Everyday Wellness

• April 3rd Opportunities- Sign Up Here
• Spring Token Scavenger Hunt
• Insurance Benefit Program
• Disney Trivia Night Fun
• Celebrating Poetry
• Reflections
• Run on The River Opportunity May 11th
• Heart Coherence Collaborative 30 Day Challenge
• 5 minute Heart Coherance Meditation
• Interesting Articles/Delicious Recipes
• OEBB Wellness Webinars
• Active April Calendar

Dear SSD Staff,

Welcome back from spring break! We hope you had a chance to recharge and enjoy some downtime.

As we get back into the swing of things, we want to invite you to take care of yourselves. Whether it's going for a walk, practicing mindfulness, or simply taking deep breaths, find what helps you feel good and make time for it.

Let's also take a moment each day to appreciate the good things around us. It could be a kind gesture from a student, a breakthrough in a lesson, or even just a sunny day.

Remember, your well-being matters, and it impacts our connections with others. Let's keep being awesome educators and showing our students what it means to take care of ourselves.

Here's to a fabulous return!

Sincerely,

Your Wellness Committee

"Wherever you are, be there totally."- Eckhart Tolle

Sign Up Here

Sound Bath (20)

Bring mind, body, and spirit into harmony with this ancient healing modality of sound and vibration. Located at Living Fit Yoga.

Candy Workshop with Brian Taylor (16)

Come enjoy a sweet candy making experience at Bruce's Candy Kitchen.

Fabric Painting with Tori (12)

Learn about fabric painting techniques and understand how to use fabric paint. Explore examples of cloth painting and see how different techniques can be used. Bring some clothing item you would like to paint or cloth bags are provided.

Mindfulness Time (30)

Listen to your favorite podcast, do a meditation, read a novel, visit a neighborhood park, or take a walk on your own.

Pysanky Egg Decorating with Cate! (10)

Come decorate beautiful Ukrainian Easter Eggs, using beeswax and dyes applied in layers to create beautiful creations.

Legos Art with Becky! (20)

Create Spring flower Daffidils and add to your spring decor!

9 Holes at Seaside Golf (12)

Bring your own clubs or rent them on your own.

Seaside Aquarium (10)

Take a tour of Seaside Aquarium and feed the seals. This activity includes an optional opportunity to walk the beach and clean up plastic.

Beach Walk/Clean Up (20)

Stop by the aquarium to grab a bag and some gloves, then enjoy a relaxing walk, experiencing the joyful feeling of giving back to our earth by cleaning the beach or just take a nice brisk walk along the shoreline and breath in the ocean air.

Spring Scavenger Hunt on Trails (30)

Join your colleagues or go solo to collect tokens hidden around district buildings and along the trails. Bring in a token to the SMS office or the PRE office for a treat!

Join a health club for just $28 a month! As a Moda Health or Delta Dental member, you have access to the Active&Fit DirectTM program. For just $28 a month, you can choose from over 9,000 participating health clubs and YMCAs nationwide. We have attached the pdf informational page from Moda and this link to the Active & Fit Direct program to sign up.

Congratulations to Susan and Lucy Bartlein , Tori Keller, Shelby Gagnon and baby Lucy for winning Disney Trivia Game Night at the Times Theatre!

All participants had a great time having dinner, drinks, and participating in the trivia game. We were also blessed with an adorable children's costume parade! It was an evening of fun, laughter, and friendly competition! In case you didn't make it, there are more connection opportunities being planned in the future.

Do you have a favorite, comical, inspirational, and/or empowering poem and would like to share it with others so that we all benefit? If so, we would love you to complete this quick form.

Thank you Suzanna Kruger for the beautiful Lao Tzu quote, and Shelby Gagnon for the profound poem by William Stafford titled, The Way It Is. Sometimes wellness is a good poem or a thought provoking quote.

