Step Away From Your Computer /March 6

Everything has its month, right? Or a week. Or a day. In the U.S., March is National Nutrition Month, Brain Injury Month, Liver Disease Month and Hemophilia Awareness Month. But March is also Women's History Month, and this Friday, March 8 is International Women's Day! If the chalkboard is available, consider sharing your favorite woman from history there. Also, seriously consider acknowledging the current women in your life who support you.

Finally, did you know that March is Workplace Eye Wellness Month? They seem to be talking a lot about something called "Computer Vision Syndrome," which is essentially irritated and fatigued eyes from looking at your screen too long. Right now you have been looking at your screen for too long. So step away from your computer and your devices and go get yourself some other kind of wellness, but before you go...

Related to last week's blog, a friend shared this TedTalk which I found really interesting and so am now reading Lisa Feldman's book, which provides a well-researched dive into the science of our emotional lives (we have more control than we think).

LOOKING AHEAD - April 24 is our next Faculty Wellness afternoon. Want to host or teach an activity for your peers? If you've been holding back, this is the time to take a risk. You will gain major brownie points and admiration from your colleagues, most especially, from me. Please fill out this form:
https://goo.gl/forms/2RtjbF9Q9gQf5tjY2 

When you fall off the swing

Adulting

We are all facing challenges. What we don't always have immediate access to are the emotional, social, and intellectual tools we need to face them. Here's a common sense approach (from Seattle Pacific University) that supports the idea that we can prepare ahead for difficult situations of all kinds. It suggests that being proactive, and consciously trying to anticipate challenges, will help you deal with them when they actually arrive - in other words, you can't avoid the stressors, but you can minimize that feeling of being blindsided when they pop up.  Sort of like future lesson planning for the soul. Here are some questions to help you plan for difficult situations:

• What are my strengths?
• What are my weaknesses?
• What upcoming challenges can I plan for?
• How do I handle negative situations? When these situations occur, how do I typically manage them?
• What resources (people, activities, or things) could assist me in handling challenging situations?
• How will I plan to focus on my strengths during challenging situations?

Yes, it can be kind of a dry list, but it also seems to be about trusting yourself to have what you need to either handle a difficult challenge or to know that it's appropriate to get the help you need to handle it. Remember that no problem is solvable until we take responsibility for how it affects us and how we might want it to be different. 

Finally, if you're with me on the pursuit of a good night's sleep, here's a podcast you might like: ON MORNINGS 

Happy Wednesday!

What's coming up:

March 2 Foodie Tour with bhilary@aischennai.org (maybe 1 more spot. If interested, email Hilary, bhilary@aischennai.org)

March 8 (a Friday) is International Women's Day. This year's official theme is #BeBoldForChange, and encourages men and women everywhere to take groundbreaking steps for gender equality. This is a great opportunity to stand up, speak out, and be heard. Make your online pledge to #BeBoldForChange, and share your support visually on social media. The pledge lets you choose from a range of different women’s issues. Maybe a group photo op in the Unity Courtyard?

Wellness Academy classes continue. Thank you so much to all of our instructors.

Monday Morning Yoga 6:30am HOL

Open Climbing (with students) Thursday 4:45 - 5:30

Buttermilk and her friends:

Breadth and Variety

Here's what I think: We are complex machines and work-life balance may just be a beautiful dream. There's a lot of very diverse jobs we just have to contend with every day. Believing we can be super competent in all of them is just a set up. To be clear, I think it's great if you're really good at something in particular - maybe just don't drop all the other balls you're juggling just because you're not an expert in all those other things. Believe or not, you (and your students) don't have to do everything 'well.' I'd like to share this video that promotes "Breadth and Variety" over "Total Focus Perfection" - embracing the fact that we make tons of mistakes, and that's pretty much normal.

https://youtu.be/MPR3o6Hnf2g

In the Loop:

Lots of self care to get you through the next week on  your long weekend.

