2018-2019 Strong

What is Your Wellness?

Welcome back everyone, and to all our new staff and faculty too. As the “Wellness Coordinator” I sometimes have a hard time explaining what the AISC Wellness Matters platform is all about – because it’s about everything. It’s physical, emotional, cultural, and social. The things we do through Wellness and the activities that are offered rarely fall into one category. “It depends” and there’s always overlap. I find, though, that it always builds community and I think this is the most vital part of Wellness, as we have known it at AISC.

This summer I spent a month in Budapest and I tried out ALL the public baths I could find (I was inoculating myself for my daughter’s wedding at the end of the summer). The geographic plus is that Budapest is situated right on top of many geo-thermal springs. This fact has served them and their conquerors well over the past 2000 years of bathing. They called it the “Bathing Culture” because they knew what they had.  Beautiful tile mosaics provide visual history lessons. Some of the mineral baths are deemed medicinal and some also served as alters or sanctuaries, where deities and “healing nymphs” are/were worshipped. Some are considered “military baths” as they were purposely built directly in the military camps of 260 CE.  I enjoyed it for the shear humanity of it. Most refreshing was that no one seemed to give a rip about how they looked in their bathing suits – it’s just about community and self-care.

Parental Warning: This picture is rated PG:

Our Wellness Matters community is now past its infancy. It should, and will, keep changing and evolving as new faculty and staff arrive. We are what we make it. I hope that this year Wellness supports you in maintaining a healthy balance, and that you are likewise able to influence our direction. I invite everyone to jump in, take risks, relax, and to just be your own fabulous selves because that’s when it really works.

Looking forward to a great year everyone.

-Beth