Being Mindful for Mental Health Awareness Month
Today is Mental Health Awareness Day, but the entire month of October is dedicated to the importance of our mental health, so we are celebrating with month-long Mindfulness Challenges. Last month, we were honored with an RCC award recognizing our Mindfulness and Wellness initiatives, and we have expanded our program for both stores and head office this month. Mindfulness is an incredible way to take care of our whole selves – physically, mentally, and beyond. It's a way to pay attention to our thoughts, feelings and senses, and it helps us avoid getting caught in negative ruts; allowing us to move forward. Practicing mindfulness can reduce stress, improve moods and find balance in challenging situations, and with the holidays coming, it's the perfect time for The Mindfulness Challenge to begin.
October Mindfulness Challenges
We started The Mindfulness Challenge as an initiative in stores in 2019, and after receiving great feedback, we’ve launched the program at the head office this year as well. Throughout the month, we explore how mindfulness can help us take care of the many aspects of our well-being, so each week focuses on a different theme: Mind, Body, Heart and Relationships. Different mindfulness practices are sent to our team members at the beginning of each week that they can choose to practice as often as they like. These fun practices are designed to either do alone or in teams, and they help prepare for and handle day-to-day situations. Once a week, we also host a virtual event where everyone is invited to join us in a practice related to the week's theme; from yoga sessions to meditation. The point of these challenges is to be easy enough to do every day, and to make it even more fun, we have weekly prize draws of incredible gift baskets that anyone can win just by participating.
We are so proud of our Mindfulness Program and these monthly challenges because we understand how important it is to take care of our mental health, but how little time we dedicate to it. A few little practices every day can go a long way in helping to manage stress and stay grounded, so we hope that by sharing these tools, team members will be inspired to continue practicing on their own - all year long. Making time for ourselves is not selfish - it's necessary!