March 2 Foodie Tour with bhilary@aischennai.org (full)

March 8 (a Friday) is International Women's Day. This year's official theme is #BeBoldForChange, and encourages men and women everywhere to take groundbreaking steps for gender equality.This is a great opportunity to stand up, speak out, and be heard. Make your online pledge to #BeBoldForChange, and share your support visually on social media. The pledge lets you choose from a range of different women’s issues. Maybe a group photo op in the Unity Courtyard?

Wellness Academy classes continue. Thank you so much to all of our instructors.

Monday Morning Yoga 6:30am HOL

Open Climbing (with students) Thursday 4:45 - 5:30

Giving Up on Giving Up

Wellness Academy Bollywood Dance Class

One of the people I follow, who's words speak to me almost ever day, is fantasy author Chuck Wendig. He's not only wickedly funny, he says smart things too, reminding me that progress doesn't always look like progress. and that trying and failing is still called "doing." Here's what he has to say about the dreaded word FAILURE (btw, he's a NYT bestselling novelist with 20 books to date):

My path through that forest of failure — and, eventually, success — is a pretty janky, drunken zig-zag. (As I make fun of here.) It’s a stumbling tumble working counter monkey at coffee places and as an IT guy for a fashion company and selling computers and doing marketing for the library system and then there was game writing and screenwriting and transmedia writing and comics and, and, and. It’s a whole lot of not writing novels, while also trying very hard (and failing very hard) at writing novels.

It was a lot of giving up, and (thankfully) even more giving up on giving up.

So, I’m cool with being a failed novelist. Because there was just no other way.

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2019/01/15/in-writing-progress-doesnt-always-look-like-progress/

Along those lines, here's a refrigerator magnet my kid sent me on exactly the right day:

Hope you all have a great week!



What else is happening?

Morning Yoga with Mary Kelly 6:30 - 7:30 Mondays! Place TBD. Watch for Wellness Post about this great opportunity. Thank you, Mary!

Introverts: Get this useful app or use the online version on your laptop: https://www.urbanclap.com/chennai
Urbanclap App .  Good for all kinds of services to come straight to your home: massage, yoga, language lessons, and more. You choose your price range. Thanks, Nick!


The Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network

For a late night tour of turtle conservation, check out https://sstcn.org. They are serious conservationists dedicated to protecting the Ridley turtle population here in our own neighborhood. 

How to get through February 2/6

Wellness Academy Swim Fitness Class

I usually dread February. Less so in India than I did in the U.S., because it is, after all, our "spring." February is often beautiful here and there are still days that you can get out and see things without melting into a puddle of organic waste. But it still tends to work like this: In December I have my break and in January I am still feeling its afterglow, and am excited to get going with all the spontaneous brilliant ideas that have come into my head (even though most of them are really just average) - yet February still carries a stigma for me. I need to reclaim this month. It accounts for 8.3% of my year. So here's what people have kindly suggested I do:

Listen to music a lot, exercise, abstain from alcohol altogether, limit my news intake, watch films and read books that aren't so edgy, hang with friends, and avoid depressing people. If you have some other suggestions for me, please add them in the comments section. Am I alone in this?

From Instagram Account of newyorkercartoons

In the

Hope you all are enjoying your Wellness Academy Classes. 

Great Artisans Fair!

RIDLEY RUN 19 HELP SAVE THE TURTLES - Palavakkam! 17-Feb-2019

Details:Ridley Run 19 Run to #SaveBabyTurtles. We can be the Difference ! Call Hafiz Khan 99401 42349 for Group Bookings Registration: https://www.eventjini.com/ridleyrun18 Reporting time for Ridley Run : 05:15 AM 05:15 - 05:45 AM ~ ZUMBA Warm Up with Zin Vatsy Chennai Line-up for 5K : 05:45 AM ~ Run Start time : 06:00 AM Line-up for 3K : 06:10 AM ~ Run Start time : 06:03 AM Line-up for 1K : 06:25 AM ~ Run Start time : 06:05 AM Organizers Website: https://www.facebook.com/events/203623916878573/

Getting Ready for February

Hi AISC,

A colleague friend of mine (right here at this school!) forwarded this to me some time ago. I absolutely love the sentiment and the DRAWINGS, so I'm sharing it with you too. Be forewarned, the title is 'Lost Cat: An Illustrated Meditation on Love, Loss, and What It Means To Be Human.'

