10 Wellness Breaks to Know
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Well how long have you been sitting at
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your computer?
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Chances are you've been sitting there a
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while and it's time to take a break!
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Your body was meant to move not to be
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stationary and sit like we do and so
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therefore muscles get weak that need to
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be strong and a lot of us end up with
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backaches and pains. So what we
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can do is periodically take a break!
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Get out of your chair
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and if you need to hold on to it for
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support you're welcome to do that. The
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spine moves seven different ways. First
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reach arms really high and again if you
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need to hold on to something for support, please do.
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Lengthen and extend the back of your
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body
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and then trying to stretch the side, we'll
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Bend One Direction
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opening up space in the side body for
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laughing for breathing
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or singing
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Then we'll take that side stretch
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to the opposite side, like you're a
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half of the Moon or a banana, if
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you'd like to think of it that way.
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Now come up nice and tall and
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take the hands to your
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shoulders
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and then bend your body so that you
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can take your elbows together, they do not have to touch, and
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breathe them open.
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open and close them
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and if you get a side view here you can
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even push through and open up the front
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of the body and exhale and round the
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back
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so breathing in and out this is called
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flexion and extension of the spine.
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Your spine can move all
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these seven different ways.
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all right breathing in and out you can
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roll the shoulders up and back and over
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there's really no need to roll the
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opposite direction because you were
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forward shouldered all the day long most
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likely over computer, over a meal, over a
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steering wheel,
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over sink, over over and over and over . . .
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oh yes okay now
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take the shoulders hands to shoulders
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elbows up to the side and then just
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rotate like a helicopter back and forth,
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back and forth, or you can do it nice and
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slow and just stretch one direction
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and then the other.
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Now the eighth way your spine can move
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which is compression is not one we need
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to work on because gravity does that for us!
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If we use our movement to stand tall
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and to open and close the body so that
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we get the forward flexion in the
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opening of the chest which is that
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extension of the backbone and if we get
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the side stretch and this twist,
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it's one way we can take care of
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ourselves so we can use the vehicle our
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body is for us to do the ministry that
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God is calling us to do and we can do it
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in a healthy way so that we can take
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care of our boundaries
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hey Deacon intern for wellness Dee
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here! I just wanted to share with you a
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great activity that you can use when you
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need a break. It'll help you get the
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left and right side of the brain,
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the hemispheres of the brain, to
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communicate
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and have good conversation
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because the one side of the brain
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ris coordinating the opposite side
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of the body, if you can get both
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hemispheres talking to one another. then
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you're using the whole brain in your
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head! All right breathe in and open your
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hands
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then exhale and close!
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Breathe them open
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and exhale them close.
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Now as you breathe them open,
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practice taking the thumb inside of the
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four fingers,
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and breathe out
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and take them outside the four
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fingers. Okay, so here's what
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you want to do nexg to get both sides of your
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brain working togethe. You
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want to breathe your hands open
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and then you want to take one thumb
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inside and one thumb outside the four
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fingers! Breathe them open
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and switch! I'll move a little
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Closer so you can see what's happening. It
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may not be an easy trick, but you can
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do it with the practice. You can
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make some new neural pathways! You have
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neuralplasticity your whole life, long even
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when you don't feel like you do! So
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breathe in and
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breathe out.
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Breathe in
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breathe out.
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Breathe in
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breathe out.
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You'll just get it going back
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and forth . . .
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give it a try! it's a great trick to know
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and teach your brain
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to communicate in a better way.
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You'll be able to focus and pay
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attention to what you need to do next
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and hold those boundaries exactly where
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they need to be. Thanks for listening!
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Deacon intern for wellness D’Etta here
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to share a little bit about balancing.
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Balancing is a great thing to do for
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your focus and concentration skills, and
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it really helps with things that you do
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every day with balance like walking! So
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what we want to try is to put all the
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weight on one foot of one leg and
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then gently lift the other one just a
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little bit off of the floor. If you need to
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hang on to your desk or onto the chair
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or if you've got something else that you
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can grab onto, it's all good! Root the
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foot. Stand up if you've been
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seated! Stand up and then root the foot
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into the floor.
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Some people say your foot has four
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corners: top left and right, bottom left
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and right just feel it really connect
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and then gently lift the other leg.
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It is okay if you want to
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put the toe down and
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hold it like a
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kickstand on a bike. Or you can lift your foot
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Higher. I'm reaching my
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arms out to help with my balance.
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Welcome all the wibble and
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wobbling that you do because that's
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muscles getting a chance to practice
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and just strengthen that haven't had a
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chance to do that in a while.
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Keep the corners of your mouth
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stretched up to your ears!
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Every time you wobble, squeeze your
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belly.
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When you're ready, put that
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foot down and shake it out. The muscles were working! Now stand on the other
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leg. Try it on the opposite
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foot. Take a moment to notice how it
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feels from one leg to the to the next.
