CommonHealth’s Recharge Campaign:  Creative and Sensory Rest and FREE Nutrition Webinars! 

In our newest health campaign, Recharge, we explore the idea of rest and ways to recharge our minds and bodies beyond the usual good night’s sleep.  One type of rest discussed is creative rest. While many of us don’t see ourselves as creative types, we all flex our creative muscles in different ways – be it solving problems at home, brainstorming new ideas at work or creating a masterpiece.

Creative rest requires that we take time to allow beauty to inspire the sense of wonder and amazement – to experience AWE. The trouble is, what was once awe inspiring, is now often ordinary.  Do you recall the first time you saw the Grand Canyon or heard Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech? Taking time in our busy lives to appreciate beauty awakens wonder, making us happier and reduces stress.

Whether it’s taking in nature, listening to inspiring people or witnessing an incredible act of kindness, creative rest is restorative. 

Try these ideas to recharge:

• Take in the beauty of the outdoors — even if it’s at a local park or in your backyard (Spring 2023 NOVA WALK WEEK is April 17^th through April 21st. Registration is now open!).
• Visit a museum Or NOVA Art Exhibit. 
• Spend time with people who inspire you. For example, attend a Lyceum speaker event.

• Join a NOVA Healing Circle.
• Registration for Annandale Center Annandale Center for Contemplative Practice (ACCP) Workshop. Next up, Flow: Engaging with All from Wherever You Are.
• Attend a NOVA Theater Production. 
• Turn your workspace into a place of inspiration-display images of places you love and works of art that speak to you.

Or Consider:

• Retrain your 5 senses with this meditation to really take in the world around you.
• Visit Millennium Stage | Kennedy Center (kennedy-center.org) face to face or virtually. See the upcoming events and watch recently filmed videos from their free series. And delve into full-length encore performances from over 20 years of Millennium Stage.
• Use mindfulness to turn off auto-pilot and find awe in everyday experiences. Visit the Monday Campaign to explore a plethora of practices in breathing, mindfulness and positivity to refresh your mind and help you manage stress all week.
• Engage your senses and connect with nature and the present moment in this 30-minute meditation- An ‘Awake in the Wild’ Meditation.
• Put on Your Cowboy Boots and Try Line Dancing with AARP, Wednesday, Mar 22, 2023 at 12 p.m. ET.

You will find awe in nature, art, incredible people, impressive skills and virtuous acts all around you by remaining curious about the world.

Visit commonhealth.virginia.gov to learn more about our newest health campaign, Recharge.

Bonus! As before Kaiser Permanente is offering two free webinars for Virginia State Employees to support your wellness goals. Sign up today for the online sessions The Truth about Sweeteners, Sugar Replacers & Sodium in Foods (on demand) and Smart Grocery Shopping and Label Reading ( April 12 at 10 a.m.). Even if you cannot attend, you can register and then get the link to the replay. 

For questions regarding this week’s communication or the CommonHealth program, please reach out to your respective campus coordinator below: 

• Alexandria – Kathy Clement  (KClement@nvcc.edu) or Najeeb Baha (NBaha@nvcc.edu)
• Annandale – Matthew “Tank” McCarl (mmccarl@nvcc.edu)
• College Staff – Cecil “C.J.” Jackson (CeciJackson@nvcc.edu)
• Fairfax – Dahlia Henry-Tett(employeewellbeing@nvcc.edu)
• Loudoun – Tammy Wagner (TWagner@nvcc.edu)
• Manassas – ThuyTien Ngo-Nguyen (TNgoNguyen@nvcc.edu)
• Medical Education Campus (Springfield) – Beverly Tsikata (btsikata@nvcc.edu)
• Woodbridge – Amira Alexander (AAlexander@nvcc.edu)

Submitted by:
Dahlia Henry- Tett, Chief Wellness Officer (CWO), employeewellbeing@nvcc.edu