In the 

Wellness Academy is up and running and I want to thank all of our 'teachers': Ms. Becky, James D., Gio, Calley, Preethi, Kala, and Bindu. If you're inspired to "teach the teachers," think about what you can share for our Wellness Afternoon this spring (April 24, to be exact), and then let me know!

I know that the rooms at IDEAL BEACH fill up fast, but if you couldn't get a room, you might still be able to get a day pass for March 9 or 10. Please let me know if and when you plan on going (whether it's overnight or a day pass) so that I can arrange to have your lunch paid for. rbeth@aischennai.org

Also, I hope you saw this about camping - we have a long weekend coming up again in February that this would be perfect for. 

Finally, thanks to our leadership working in conjunction with HRT to help us all embrace the culture of WELLBEING at AISC. See Andrew's release regarding use of the fitness facilities during school hours. 

Spring Wellness Academy starting in February!

I'm excited about the Spring Wellness Academy Classes beginning soon. Officially they will start February 4th, but some of them are ongoing. We'll have offerings in Bollywood Dance, Track Fitness, Heartfulness Meditation, CrossFit, Beginning and Intermediate Swim, South Indian Cultural Class and Needlework. Here's a "view only" glimpse. These will be open for sign up beginning at 8:00 tomorrow (Thursday) morning. 

Some of you might be challenging yourselves to increase your level of fitness. I'm sure I'm not the only one who notices that starting a new exercise "routine," and sticking to it are difficult to do. Doing something that's actually kind of hard (because muscles are stretching and scarring) is not the easiest thing to embrace. But I read that there's a big difference to be had between seeing yourself as someone who does exercise vs. seeing yourself as someone who is a regular exerciser. In other words, if you want to change something, think of yourself as someone who already exhibits that change, giving yourself, and not the desire, more agency. 

No surprise that there are unlimited tips online for being that healthier self (this is big business). However, here are some that I like, in no particular order (except for the first one, which is Put Yourself First, which by definition, has to be first):

1. Put yourself first.
2. Develop a 'move more' mindset (regular, everyday movement - like using the stairs).
3. Find your favorite exercise - also do you prefer to exercise alone, in a group, or with a partner? 
4. Focus on health and strength, not numbers on a scale.
5. Be future focused, not on regret.
6. Remind yourself of the Whys. 

That's all the wisdom I have. Happy Wellness Wednesday!

Want something cultural and beautiful to do this long weekend? 

Look at the workshops and talks at the India Quilt Festival. https://www.indiaquiltfestival.com/workshops

Some of our own people have quilts in this show!

Welcome Back and Happy New Year - January 2019

Welcome back and welcome to 2019! I hope your break was everything you'd hoped for, and more. Some of us got married, some of us procured new jobs, some of us went bungie jumping, some of us hung out with family, and some of us slept. 

