Well hello there, it's so nice to see you again:)
If you're still reading these post, we hope that means you're still following along and doing your best to apply the daily challenges and taking in the suggested readings. It's cool to think we're heading into the fifth month of Health Collective already. Our numbers continue to grow which means an ever-growing community of people who are actively taking steps to improve their lives - that's awesome.
We think you'll be pleasantly surprised with a minor change in direction from previous months' challenges but before we get into that, let's take a quick look at April.
APRIL RECAP
April proved to be a pretty positive month for the Health Collective. We received good feedback from people who said they managed to fit their daily 1km rucks in and enjoyed the suggested reading. We also saw a record 22 members make it out for the in-person 'Last Sunday' group workout!
April was all about becoming a little tougher. The daily rucks were nothing major on their own, but quickly compounded to become something more difficult when trying to complete them day in and day out, rain or shine. The suggested reading was a very interesting book that described what true toughness actually is and how you can work to cultivate that in your daily life, regardless of who you are or what your circumstances may be. And the Last Sunday workout was a bit of a beast with two 1-mile rucks and a total of 600 reps of exercises... in 26 degree sun. I think it's fair to say that if you took part in any of April's challenges, you're undoubtedly a little tougher for it.
We're extremely proud of all of you for the work you're putting in to better yourself and we're grateful for what you bring to the Health Collective simply be being part of our family. Thank you.
MAY 2022
So, what is happening in May you might be asking. Well, this month we are taking a slight departure from the general direction we've been leading you. While the goal is still, and will always be, to better yourself through the pursuit of hard things, we're choosing a different type of 'hard' for this month's set of challenges. Sometimes doing hard things means more than pushing yourself to be better through tough mental and physical challenges. Sometimes it requires learning how to slow down, be more present and show compassion to yourself as well as those around you. For that reason, we have chosen challenges for this month that will hopefully open your heart and remind you to slow down and smell the roses. Life is good, sometimes we forget that and the driving force for a lot of that 'good' is Love so this month we're going to spread it all around.
May's challenges are as follows:
SUGGESTED READING
Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
HEALTHY HABIT
We have chosen two parts to this month's Healthy Habit.
1) Practice Loving-Kindness daily
AND
2) Mail four hand-written letters to special people in your life
Loving Kindness
Just what is Loving Kindness you ask? Well there is a link to a more in-depth description below but in general it's the practice of wishing thoughts of safety, happiness and peace to someone you care about, a neutral party, someone you find difficult, yourself and then finally everyone.
Speaking from experience, this practice is extremely powerful in changing your mood and connecting you to the world around you in a positive manner. Sharon Salzberg does a fantastic job of breaking it down in this article.
Mail Four Handwritten Letters
This one is much simpler in explanation. Pick one person each week that you think would benefit from receiving a handwritten letter. The content of the letter itself really doesn't matter. It's the act of showing someone you care about them enough to take time out of your day to write a letter (not just a text or email) that matters.
*Extra Credit: Buddy Workouts
This is the first month we've added an 'extra credit' component. For those looking to do a little more this month, we thought it would be nice to add in the challenge of completing one 'buddy workout' each week in May. The guidelines are super loose on this one, you just have to reach out and complete a workout with SOMEbody each week (even if that 'buddy' if your golden retriever).
'LAST SUNDAY' GROUP WORKOUT
This month's group workout will be a 5km ruck followed by a session of power yoga led by one of our own, Nicole Sledgers.
Date: Sunday, May 22nd, 2022
Time: 10:00am
Location: German Canadian Club
Please bring a ruck or backpack for the 5km ruck and a yoga mat or blanket if you would like for the power yoga session.
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We're excited for this month and we hope you are too. Thanks again for being a part of our community and we look forward to cultivating love, peace and mindfulness with you this month!
Until next time,
Better you. Better me. Better we.
Dave & Gord
Resources
To help inform and motivate you for this month's challenges, check out these articles: 10 Reasons You Should Write More Handwritten Letters Jay Shetty - Think Like a Monk interview How Does Power Yoga Differ From Traditional Yoga? Why Loving-Kindness Takes Time Who are we? The Health Collective Where can you find us? IG: Health_Collective_