Ranger Wellness Month
Document your progress each week on the wellness completion form.
A wellness revolution is coming to Northwest and it is going to be exhilarating and fun for everyone. Student Counseling, Disability and Testing Services and the Northwest Libraries have partnered to create a month-long series of “challenges” focused on physical, emotional, nutritional, and global wellness and health. The goal is for everyone to complete at least one challenge per week throughout the month of April, and those who do complete one challenge/week will be entered into a drawing for a wellness prize pack. The challenge will officially begin on Monday, April 1st.
Feeling like you’re not fit enough to join a wellness challenge? Don’t worry! We’ve got your back. The challenges are designed to appeal to a variety of fitness and wellness levels. Choose the challenges that work best for you.
The wellness challenge is open to all Northwest students and employees. We would love to see each campus and our commuter/online/dual enrollment students take part. Grab a friend, family member, or co-worker and let’s create a path to wellness.
Week 1: Physical Wellness (April 1 – 7; Complete at least ONE of the following challenges!):
· Walk 30 minutes a day at least three days a week.
· Go to an instructor’s office, dorm mate’s room or family member’s room (students) and leave a post-it note with a positive message on their door. If you’re an NWCC employee, walk to a co-worker’s office in a different department to leave your post-it note. **Bonus Entry: Attach a picture of your note to the completion form for an extra prize pack entry.
· If you work, live, or have classes in a multi-story building, designate one day as “No Elevator Day” and use the stairs.
· Play a sport for 30 minutes or go to the gym for 30 minutes at least 3 times per week.
· Work in your yard or garden for 15 minutes at least three times a week.
· Deskercise: Do one or more of the stretches or exercises from one or more of the following websites at least 3 days a week for 5-7 minutes each.
o https://www.healthline.com/health/deskercise#1
o https://greatist.com/fitness/deskercise-33-ways-exercise-work
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Xc5xO5RDE
o https://www.nchpad.org/fppics/deskercise%20poster_updated.pdf
Week 2: Emotional/Mental Wellness (April 8-14)
· Stop everything and listen to music for 10 minutes at least 3 times a week.
· Go by either the Senatobia, DeSoto, or Oxford campus library and make a wellness button.
· Write in a journal for 10 minutes at least 3 times a week.
· Download the NWCC library’s Hoopla app and check out an audio or e-book. Read or listen to at least one chapter a day for 3 days. The NWCC libraries also have many new print titles to check out.
· Walk to one of our NWCC libraries and pick up a handout on stress and burn-out reduction.
· Go by the Student Counseling and Disability Services office on the Senatobia campus and pick up a stress ball. Use the stress ball for 5 minutes 3 times a week. (If you are not on the Senatobia campus, you can use any stress ball)
· Have a “Teamwork Tuesday” where you walk for at least 30 minutes with a friend, family member, or co-worker. **Bonus Entry: Attach a selfie of your walking group to the completion form for an extra prize pack entry.
· Pet an animal for at least 10 minutes 3 times a week.
· Do yoga or meditation exercises for 10 minutes at least 3 times a week.
o The Honest Guys Meditation (YouTube)
o Down Dog | Great Yoga Anywhere (downdogapp.com) (free with school email address!)
o Journaling or mindfulness apps:
Mindfulness on Apple Watch
My Life, My Voice
Kardia
Virtual Hope Box
Most Days: Life Improvement Platform
Finch: Self-Care Widget Pet
Week 3: Nutritional Wellness (April 15-21)
· Swap a soda. Swap a soda for water or another healthy alternative for at least 3 meals a week.
· Swap a food. (example: Order grilled a grilled chicken sandwich or nuggets at Chick-Fil-A or other restaurants or at home. Eat a green vegetable or side salad rather than French fries. Eat fruit rather than cake, pie, or candy.) Do this at least 3 times a week.
· Drink at least 64 ounces (8 glasses) of water a day for at least 3 days a week.
· Eat a piece of fruit once a day for 3 days.
· Make a healthy dish. **Bonus Entry: Attach the recipe to the completion form for an extra prize pack entry.)
· Go to the NWCC library or your public or school library and pick up a handout on healthy eating or check out a cookbook of healthy recipes.
Week 4: On the Path to Wellness (April 22-28)
· Repeat your favorite challenge.
· Complete a new challenge from one of the previous weeks.
· Listen to two podcasts on health and mental health wellness.
· For three days a week, go to bed one hour earlier than normal.
· Go by any of our campus libraries and color part of our giant wellness color sheet for at least 10 minutes. If you are an online student or on a campus with no library, you may download a color sheet.
· Gratitude challenge—for 3 days of the week, write down one thing for which you are grateful.
· Practice random acts of kindness. Do something nice for a friend, family member, or co-worker.
· NWCC Employees: Attend Employee Appreciation Day on April 26th. **Bonus Entry: Attach a photo of yourself and coworkers enjoying the festivities to the completion form for an extra prize pack entry.
*Co-sponsored by Student Counseling, Disability, and Testing Services and the Northwest Libraries.
**Disclaimer: “The departmental sponsors of this event are not specialists in the subjects of physical, emotional or nutritional wellness. All activities listed are intended to encourage healthy habits and are not a substitute for medical or professional advice in any of these areas. If you have any pre-existing conditions in any of these categories, we encourage you to reach out to a professional in the related field prior to making changes to your normal routine.”