Generation Wellness Announcements, Resources, and Spotlights

Stillness is the absence of movement or sound.

Can you remember a time when you stayed still for a moment, tuning into the present moment, aside from trying to go to sleep? How did it feel? Was your mind and body relaxed? Or was your mind buzzing with to dos, planning details, or ruminating over what happened throughout the day?

The idea of surrendering to stillness is counter-cultural to our fast paced, always on the go society. Multi-tasking is often the norm and we may feel that every second of the day is scheduled with an activity that needs to get done. In the midst of such busyness, many of us secretly long for a simpler life. One that reflects a slower pace, where we are able to relax and enjoy some peace of mind. We may fantasize about getting away from it all or leaving our responsibilities behind. But rather than retreating to a cabin in the woods or catching the next plane to a beachside villa, the real solution is to learn how to maintain a sense of inner peace while...

It's that time of year again... The Annual Gratitude Apparel Sale is here!

Thank you for all the ways in which you show up for your students, staff, and your community. You matter. We love you. And now it's time to celebrate YOU with 20% all apparel. 

Click here to start shopping now: https://www.generationwellness.shop/shop/apparel/2
Use the code: GRATITUDE
Sale ends November 26th, 2021

A great video to share with staff as we start a new school year filled with change, challenges, and the potential for transformation. Staff and students are stressed. Connection and empathy are going to be our super powers this school year.

[0:15] Empathy fuels connection.

[0:17] Sympathy drives disconnection

[0:30] 4 qualities of empathy

[1:00-2:30] Examples that show how empathy and sympathy are different.

Soul Pancake researched the effects of sympathy vs. empathy and on average people who received sympathy were less happy than people (happiness dropped by -6.71%) who received empathy (happiness increased by +6.92%). What is the different between sympathy and empathy? Empathy fuels connection while sympathy drives disconnection.

Welcome to “WellVille", a wellness center for district staff in Long Island, New York. In this episode of the GW Spotlight, Debbi Rakowsky, school social worker in the Three Village School District, shares her insights about creating a space for educators to pause, connect, and shift from a culture of burnout to balance. In this video, you will learn:

• How WellVille got started
• A typical school day in WellVille (virtual + in-person)
• Equipment for the staff wellness center
• How WellVille provides free counseling + workshops for staff
• A creative way to get your walking steps in throughout the school day
• Ideas for staff check-ins and support
• How to get funding for your staff wellness center
• The #1 thing you need to start your own staff wellness center

With compassion fatigue, anxiety, and depression on the rise, we must shift the paradigm of self-care is a luxury to self-care is a priority. As you will see from watching this video, Debbi shows us...

QUOTABLE: "Childhood self-control predicts physical health, personal wealth and public safety. Self-control is more important than intelligence and social class."

This TED Talk walks through the benefits of teaching mindfulness to our students and challenges the idea of why we don't do it more often. Our focus is often on the test scores, the quality of a paper, or the ability to spell properly. The skills underneath all of those standards can be achieved through mindfulness.  Mindfulness is the foundation of all learning, it is teaching others how to pay attention, focus, attain to a task, and retain information. In turn, these skills will help students accomplish those academic tasks, and become more successful adults.

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yJPcdiLEkI

This month’s experiment is about connecting with 1-3 people and sharpening our empathy super powers. What better time to do this than right now during so much uncertainty, stress, and grief with the pandemic? Everyone is facing some type of battle and connection is the key.

“Empathy is a way to connect to the emotion another person is experiencing; it doesn’t require that we have experienced the same situation they are going through.” -Brene Brown

Empathy is not trying to fix the problem or share your story, rather it’s about listening for understanding, validating emotions, and expressing words, body language, and tone that create a sense of “feeling felt”.

[EXPERIMENT] The invitation is to reach out to 1-3 people and connect with them. Maybe ask about their “rose” and “thorn” or “high” and “low” during this pandemic. Practice empathizing vs. sympathizing to increase feeling seen, heard,...

Do you remember the feeling you felt in May 2020 when the world watched George Floyd take his last breath?

Do you remember the discussions that followed?

Do you remember when we promised you that we wouldn't stop facilitating important discussion around equity, awareness, and social change, even when the media had stopped talking about it?

We are back and we hope you will join us tomorrow for the Fall 2020 LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.

Here is the link to register for the Zoom Call facilitated by Generation Wellness Trainer, RJay Barsh at November 18, 2020, 4pm PST: REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED.

You are invited to ask an anonymous question after registering. The video above provides a few clips from the previous Let's Talk About It sessions. See you soon!