Be Active — me kori tonu

Exercise makes you feel good. Here are some ideas for wellbeing and activities you might enjoy 🚶‍🚴‍🏃🏽

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week. The Mental Health Foundation of NZ suggest five ways to wellbeing at work. There are lots of ideas here, including being active. This year, with a nature theme, we’re encouraged to get outdoors 🌱 to strengthen our wellbeing and lift our mood.

• Bring activity into the everyday, eg. use the stairs instead of the lift, walk to colleagues to talk with them instead of phoning, and get off the bus one stop earlier than your stop

• Take a family walk after dinner, or a longer one on the weekend. Let family members take turns to choose where to go

• Organise or participate in walking tours of local places of interest in your community or suburb

• Participate in a fun run/walk to raise money for charity

• Try tai chi or yoga classes for strength, balance and mental wellbeing 🧘‍

• Go swimming or water walking at your local pool

• Join a sports club to be active and meet people at the same time ⚽tennis, bowls, touch rugby, netball…⛹️

Take a walk, jog or bike ride. How about gardening — pulling up weeds or planting can help you work up a sweat.

Mental Health Awareness Week is 8–14 October

• Do what you can — whāia te mea ka taea e koe

• Enjoy what you do — kia pārekareka tāu i whai ai

• Move your mood — kia pai ake ō piropiro

More on positive mental health & wellbeing

The Staying Well section of the Mental Health foundation’s website has lots of ideas and information on how we can improve, and sustain, our mental health and reach our full potential.

They’ve found a strong link between time spent in nature and positive mental health so this year’s awareness week encourages people to Let nature in, strengthen your wellbeing — Mā te taiao, kia whakapakari tōu oranga! Read an article about their nature findings🌿

We know connecting with nature makes us feel good, and every little bit helps us find balance, build resilience and boost mental wellbeing.

Spending time in nature lifts people’s moods, decreases feelings of depression and anxiety, improves concentration, buffers against stress, makes lives meaningful, speeds recovery from tough times and reduces health inequalities related to poverty.

Read more: https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/