This year Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) was September 21 to 27, with the theme - Reimagine Wellbeing Together: He Tirohanga Anamata. It was more timely than ever as we reflect on the uncertainties and stresses caused by COVID-19 in 2020. Our team took some time out to redefine and rediscover what wellbeing looks like with two special guests and a day of doing nothing.
First to visit us was "that blind woman", Julie Woods. Julie is an inspirational speaker and coach who was declared legally blind over 20 years ago. During this time she visited 50 countries by the time she was 50, including the Seven Wonders of the World, she’s refereed three games of nude touch rugby and now has a dream to write 1 million names in braille. Needless to say she was a true inspiration for overcoming obstacles and keeping a positive outlook.
Our team learnt the proper way to introduce yourself to a blind person. So next team we see Julie wandering the shopping isle we will say: "Hello Julie! My name is__________ I am a __________ and we met at Firebrand."
She also left us all a copy of her incredible book - Why Not? What a blind woman said to "Do you want to referee a game of nude touch rugby?" And more. If you haven't met Julie before, we highly recommend getting her in for an inspirational session with her team. You can read more about her and her story here: www.thatblindwoman.co.nz
We also took part in a very ? interesting and shaky TRE session. Ever heard of it? Thankfully we had Lynette from Mosgiel Holistic Centre guiding us through what to do. The session really opened our teams mind to the idea of Trauma and tension releasing exercises for relaxation.
And lastly, our NOPE day. It was great and we loved the response from the general public that this is something they'd like to do too! Couldn't agree more.