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If you notice that one leg feels
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like it balances better than the other,
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that's all good. You are just taking notes, like
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being a curious. No
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judgments but just investigate.
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So let's try it on this foot.
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It may be easier for you to find that one
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thing not moving to put your focus on.
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That can be helpful. A little bit of
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balance challenging every day can help
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you to concentrate and focus when you
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get back to the thing you need to do
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next.
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Take some deep breaths as you work the
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balance Challenge. If you touch down
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just get right back into it when you can.
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Lower the leg that's up. Shake
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out the leg and remember
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that practicing balance every day can
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help you keep your boundaries
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strong and help you make the best
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decisions that you can make.
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Deacon intern for wellness D’Etta Broam
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here to share with you a little tip for
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how to take care of your health. When we
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think about health we're not just a
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physical being but we have things going
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on in our brains and our hearts and our
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relationships and with our relationship
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to our Lord. So we want to think
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about all those parts of us being
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healthy so that we can be the light God
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is intending us to shine as bright in the
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world as we can shine!
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Practicing gratitude is one way that you
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can Shine Your Light brightly and I don't
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just mean to say oh I'm thankful for my
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family or I'm thankful for my friends,
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but to be really specific so maybe you
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can say I'm thankful for my family I'm
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thankful how my mom and dad can still
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travel and see the world as they age. I
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was thankful for my children who
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loved to read and have written me notes
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to express that thought. I'm thankful for
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friends
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who will try some yoga with me and be
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anchored in a new experience where we
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are more deeply rooted in our
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relationship with God, and each other, and
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healthier in our brains and our bodies
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and our hearts! What are you grateful for?
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you can write it down in a journal or
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you can record it in an app or you can
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just take pictures throughout the day
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and record it that way. Practicing
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gratitude and looking for it means that
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you will start to be on the search! it's
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like putting on a pair of glasses for
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good health and good health makes you able
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to keep good boundaries. thanks for
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listening!
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Deacon Intern for Wellness D’Etta here to think about
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a way to take care of your eyes while
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you are working on the zooms!
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Your eyes need to look away regularly from a screen.
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We weren't designed to keep at
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that screen hours and hours on end.
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Take glasses off, if you have glasses, and take
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your hands together, rub them and create
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a little heat. Then hold the hands
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over the eyes. Hands cupped over the eyes.
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Just hold them gently there and take
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some breaths in and out.
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In and out.
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Maybe one more round of breathing?
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Three good deep breaths can cure a lot
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of what ails you. So the
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gentle cupping of the hands that
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created the friction and heat can help the eyes
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relax a little bit. Do that every now
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and then as you stare at the screen.
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Take those breaks so that you can
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take care of you. You can be strong
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to hold the boundaries that you need to
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have to do the work that you do well in
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the world for our Lord.
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Thanks for listening!
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So you’ve got a long meeting ahead of you,
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and you know you're going to be in front
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of your computer for a while. What are some things
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you can do to take care of yourself so
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that you can do the meeting well,
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participate with Clarity of Mind, focus
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and concentration,
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but also take care of you while
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you're sitting there when your body was
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made to move? One of the things that you
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can do is sit well. What is your
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setup like? Are you actually looking at
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the top third of your computer when you
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are looking at the screen? Is your screen
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too high? Is your screen too low? Are you
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actually at 90 degrees to 100 degrees in
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your hips and your knees are in
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front of you with the feet flat on the
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Floor? Crossing legs and not being able
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to reach the floor or having knees above
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Hips: all of those things can contribute
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to poor posture and difficulty with
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sitting for a while. [image of correct posture}
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Other things you can do
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when you need to take a
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small break can be hiding your screen view
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and you can
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do some bre athing.
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One way you can breathe is to blow
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bubbles!
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If that doesn't appeal to you,
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you can close your eyes with
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your screen view off and just breathe in
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and out.
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Do take time to breathe! Breath is
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the language of God. It's the way we
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are able to talk to that part of our
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body that tenses up and gets excited
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when maybe it needs to be more calm and
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Relaxed. Do you have your glass
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of water? Make sure that you're hydrating
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regularly during the meeting!
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I have a friend that gets a little jelly
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jar and she fills it up every time she
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gets in and out of her seat or
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walks near a sink or a bathroom.
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Having some water available is
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gonna help you stay hydrated and be able
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to think and to work in your best way.
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The last thing I would recommend
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today is having something that you
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can squish on or fidget. This is
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some Play-Doh. You may remember
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this type of fun from when you were little?
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I recently did a praying with Clay
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exercise and just the feeling of the
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clay in your hand is soothing and so
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great for those fine motor skills
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and arthritis that may plague you as
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you grow.
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Good stuff! Very soothing again to
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take care of you when you've got to be
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somewhere and sit for an
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extended amount of time. Taking care of
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you makes you stronger and healthier and
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able to manage the boundaries you
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must manage to do your ministry well.
