Optimum Health and Well-being

So I attended this work-based, workshop yesterday - Optimum Health and Well-being. I had put my name forward for it because it sounded like a really positive thing to do; including a health assessment and a yoga session.

We don’t get many freebies in the public sector; for instance, we don’t get thanked for working hard on major projects by having a free flying lesson and helicopter ride (my other half got this in a previous job), we have to stump up for our own Christmas meal - we don’t get so much as a glass of sherry from the management. We don’t get pay bonuses or rewards and we are not, for the most part, very well paid. So, when a course comes along that seems far more about personal development and happiness, rather than work performance (though some could argue they amount to the same thing) then I for one jump at the chance at it.

I wasn’t disappointed. The workshop contained many helpful pointers regarding diet and exercise and not only that, it challenged the way you thought about those things and what obstacles you put in the way of achieving optimum health. Things like traditional attitudes towards eating were questioned (for instance the culturally passed down habit of finishing everything on your plate, even if you are full up). Also put under the spotlight were the excuses we make for not fitting exercise into our daily routine. It was outlined very early on in the day how vital good health is to us all but how much we live in the short term, rather than focus on long term repercussions. How the health system only intervenes when something has gone wrong and how we need to concentrate on preventative rather than curative measures. (I hope I haven’t breached any copyright by saying this - there was a copyright notice on the handouts) The thing is, this is all stuff we already know - common sense, but we don’t often have time to stop and think about it properly.

I loved the fact that the workshop included a yoga session - so much of office life is spent huddled quietly over a desk or wearing a hole in the carpet going back and forth if you are on a public desk (in the library for example). So it was so nice to take our shoes off and stretch out and do the deep breathing exercises (and I can feel it in my legs today so he really did make us work).

The other aspect to the course was the personal development side - where did we see ourselves in three years time? Where did we want to be? How would we go about doing this? At the risk of sounding a bit sentimental and New-agey, this was great too! One of the things that came out of it, for me personally, was that I should write every day, that I should make the time for it. Whether it be writing fiction or writing this blog, I needed to be writing something. So this is the result - another blog post the day after the previous one.

If anyone actually reads this I’d like to say - if your workplace offers a similar workshop then go for it! If nothing else, at least you get a free lunch. ;)