Stretch and Relax….and eat muffins!

You know what I love almost as much as helping people for a living?  I love, love, LOVE, the diversity in my days and weeks.  I enjoy working one-on-one with my clients, and then heading to a corporate wellness event.  With a parent expo, speaking engagement, and LIVE (what!?!?) show all coming up in the next week, taking the time to visit my friends at National Business Capital here on Long Island last week to STRETCH and RELAX came at a good time.  Besides, it was about 12 hours after the Blizzard and everyone's tired backs needed the break!

We started with a silly little game to warm up our bodies, minds, and hearts.  Followed that up with some deep breathing and full-body stretching.  Topped it off with healthy muffins for everyone…"You get a muffin, you get a muffin, YOU get a muffin too!" (in my best Oprah voice).

Thanks for having me back, National Business Capital.  You guys rock!

Tip for you all:  Take a few minutes extra in your warm shower.  As you're washing your body, take an inventory of how things are feeling.  What's tight, what's achy?  Then after you've shampooed (or do you shampoo first?  Hmmm), do a little self-massage on tight areas and practice some range-of-motion right there under the warm stream of water.  Your muscles will be looser and more forgiving when they are warm. Plus, it's a nice quiet place to get an uninterrupted minute or two.  Well, unless you have young children.  :-/  They follow us everywhere.  

Let me know how it goes.  Disclaimer:  NO slipping allowed!  We're not talking about big, sweeping movements that should leave you off-balance, but if you're a bit unsteady on your feet, do the stretching after the shower instead.

Happy Thursday, everyone.

In good health,

Tara

Stretch and Relax

Last month I was asked to come into the very friendly and progressive company, National Business Capital, to have a bit of fun with the employees and take them through a nice stretching routine that they can implement into their busy days right at or next to their desks!  We laughed, we took deep breaths, we got the blood flowing.  I received several awesome emails afterwards letting me know about different ways in which that morning visit improved their day.  :-)

It's a new year and as such, I see many companies embracing employee wellness programs now more than ever.  Yay for 2017!  Yay for smart management!  WIth increased employee satisfaction and productivity and decreased sick days, you can see how the value and ROI far surpasses the investment.

Do you own or work for a company like this?  Do you want to see more companies - large AND small - taking time to educate and motivate their employees to take good care of their minds & bodies?  

Employee wellness programs may include stretching breaks, yoga, meditation, workout classes or personal trainers, nutrition consults, cooking demos, one-on-one health coaching, vital signs and consultations, a group sport, race, or contest.

I challenge you to speak with your boss about a potential employee wellness program being implemented or upgraded in your company.  If you ARE the boss, keep this in mind… healthy and productive employees are your biggest asset!

Pictured:  Silly activity at National Business Capital to "break the ice" before we started Stretch and Relax.  (Sorry to those I did not capture in the picture!  Next time I'll try to take more pictures).