Solvay staff hear keynote kickoff on wellness
For the latest professional development day at the Solvay Union Free School District, Dr. Kaushal Nanvati offered a keynote kickoff to start the day. In his keynote, he provided insights on finding a positive balance with wellness by focusing on the body, mind, and spirit. Dr. Nanvati is a doctor at Upstate Medical University and the author of “CORE 4 of Wellness: Nutrition/Physical Exercise/Stress Management/ Spiritual Wellness.”Dr. Nanvati began his keynote talk by describing a tree, centering on the branches of the tree and what is seen of the tree above ground. He stressed the importance of the roots of that tree, stating that they were a symbol of wellness. He described how feeding the roots of the tree, just like feeding ourselves and our wellness, helps the tree to grow. He then relayed the importance of this balance by focusing on his audience.
“About 46 percent of teachers experience senses of feeling overwhelmed and stressed,” said Dr. Nanvati, as he began to tell the employees Solvay UFSD how to take care of their own roots.
For his talk, Dr. Nanvati focused on how teachers can better take care of themselves – and avoid the feeling of becoming overwhelmed and stressed – by being mindful of their wellness. He then described what he calls the CORE 4 of wellness – nutrition, exercise, stress management, and spiritual wellness.
For nutrition, Dr. Nanvati discussed the Harvard healthy eating plate. He stated that the Harvard healthy eating plate suggests a person have seven to nine servings of vegetables each day. He provided the audience with tips on how to incorporate vegetables into their diet, how to balance carbohydrates and proteins, and offered some healthy foods and meal suggestions. He stated that in doing all of this, they are starting to work on the first part of their overall wellness and feeding the roots.
“You have to enjoy your food… it’s fuel,” said Dr. Nanvati.
Dr. Nanvati suggested that to help the audience better their wellness, they try to stick to the 90/10 rule, which means having a healthy diet 90 percent of the time and allowing for flexibility of the diet 10 percent of the time. From here, Dr. Nanvati shifted his focus to exercise, encouraging audience members to get at least 150 minutes of exercise a week. He focused on the importance of balancing exercise in their daily lives, and recommended audience members think about scheduling time on their calendars to exercise.
Dr. Nanvati then shifted the focus to stress management and spiritual wellness. He discussed how making a list could help balance feelings of stress, and developing an action plan to complete these tasks can also help. Dr. Nanvati then transitioned to the meditation session of the keynote, handing out pieces of chocolate to each of the members in the audience, much to their delight. He talked about the importance of meditation in helping with stress management and spiritual wellness. Soft, soothing music played throughout the auditorium as he walked audience members through the meditation process.
Once the audience had completed the meditation, Dr. Nanvati closed out his keynote by encouraging audience members to take time for themselves. He encouraged them to focus on their wellness, and said that a great time to start was today, with the wellness sessions offered throughout the day. He concluded his session by encouraging his audience to feed the roots of their wellness, for not only themselves, but also their family and community.