TAKE 15 - October 2021
We are excited to re-launch our annual TAKE 15 campaign. In celebration of World Mental Health Day on October 10, we encourage you to #TAKEYOUR15.
TAKE 15 was launched with the goal of encouraging everyone to take short breaks from their work or otherwise busy days, to reduce stress and improve mental wellbeing.
This year, we’re focusing on enhancing our mental wellbeing toolkit on October 10th, during the month of October, and ongoing throughout the year. Below are some practical ways you can TAKE15 and reap the benefits of purposeful breaks on mood, productivity, and overall wellbeing.
Mindful Eating
Mindful eating is an everyday practice rooted in mindfulness, which is about staying in the moment and remaining conscious of everything you’re doing. Eating mindfully entails engaging all your senses.
When you bring sight, sound, smell, taste and touch to the table, your breakfast, lunch, and dinner are transformed into a mindful meditation that not only connects you with your body’s cues/signals, but also creates a moment of peace. Once we bring our attention to the entire experience of eating, we stop getting lost in the thinking mind and become less caught up in any complicated emotions we might have around food. Quite simply, we allow ourselves to be re-acquainted with the pleasure of eating.
Check out our Black Bean Tortilla Recipe for a colourful, texture and flavour filled meal to test out a mindful eating experience.
Sleep
Adequate sleep can elicit several benefits including reducing the risk of chronic disease, improving mental health, energy levels, immune function, body composition, social interaction, concentration, and focus, so it’s important to relax before bedtime to ensure we’re getting the most of our down time.
Doing so can be as simple as the following:
Grab yourself a warm drink and a book to wind down.
Try a pre-bed yoga sequence, to help the mind and body to unwind.
Treat yourself to a warm bath – this can relax and can help to signal your body to begin to initiate sleep.
Meditate – apps like Calm, Headspace, and videos on YouTube provide guided sessions.
Give guided meditation a go with this 15-minute session with Meditation Works.
Physical Activity
Regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on depression, anxiety, self-esteem, stress, memory, sleep, and overall mood.
We can learn to use exercise as a powerful tool to feel better, as exercise can serve as a distraction that allows us to find some quiet time to escape the cycle of negative thoughts we may be feeling. Physical activity releases endorphins (chemicals in the brain) that improve your mood, promotes feelings of calm and wellbeing, relaxes muscles, and relieves tension in the body.
Westfield Health have provided a short, do-anywhere workout to get us up and moving – video can be accessed here.
Relaxation Techniques
Relaxation techniques can be as simple as taking some time to breathe, to mindful colouring, yoga, and meditation.
No matter what works for you, finding those short breaks in your day to relax can really bring you a sense of calm. See below our October Wellbeing calendar, which lists a month’s worth of activities including desk-based yoga, mindful colouring, starting a gratitude journal and catching up with friends.