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HealthyUT – March 2018

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  HealthyUT – March 2018

Wellness Warrior

The Wellness Warrior Award is given to individuals across campus who are nominated by their peers for leading by example and inspiring through action as they work to create a healthier lifestyle.

Sean Powell March 2018 Wellness Warrior Award Recipient

The Wellness Warrior for March is awarded to Sean Powell who has been an Community Service Officer with the UT Police Department for 20 years. His favorite hobbies include running, lifting weights, and playing chess.

Sean exclaims that his family inspires him to lead a better and healthier lifestyle. As a licensed personal trainer, Sean offers helpful and encouraging advice to colleagues and others so that they, too, can reap the benefits of making healthy lifestyle choices. Additionally, Sean’s interest in chess has led him to tutor students in both chess and math at Austin East High School through the Smart Institute After School Program. Furthermore, Sean has been a participant in the Knoxville Marathon for 15 years and credits his success in training for the difficult event to his faith in God. Sean’s dedication to health and wellness has made him a great example for others to follow.

Congratulations, Sean, for your nomination and thank you for being such a motivating model of health and wellness.

Making the healthy choice is not always the easy choice. To nominate someone who you feel is deserving of the Wellness Warrior Award please fill out a nomination form.

Move More

Traveling? Don’t forget to plan your physical activity

If you know you are traveling, planning a workout routine in advance makes it easier to follow through. If you find yourself unable to squeeze in a complete workout, use any opportunity to stretch or move more.

Here are a few tips to plan ahead:

Take time to find local walking routes such as trails or neighborhoods.

  • Invite the whole family to participate.
  • Plan simple workouts to do indoors.
  • Locate a nearby gym and ask if they offer daily or weekly passes

Upcoming Community Events:    

Source: ESMM Holiday Challenge

Eat Smarter

You’re not Hungry, you could just be bored.

It is easy to confuse boredom, or any other emotion, for hunger. Eating food can be a coping mechanism for many people, but it is not always the healthiest. A helpful way to distinguish between emotional and physical hunger is to keep a food diary that details what you ate, the activity you were doing, and how you felt. Getting in tune with feelings can help you recognize temptations when you see them.

Upcoming Events:    

Recipe of the Month:  Roasted Chicken with Spring Vegetables

Source: esmmweighless.com, Food Network

Be Mindful 

Money on My Mind

All Aboard the Relaxation Station 

The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus once said, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” As the end of the semester approaches, it may seem overwhelming, but take a step back and breathe. To guide you in this process of de-stressing, here are three helpful stress management practices for you to follow.

  1. WALKING MEDITATION
    By walking slowly with awareness, two things happen. One, we feel the ground beneath us and our connection to the earth. Two, we find our connection to this very moment. Each step calls us to think of what’s happening right now instead of what’s ahead or what just happened. It’s a way to remember that now is where we are and now is all we have.
  1. SEATED FORWARD BENDS
    These allow us to fully surrender to the moment. When we sit still and let ourselves feel the support of the earth beneath us, we develop a sense of stability and safety. We can let go of the feelings that pull us into the ups and downs of life’s roller coaster. It’s a way to stay grounded and calm.
Practice
• Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you. Let your legs draw closer to the earth as if you are growing roots. Feel the earth support you. Relax knowing you feel supported and steady.
• Once you feel connected, reach your arms out and up. Then, lower yourself forward from the hips, sliding your hands down the legs to find that edge of comfort and discomfort.
• As you find your comfortable edge, deeply let go every time you exhale.
• As you breathe, let go of anything that’s stressing you physically, mentally and emotionally.
• After several breaths, slowly slide back up the legs and relax. Notice a sense of grounding and calm.
  1. TWO-TO-ONE BREATHING
    This breathing exercise relaxes your nervous system. It calms the mind and lowers your heart rate. When the mind is calm, the body settles.
Practice
• Lie down or sit comfortably.
• As you breathe, let the breath become long, slow and smooth. Begin to keep a gentle count when you inhale. Let the exhale extend longer.
• Over several breaths, your exhale becomes twice as long as your inhale. You can even imagine the exhale breath moving from top to toe.
Source: www.partnersforhealthtn.gov 

The HealthyUT Newsletter is a monthly publication where events, information, and resource to support healthy lifestyles will be shared with the UT Knoxville Community.  It will serve as our communication with our campus community as we try to make the healthy choice the easy choice.

 Be Well. 

The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee System and partner in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway.