bodies by engaging in activities and healthy habits. This might include movement and exercise, like the Be:Well Wellness Walks or Monthly Movement Breaks, or other components like nutrition, healthy habits, metabolism, and being aware of how to take care of your body. Check out the Physical Wellness Toolkit from the National Institute of Health for a variety of resources on all these, and more!
In the month of December there are several ‘National Days/Month’ relating to physical wellness:
National Cookie Day: December 4
- National Fruitcake Month
- Share a new or favorite cookie or fruitcake recipe by posting on the Recipes for Wellness Padlet
- Consider trying out one of these 16 healthy cookie recipes this holiday season
- Traditional fruitcake typically includes high amounts of fats and sugars – here are 5 tips to make a healthier fruitcake
National Stretching Day: December 11
- Created in 2022 to raise awareness of the benefits of stretching.
- Join us on Monday, 12/11 @ 2pm for a Monthly Movement break featuring stretching with Breana Higgins – more details included below in the ‘Upcoming Events’ section
- Do a quick stretch on your own, anytime, anywhere with this video: Warm Up, Dynamic Stretch, Cool Down
- Learn more about National Stretching Day at AnyDayGuide.com
National Handwashing Awareness Week: December 3-9
National Handwashing Awareness Month
Washing your hands is so important for your physical health, and the physical health of others!
- Check out the shareable materials from the Center for Disease Control’s handwashing campaign: Life is Better with Clean Hands
- Get some handwashing tips from Kaiser
- Tired of singing Happy Birthday while you wash your hands for the recommended 20 seconds? Check out this 20 song playlist of 20-second handwashing tunes for music lovers of all genres!
Upcoming Be:Well Events
Monthly Movement Break (NEW!) – Stretching with Breana Higgins
Monday, December 11, 2:00pm
Klickitat/Skamania Rooms
Be:Well will host a Monthly Movement Break in partnership with rotating ESD staff members to share a specialty skill (ex: yoga, dance, self-defense, etc.) and take a 15-30 minute break and get our bodies moving! To recognize National Stretching Day, we will be doing gentle stretching with Breana Higgins – we recommend bringing a pillow or blanket.
Winter Wellness Trees
We welcome you to branch out this season and check out the tags on our Winter Wellness Trees! The Be:Well team has decorated two trees at the ESD 112 main campus with tags that offer a wellness activity or positive affirmation. One tree will be in the staff breakroom and the other will be in the hallway near the River rooms.
You can take a tag for yourself, take one to give to someone else, write your own tag, or just read a new one each time you pass by. These trees are a reminder that practicing wellness can be a quick and simple thing to fit into your day, and we hope they provide some wellness inspiration for you this season.
Wellness Walks
Come join us for a weekly wellness walk! We are rotating the days and times to accommodate as many different schedules as we can. Meet in the ESD 112 lobby at the times listed on the monthly Wellness Walk schedule to take a stroll outside. We plan to walk, rain or shine, so please plan accordingly.
- First Tues of the month @ 10:00am (December 5)
- Second Wed of the month @ 3:45pm (December 13)
- Third Thurs of the month @ 10:00am (December 21)
- We encourage you to walk on your own the fourth week of the month during winter break
If you aren’t at the ESD 112 Vancouver campus, we welcome you to get a group together and take a walk at your location, at a time that works best for you. We’d love for you to share any pics and email to bewell@esd112.org.
Want to Join the Be:Well Team?
We are looking for folks who are passionate (or just plain curious) about wellness. Feel free to fill out this Quick Form to submit your Be:Well committee member application. We meet virtually, and we welcome individuals who work remotely, in the field, and/or at the ESD 112 main campus.
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