We want people in the District to move more, because movement has a ripple effect on the rest of our wellness. Movement positively impacts our mood, helps lower stress levels, and supports the way God has designed our bodies. It was exciting that many people reported doing the challenge with others, which helps build community and connection. The Challenge was meant to continue fostering the habit of wellness in our District, and 10 minutes a day is something everyone can build on!

 

The LCMS Wellness Wheel is a dynamic way to think about your personal wellness. It is comprised of 6 areas of focus, specifically physical, emotional, financial, relational, vocational, and intellectual.

Emotional Wellness: Recognizing emotions are a gift from God and learning to recognize, manage, and express them in a God honoring manner

 

Financial Wellness: Praising God for the gift of money and striving to intentionally steward finances as a resource to care for our family, our neighbor, and the church

 

Relational Wellness: Cultivating meaningful connections with others, including reconciliation and seeking the good of our neighbor as God has called us to live peacefully with others

 

Vocational Wellness: Valuing, nurturing, and rightly prioritizing the many vocations God has given us, whether inside or outside the home

 

Intellectual Wellness: Expanding knowledge and skills as a lifelong learner, ready to learn in the ways God directs

 

Each of these areas is essential to one’s well-being. You can use the Wellness Wheel to identify where you’re thriving and areas that could use some support. Though the Challenge focused on the simple act of physically moving, it impacted several other areas of wellness. That’s the way it works with the Wellness Wheel; if you make changes in one area, it generally has a positive impact on other areas. For example, movement is a fantastic stress reliever, which is an aspect of our emotional wellness. Movement also can be done with friends, which helps to strengthen our relational wellness.

 

The LCMS Wellness Wheel becomes a personal assessment when you “rate” how you’re doing in each area. Once you know where you’re thriving and lacking, you can set goals based on one area. For example, if you notice you’ve rated your relational wellness low, you might consider a goal of setting up a coffee get together once a month with a friend. Or if you’ve reflected that your physical wellness is being sabotaged by highly processed food, you might make a goal of adding in 3 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. A reminder that making positive changes in one area will have a ripple effect on other areas of wellness!

 

When you’re pursuing any kind of behavior change, it’s crucial to make the change easy enough to minimize resistance from your brain. Think about it. If the change you’re trying to make is too hard, you’re less likely to actually do it… and even if you’re successful for a little while, your will power will eventually run dry. That’s why you want to make change easy enough to help you truly transform for the long haul. Start simple so you can finish strong! Consider “what is the easiest version of the change you’re trying to make?” For example, start by adding one serving of fruit to your day instead of three. Or walk for five minutes instead of 30. Send just one text to a friend instead of your entire group. Track one aspect of your spending instead of your entire budget. Start with small steps toward your goal, so you can build the habit and then add on. The small step isn’t the end goal; it’s just the starting point to help you breeze past resistance and into a new habit. Notice how simple the Let’s Get Moving Challenge was; it was 10 minutes of any movement so you could start small to build strong!

 

God is all about our well-being! He intimately designed our bodies and still gives us the gifts we need to sustain them. He sent His Son to redeem us entirely, both body and soul. We have the responsibility to steward creation, and our bodies are a part of that. Though we’re called to steward well, we will miss the mark as we care for our sinful bodies in this fallen world. That’s why we repent daily, joyfully receive Christ’s forgiveness, and keep humbly pursuing wellness.

 

The next major focus from the Wellness office is centered on emotional wellness. We will be offering free trainings for individuals to become certified in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). This is a phenomenal one-day training that empowers participants to identify, understand, and respond to a mental health need in others. Just like CPR teaches you how to help someone having a heart attack, MHFA teaches you to help someone experiencing a mental health challenge. Watch for details about training dates in the coming months.

 

We also encourage you to get to know your insurance benefits. It’s possible your health insurance has wellness incentive programs you can take advantage of. These programs allow you to earn rewards based on your participation in preventative activities like biometric screenings and other actions. You can learn more by contacting your insurance company. If you’re a Concordia Health Plan member, then it’s highly likely have access to a program called Vitality, which gives BIG rewards for completing a biometric screening. You get money back in your pocket, but you also get a jump on preventative care for yourself which is far more valuable! Vitality also offers a host of other programs to help you pursue healthy living. Be sure to take advantage of what you’re already paying for!

 

Check out the Wellness Corner in each District Newsletter that encourages different ways for you to be well. Email me if you have a wellness success story to share that might encourage others, or if you’re interested in writing for the Wellness Corner. We’d love to hear from folks around the District!