WHAT IS A LUNCH & LEARN?
At its simplest, a Lunch & Learn program is a training or development event scheduled during—you guessed it—lunch hour.
Lunch and learn training is a less structured and less formal event, with a variety of interesting topics that add direct value to our team. The goal is to bring experts in from a variety of different disciplines to share their knowledge with our team.
To kick off this program, we had Tamara Childs—a clinical counselor and health & wellness enthusiast—to share some best practices to build and maintain resilience.
The goal of a Lunch & Learn is to bring experts in from a variety of different disciplines to share their knowledge with our team.
Tamara kicked off the session with a mindfulness exercise to get everyone in a relaxed and focused space. She even shared an amazing resource with the team from Palouse Mindfulness.
Below are the FIVE top takeaways from Tamara’s very impactful webinar.
MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness is simply being here and now. It’s the experience of getting outside of our ‘thinking and feeling’ brains and getting into our ‘noticing’ brains. Mindfulness practice is fantastic in helping us calm down our amygdala. The amygdala is responsible for activating our sympathetic nervous system—our fight, flight or flee system that we spend way too much time in.
A simple and effective way to calm down the amygdala is with mindful breathing, like with the easy practice below.
Mindfulness Breathing Practice:
- Breathe in for 4 seconds
- Holding breath for 2 seconds
- Exhale for 6 seconds
- Holding for 2 seconds
- Repeat
HOPE
Hope is the substance that helps us to wake up and face the day with a smile on our face and go forward.
Hope has a couple main ingredients:
- Belief that You Can Cope: I’ll be okay no matter what the future brings.
- Optimism: Seeing uncertainty as an opportunity for success; “Good things and new opportunities are ahead!”
Anxiety and despair can create tunnel vision, so instead, use your mind to incorporate a complete picture of truth to help nurture hope.
Use this strengths-based framework below to foster hope and weed out anxiety and despair: When it comes to the past… recall past successes and times you overcame challenges.
At present… balance accomplishment and rest—lean into the discomfort.
And for the future… Engage your sense of wonder!
SOCIAL CONNECTION
Humans are pack animals. Togetherness is essential for each one of us to feel safe and connected.
We all desire to be seen, heard, and feel a sense of belonging. So, it’s important to consider the following questions:
- Who do you want to have in the front seat of your life?
- Who do you trust and thus are willing to be vulnerable with?
- How can you build and nurture social connection and belonging in your life?
Random Acts of Kindness
Nothing fosters social connection better than being kind to others. Think about how you can be kind and selfless by performing a random act of kindness for someone.
Random acts of kindness (or RAKs) have been scientifically proven to improve mood and the sense of well-being.
Unsure of how to be kind? What gifts do you have that you’d enjoy bestowing upon others? You could…
- have people over and be hospitable
- share your skills and abilities
- lend a listening ear
- give a much-needed hug
VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
More powerful than any pill you can take. It IS medicine!
Dr. Stephen Ilardi, clinical psychologist, author of The Depression Cure and professor at the University of Colorado.
We have lived in our current industrialized state for only 200 of the 1.8M years of humanity which equals 0.0001%, but scientists speculate hunter-gatherers got over four hours of physical activity every single day and had the physiques of professional athletes. Our biology still craves being outside, moving, getting sunshine, eating whole, fresh foods, and being together.
A Few Ideas To Get Active
- YouTube HIIT
- Hiking
- Biking
- Power Walking
- Weight Training/Crossfit
- Rock Climbing/Bouldering
- Tag & Soccer with your kids
ASKING, TRUSTING, AND LETTING GO
Noticing how you’re feeling along with any burdens you’re carrying will help you let things go. Connecting with the Universe (or God) by asking for things that we want and/or need is a way of taking care of ourselves. It helps us focus our intentions and let go of things that are out of our control. Bring any request you have to the universe—no request is too large, too small or insignificant. Do you need…
- Some support getting through the day?
- Help with a relationship?
- Assistance with making progress on a particular challenging task?
- Information, insight, support, or a friend?
Put your request in the universe’s hands, trust it’s been heard, and let it go.
WRAPPING UP
Use these 5 useful practices from Tamara to help build and maintain resilience in your life, take where they suit your life best.
If you enjoyed these tips and would like to connect with Tamara further or learn more about her practice, visit her website and be sure to follow her on YouTube and Facebook.
For more successful sessions of lunch & learn, check out these blog posts:
Want to become part of our team? Check out our job openings HERE. Our office is located in historic Downtown Abbotsford, BC, but our HQ is virtual!
