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21 Days of Doing Good By Your Body and Soul

A close friend of mine reached out early in this new year and asked a favour.  One of her best friends went missing over a year ago, and a huge Search and Rescue effort was put into place on Vancouver Island.  To repay the Search and Rescue teams, her late friend's wife, family and friends are organizing a Facebook group to raise money and improve their health.  She invited us to partake in a 21-day fitness challenge.  To take part, we would donate $1 a day, so $21 to Search and Rescue.  The challenge is simple - dedicate 30 minutes a day to working out, drink more water and eat a little better.  We were automatically in because our friend means a lot to us, and we knew how much her friend that she lost meant to her.  On top of everything else, mental health was at the root of this story, and that always strikes a chord with me.

On January 6th, we began our fitness challenge.  Recently I had trained and completed a half marathon, so it has been nice getting back into a routine with working out.  Training for running is so different, so I am enjoying the freedom of choosing a half-hour workout each day.  I do hope this leads to me running again, when it is a little nicer out (we just hit a cold snap), I can get back on the road and get some kilometres in.   I have been using the Nike Training Club (NTC) app on my iPad and searching up YouTube videos for working out.  I like the NTC app because it has various types of workouts where I can choose length and level, as well as whether I am using equipment, doing yoga, or just body strength.  One night, I was inspired to try something completely out of my comfort zone, and my two daughters wanted to join me.  We found a Hip-Hop Tabata workout on YouTube and tried it out.  My oldest daughter killed it and had moves that surprised me.  I fumbled through but had a good sweat on in the end.  At the end of this first week, as a family, we did a circuit tabata session for an hour and had so much fun together!  Individually, I have been integrating strength sessions and yoga from the NTC app, and by the end of the first week, I am feeling great!  I have also noticed the improvement in my mental wellness - I am more alert, motivated, engaged in my family and overall happy!
Once we reach 21 days, not only will be have done a good deed and donated to an awesome organization, but we will have worked on ourselves too.  We all need a little detox and refresher after the holidays, and this was the perfect reason to get on it.
A 21-day challenge is easy to do and can be a way to destress after a long day in the classroom.  It is only a half-hour and can be as easy as closing your door at lunch or the end of the day and rolling out that yoga mat for a good stretch.  What are you doing to work on your health in 2020?

#BeWellEDU

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