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With budget cuts and rising demands on school faculty across the country, some teachers are realizing how important it is to find effective stress reduction techniques. At Toussaint, teachers are making their own health a top priority and have started to come together twice a week to get moving. They are seeing how physical activity can have a positive effect on both the body and the mind.
The school wellness council first surveyed their fellow staff members to assess barriers and interest in offering physical activity opportunities for the staff. They found that demand was high for physical activity opportunities they could do as a group and started meeting twice a week after school. Using exercise videos to keep things interesting, staff members are trying different activities such as walking and kickboxing and they plan to add the Zumba dance program soon.
To keep costs low the group made their own hand weights, filling ½-liter water bottles with sand that weighed two pounds each. All members of the group are really enjoying the sense of accomplishment as well as the benefits of support and camaraderie. They are getting to know their colleagues on a new level and building strong relationships. When someone is unable to come, other group members let him or her know that they were missed. One staff member commented, “I felt so good yesterday when I went home, knowing I did something just for me.”
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