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Thank you for listening!
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hi this is Deacon intern for wellness
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D’Etta with another idea to take care of
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yourself while you're doing this long
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zoom today! One thing you can do is to
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periodically stretch your neck.
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here's some neck stretches you might
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would like to try. You could take your
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ear to your shoulder and if that feels
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good and you want more, you could
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actually take the hand on top of the
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head, and you can lengthen the opposite
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hand away pushing through the knuckles
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or the fingers. it's
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stretched out in a way now if that's too
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much of a stretch for you, you don't need
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to add those extra ideas.
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The next thing you can do is actually
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gaze down as if you had a front pocket.
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It's like taking the chin
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to the collar bone and this stretches
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another muscle in the neck.
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See how that feels then put a big
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old heavy weight on your chin and let it
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just fall to the center of your chest.
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Maybe this stretches out the muscles in
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the back of the neck.
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Then you can lift your gaze and you
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can work it to the opposite side so take
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the ear
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to the opposite shoulder.
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Notice how it feels? One side
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may be tighter?
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If is there a pain when stretching,
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always stop if there's a pain!
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It's good to just take a kind of
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inventory not a judgment but a just a
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checking in, checking in with
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yourself.
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Then again look down as if
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you're taking the chin to the collarbone
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or looking as if you have
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a pocket
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on this side of the shirt.
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let the chin roll down to the chest and
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again feel as if it’s pulled down by a heavy weight.
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Lift your gaze and there's some neck
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stretches that may be helpful to you!
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Remember when you take care of yourself
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then you are able to honor boundaries in
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a better, more confident, and stronger way
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so do what you can do to take care of
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you!
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Hhi Deacon intern for wellness D’Etta here
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with another tip about how to take a
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break.
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Sometimes you can use your body to
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change your mind. When we've
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encouraged you to move,
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to stretch, to strengthen, to to walk,
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those are ways that you can move the
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body and change what's happening in your
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mind.
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But you could also change your mind and
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that can change what's happening in your
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body.
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This good book by Susan Verde Who I Am:
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Words I Tell Myself gives us some ideas
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of some words or some mantras, some
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phrases, that we can repeat and will
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help us to be healthy and strong in our
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bodies and our brains and our heart.
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She includes phrases like “everyone
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has worries
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and they are okay for us to talk about.”
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Another good one is “this feeling will
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pass
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nothing is forever”
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and maybe even yet something else you
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can say to yourself is “I am unique
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this is what makes me beautiful and
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miraculous”
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Find the words that you need to say to
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Yourself. Maybe you need to say “I am
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enough.”
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Maybe you need to say “I am a child of
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God.”
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Maybe you just need to find that word
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that is the one word that speaks to your heart.
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You can find the words and use those
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Words. Say them over over again when you
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get stuck on a tape or a recording that
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isn't a healthy one.
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Thank you for listening!
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Taking good care of yourself is the way
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you keep yourself from crossing
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boundaries.
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hi Deacon intern for wellness D’Etta
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here. Wanted to let you know about the
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importance of getting out and breathing
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some fresh air and taking a walk. So even
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if you get outside for just a minute or
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two, it's better than not getting outside!
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Even if you take 10 steps and not
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500, it's better than not taking any
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steps at all! So you can take lots of
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short breaks during the day: two minute
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walks, five minute walks, and they all add
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Up! If you can't get in your 30
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minutes all at one time, do it piece
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by piece, and you'll get there!
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Just put one foot in front of the other
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and enjoy a walk!
send a text or write a card to someone to let them know you are thinking of them, said a prayer for them, appreciate them, etc
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Deacon Intern for Wellness D’Etta here
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with another quick idea for making a BIG
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difference in somebody's life
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with just a little time.
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How are your relationships?
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That's another part of your self-care,
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taking care of how you participate in
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community. So today, take a moment, just a
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small one, to maybe jot a note a quick
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note to someone you love, to someone you
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like, to someone you're praying for, to
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someone that you should be praying for!
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You might want to pick out a card
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that would be appropriate.
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Something that would maybe bring a smile
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to someone's face. It is about what
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you write,and it's about how you show
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how much you care with taking the time
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to write. Writing it out it doesn't have to
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be fancy like a card, you can just use a
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sticky note.
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This is one of my favorite sticky
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notes a student wrote to me one time. It is
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a drawing. It has me and that student
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when I was wearing a silly hat.
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The note is a great way to connect with
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others. This is my favorite note of all time:
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“Dear Mrs. Broam, Thank you for letting us
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check out books from the library. you are
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the greatest librarian in the world. And
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the only one I know.”
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A note can keep people humble!
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It can be somethingthat brings joy! Write
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a note today to improve your relational
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health and keep your boundaries strong.