Seaside Aquarium

"Keith Chandler gave us a great tour of the Seaside Aquarium. What a great opportunity to see all of the marine creatures and to meet Sassy, the octopus. I've never touched an octopus before, and the suction of the tentacles was surprising. It was also fun to watch my colleagues getting splashed by the seals!"- Karma Herd

Beach Clean Up

"I had a great time doing beach clean-up! It was a beautiful, brisk day, and I appreciated the quality time I got to spend with my dear friend and colleague. Picking up trash felt like a weirdly satisfying treasure hunt and it was cool to see other beachgoers respond positively to what we were doing. Hopefully we set a trend in motion!"- Jane Forman

Laser Tag

"It was so fun to play laser tag with colleges! Running around in the dark with lasers makes you feel like a kid again. Thank you for the opportunity to forget everything else going on and just have fun for an hour."- Chelsea Archibald

Hiking

"I really liked using the trails around our schools. It was the perfect length to chat, breath, and enjoy the outdoors. It reset me for the afternoon and evening. The view, cool weather, sunshine and chats allowed me to refill and feel grounded."- Jane Crater

Alcohol Ink Art

"Alcohol ink art was a chance to mix and build layers of color to create abstract images. I love to experiment with art forms that require more patience than skill and have an element of chance rather than control. Rarely do I have an opportunity to create visual art especially in the company of others and I really enjoyed it! I would definitely try it again."- Suzanna Fry

Candy Making

"It was so fun! We learned a lot about the candy making process. The best part was all the taste testing!"- Joy Duff

"I loved getting to go to Bruce's and hear all about how they make their candies as well as getting to sample some taffy and chocolates!"- Grace Bruncke

Mindfulness TIme

"I had a wonderful mindful walk with my dog on the riverfront! I would absolutely do this activity again."- Megan Sparks

Big Shout out to Suzy for sharing with us an opportunity to participate in the Run On the River event! If people use code SUZY they can save 10% off Run on the River registrations!

"It's one of our favorite runs! Collin, James, and I have all run the 5k a few times and Collin and I are doing the 10k this year! It's a great one to run or walk! The views are beautiful, the course is flat, and there is Buoy Beer after! It would be fun to have other district folks join!" - Suzy Wintjen

The flyer is attached and here is a link to the registration page:

https://raceroster.com/events/2024/80988/astorias-run-on-the-river-half-marathon-10k-and-5k

ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

The purpose of The 30 Day Heart Coherence Challenge is to help people access the healing power of their own heart. Through daily meditations, heart coherence practices, an uplifting and interactive community, and interviews with our incredible guest speakers, our community will have access to techniques and wisdom that will promote a significant increase in well-being.

The event takes place within The Heart Coherence Collaborative Facebook group and through our YouTube channel. The goal for everyone participating in the challenge is to complete one heart coherence technique or meditation a day for 30 days, which we will provide within the group (or you can access a list on our YouTube). Every night during the challenge, we come together as a community and watch a YouTube premiere of one of our guest speakers or performers.

What are the benefits of Heart Coherence?

- Increased energy and vitality
- Immune system reinforcement
- Enhanced creativity
- Better stress and anxiety management
- Deep inner peace
- Increased intuition

Studies conducted with over 11,500 people have shown improvements in mental & emotional well-being in just 6-9 weeks using HeartMath training and technology:

56% drop in depression
48% drop in fatigue
46% drop in anxiety
38% improvement in calmness
30% improvement in sleep
24% improvement in the ability to focus

Summary: A new study unveils how the brain enters the creative flow state, famously known as being “in the zone.” By analyzing jazz improvisations through EEGs, the research confirms that creative flow combines extensive experience with a conscious release of control, allowing for automatic idea generation.

This “expertise-plus-release” model suggests that deep creative flow is more accessible to those with significant experience and the ability to let go. The findings offer a new understanding of flow, challenging previous theories and opening avenues for enhancing creativity through practice and relinquishment of control.

Key Facts:

1. The study supports the “expertise-plus-release” theory of creative flow, indicating that expertise and the ability to release control are essential for achieving deep creative states.
2. High-flow states are associated with increased activity in the brain’s auditory and touch areas, and decreased activity in executive control regions, supporting the idea of reduced conscious control during creative flow.
3. Practical implications suggest that achieving productive flow states requires building expertise in a creative field and then training to “let go,” enabling the brain’s specialized circuits to operate autonomously.

Springtime Wellness Tips You Will Love!

Can you feel it yet? The snow may still be lingering on the ground, but the air feels just a tiny bit softer. Maybe robins are making their first appearance on your lawn and daffodils are coming up. No matter where you live or what the weather’s doing, it’s time to shake off the winter blues, turn your face toward the sunshine, and rejuvenate yourself—right along with Mother Earth. Here are some springtime wellness tips you’ll love that are super-easy to apply in your daily routine.