And keeping with that theme (as well as jetlag): Does anyone else fall asleep as soon as they lay down in bed and pick up a book to read? I sometimes can't get past a first chapter because I have to keep re-reading the same page because it's either like I'm sleepwalking when I read it, or it keeps falling out of my hands and waking me back up! Or, back in the day when we used to have to "rent" movies (your remember this thing called Blockbuster?), I kept checking out the same movie and Jan would have to tell me I'd already checked it out but I kept falling asleep as soon as I hit the couch so I never really saw it. He, on the other hand, could describe what was going to happen in great detail. Wow, he is magic! I didn't know if this was normal or because I've actually advanced into "the dying process" (I'd love to take credit for that term, but Chrissy Teigan said it and I've been saying it ever since). But recently I read something that made me think that I can't pin this on the overly stressed-out, overly extended work life, it's just simple conditioning. A sleep researcher pointed out that the brain is a very associative device that will build a connection between reading and going to bed, my couch and a movie, or worse, your bed and wakefulness. He also says that pill-induced sleep isn't really sleep at all, it's just knocking out your cortex (this has put him as a provocateur with the pharmacology business). The key is regularity. No matter what time you get to bed, try to wake up at the same time in the morning. That means 'get up', not just 'wake up' even though there appear to be people who are actually genetically hardwired to be night creatures. If you do your best work at night, good for you - but that makes creation of a routine almost more important. You can read more about this in Matthew Walker's book Why We Sleep. Anyhow, good to see you all back!

Let's get this AISC Faculty Wellness going again.

This is a good time to reacquaint yourself with all of the resources and opportunities at AISC: the pool, the track, the people, the fitness center, the greenery...

Help us help ourselves by sharing your skills. We'd like to get the Wellness Academy going as soon as possible, so if you want to 'teach' something, please do so! Here's the form, which will be available until Feb. 1. 

Also...Email me your questions or just sign up now to be a buddy to new staff next year. Do you remember what that was like?

We are desperately looking for social buddies for the incoming new teaching class arriving July 24, 2019. Before you make summer plans, Buddy Duty begins on Saturday, July 27th. If you filled out this form, I'm so sorry, would you please do it again or shoot me an email? Thank you. 

Duties will include:

• Corresponding with their assigned new teacher once assigned (before the end of the school year).
• Offering to Skype/email over the summer to answer last minute questions and give packing tips.
• Attend parts of the last few days of New Teacher Orientation specifically:
• Lunch and local shopping trip followed by dinner at Andrew’s (Sat, 7/27)
• Coordinating individual shopping trips to Phoenix Mall and/or other places (Sun, 7/28)
• Coordinating dinner and/or delivery with company if the new person so desires on days when group dinners are not provided (Mon/Tues, 7/29 & 7/30)
• Act as the new teacher’s “go-to” person for non-academic matters throughout the year.While there is no compensation for coming forward to be a buddy, you will receive the unending thanks of the new person (or people) you befriend and our eternal gratitude! Of course it goes without saying that your meals are covered on the four days of New Teacher Orientation.

Reflections 2018

Let me start out by saying I'm almost positive somebody said something profound to me at the Holiday Party last Friday, but I can't remember what it was for the life of me. So, if I said "Wow, I'm going to add that to my blog next week," I am sorry.

Wellness Matters hopes that you all have an exciting, restful, rejuvenating, whateveryouneed break. If you, like me, don't go for the New Year's Resolution thing, set aside some time to talk to a friend, family member, or to just journal. A great 'share' with someone you love and trust is to try answering these questions together:

• What have I accomplished this year?
• Who has meant the most to me during the good and bad times?
• Where do I find my strength?
• Who has pleasantly surprised me this year?
• What was my biggest lesson learned this year?
• What am I feeling right now?
• Is my life aligned with my values?
• What’s one thing I want to change for next year?

(questions from The Chopra Center)

If you already know of a class you'd like to offer for the spring WELLNESS ACADEMY, please submit this form...also, don't forget to eat your vegetables.

My gift to you: Dopamine. 1 minute and 15 seconds of watching a baby goat jump around on a stump. Yes, you can take the time to watch this.           

  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQWnIA0pJss

See you all soon.

Homesick? Totally Normal

Leaving home and working abroad is a big adjustment. In 1954, Kalervo Oberg, a Canadian anthropologist, shared four common stages of cultural adjustment that happens when people make this change. This is a time of year when some of us might feel particularly homesick. I have also read that international teachers often feel a 'dread' about returning after having just enough time to reacquaint themselves with what they've left behind and to experience a resurgence of homesickness. This is normal. So if you're thinking, "Hmmm, should I break my contract and stay behind?" the answer is an emphatic NO - come back and talk about what's going on with you. There are people who understand and who will listen (I will). 