Spring into a Healthier Diet

Springtime wellness begins from the inside and works its way out. So spring-clean your body by cutting out heavier winter comfort foods and adding more fresh fruits and vegetables back into your diet. Some of nature’s tastiest and healthiest edibles are in season right now: asparagus, leafy greens, strawberries, and more. You’ll naturally eliminate toxins and start to get your weight back in check for warmer weather. You’ll feel lighter, too!

Grow a New Workout Routine

Jump-start your body with a new workout. Are you a walker? Try something different for a week, like bicycling, swimming, or lifting weights. You don’t have to squeeze into spandex or cycle 30 miles; just spend the same amount of time with your new exercise as you would have by walking—you’ll awaken new muscles from their winter slumber and perhaps even discover a new passion. Changing things up is not only rejuvenating, but it can also be a trigger for weight loss.

Sprout a New Hobby

Spring is a time for moving forward and experiencing renewal. So add freshness to your life by trying something completely new. Always wanted to learn tennis? Go online and schedule lessons! According to Psychology Today, trying something outside our usual (and comfortable!) habits forces us to grow, which in turn contributes to our happiness. It may be scary at first to get out of your tried-and-true routine, but you’ll soon find there’s nothing to be afraid of, and that newness is exhilarating.

Blossom in the Great Outdoors

Winter stagnation is hard on even the happiest person—it can make you unproductive, irritable, and even depressed. A never-fail springtime wellness tip is to recharge your psychological batteries in the great outdoors. Science shows that when you venture out into nature regularly, you can enjoy:

• Improved attention span
• Boost in serotonin (the feel-good neurotransmitter)
• Increased brain activity

Consciously Cultivate a More Positive Mindset

Did you know humans think 12,000-60,000 thoughts a day, and that 80% of those thoughts are negative? Negative thoughts are draining, but if you recognize that you’re having one, you can consciously choose to change it. Switch out “I can’t” for “I can” for a week and see how differently you feel at the end of it. The chemicals produced by the body in response to positive thoughts are more likely to support you as you spring into the new season.

The Bottom Line

Even if an increased likelihood of suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder during the winter months is in your genes, how and when you choose to come out of that funk in the springtime is largely in your control—and that's a great feeling! Like a shy crocus peeking out from under the snow, being proactive takes courage, but the benefits are pure sunshine.

What comes to mind when you think of spring dinner ideas?

Maybe an appetizer of simple, fresh spring vegetables with bagna cauda? A spring pea pasta recipe with some glazed shallots and crusty bread for the main event? Carrot cake for dessert? Whatever you’re craving, whatever course, we imagine it leans on spring produce—because why wouldn’t it? It’s the best, especially after months and months of root vegetables.

The main dishes you’ll find below do what we all want them to, which is to say they feature fresh herbs, asparagus, snap peas, artichokes, leeks, spinach, watercress... It’s almost an embarrassment, the riches of green things that come with the season. Almost.

Here are our favorite veggie-forward spring dinner ideas (and when you’re ready, head over to our best springtime desserts).

Get inspiration for your journey to better health. Check out these educational wellness webinars and workshops!

• 2024 Be well webinar calendar

Recorded webinars

• Home Burnout
• A deeper dive into Moda's wellness programs and resources for OEBB members
• Work Burnout
• Social Burnout
• Work Burnout
• Inflammation 101 Webinar
• Building a Better Immune System for Lifelong Health
• Heart Health: Supporting Your Cardiovascular System
• Real Food on a Real Budget: How to Save Money by Eating Healthy
• Tools for Managing Stress & Creating a Healthier Mindset

Wellness Coordinators

Jenn Gooch (SMS)

Kathryn Zacher (PRE)

Business Manager

Toni Vandershule

Pacific Ridge Elementary School Building Leader

Chuck Albright, Debbie Hillman

Seaside Middle School Building Leaders

Natalie Dyroff, Wendy Crozier, Shelby Gagnon, Karma Herd

Seaside High School Building Leaders

Julie Greene, Vinh Pham, Katharine Parker, Chelsea Archibald

District Office

Amy Santilli

Bus Barn Building Leader

Tonya Wilson

Contact us at wellness@seasidek12.org

Follow us on Instagram @ssdeverydaywellness

Join us on our SSD Facebook group