Oberg described an initial honeymoon phase, when everything is new and exciting. After the honeymoon, differences start to be more noticeable and your life seems more difficult. This is what we call homesickness. At this time, you might wonder why you ever left. Eventually, it starts to even out and you are able to enjoy your new surroundings as well. Oberg describes this as the adjustment period. You are adapting and finally, you enter a new mode of "home" which is bicultural adaptation. I think it's also probably normal to float in and out of all of these on those 'certain' days. Sometimes I can cycle through these stages all in the course of one 30 minute tuk tuk ride. 

To reach bicultural adaptation, there are 3 kinds of support we need for adaptation:

1. Personal (ways of thinking and feeling) - such as keeping a sense of humour, being investigative, and being willing to fail. 
2. Social - such as plans to stay connected to our friends and relatives back home and finding 'our people' abroad. 
3. Physical - maintaining a healthy lifestyle and, surprisingly, embracing those things from home that we "can't live without" - (such as Hatch green chilis). 

When you return in January, let Faculty Wellness support you in these areas.

I want to welcome Keeley Tagtmeyer on board when she takes the reins in August as the 2019-2020 Faculty Wellness Coordinator. She'll bring great energy and ideas that promote wellbeing for all of us! Congratulate her when you see her in the hall. 

As a parting farewell for December, Wellness Matters will be offering a "lite bites" breakfast Wednesday December 19, in the morning before school in the Unity Courtyard, 7:45 - 8:25. We know some of you are trying to empty your refrigerators, and we want to help. 

Also, if you got a little suggestion card/ coupon from Wellness Matters in your box, and you don't want a coffee or tea, please give it to some other hardworking colleague who does.

Finally, when we return, we can get right on the Wellness Academy Train. If you have a special super power you'd like to share with your colleagues on a weekly basis (and I KNOW some of you do), please fill out this form. You will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams!

Unrelated video moments: A big difference I've noticed between dogs and cats is that dogs can actually feel guilt.

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TruhoFdFfg

Listening to Your Heart, Literally

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/05/01/want-empathetic-listen-heart-beat-scientists-say/

I have always wondered why do doctors always listen to our hearts? What does it tell them? Should I purchase my own stethoscope? There are good reasons for us to 'listen to our hearts'. Maybe we need to change something in our lives that's harmful, or maybe we have arrhythmia.

This week I saw a study from Anglia Ruskin University where volunteers were asked to listen to their own hearts and count their heartbeats while they were shown clips of social interactions. Those who counted their beats were judged as more empathic than those who didn't. They were better able to correctly identify emotional experiences they were viewing (compared to non-social clips, where there was no difference). It came down to noticing the changes in their heart rates, such as feeling the rates increase while watching stressful social interactions and feeling empathy for the actors.

Researchers noted that not being able to process how our body responds to social situations can prevent us from responding appropriately. It also gives credence to the idea that empathy may be teachable - by helping people focus on their physical sensations. So here's a suggestion: the next time you're in (or witnessing) a stressful interaction, try feeling your pulse and see if it weirdly helps you process your feelings. At AISC we know from experience that it's really not so weird that when we "pay attention to self (and others)," we have better interpersonal interactions. Now bring your whole self into it.

It's OK to be Pretty OK.

• Please keep up the mindfulness of your water consumption - Chennai is only at 10% of its H2O goal right now. Remember that you can go to this calendar to get a tip a day until we leave school for break. Water is Life.
• Saturday, Dec. 8 Heritage Trust Tour
• Monday, Dec. 10 Operation Appreciation
• Saturday, Dec. 15 Staff Holiday Social 
• Wednesday, Dec. 19 Light Breakfast in the Unity Courtyard