Written by Kaycee Briones, NAMI TAY 2024 volunteer with a deep passion for serving the community and advocating for mental health and well-being.
August is wellness month and before the month ends, I want to talk about what wellness is and examples of what you can do to take care of your mind, body, and soul.
Always be in pursuit of wellness. Even the smallest things can make a difference. Your own personal wellness is finding out what works for you and your quality of life is defined by you and only you.
Table of Contents
Defining Wellness
Wellness is dynamic and function altogether. There are six different types of wellness: emotional, intellectual, physical, spiritual, occupational, and social. We have to actively make choices that will lead to the outcome of positive wellbeing and that is based on our behaviors and lifestyle.
Examples of What You Can Do!
We’re ever-changing because we’re humans and it’s a part of life–to change. My wellness at fifteen especially when it came to emotional, spiritual, mental, and social wellness was greatly different compared to now being twenty-four years of age. I’m older and have experienced more in life.
Everything has changed, but change is good because it has pushed me to improve myself and my wellness. I maintain my wellness by going out and being with nature. I love being outside and soaking up the sun. Connecting with the environment positively affects my mental and physical health. There are social running and walking clubs around the Peninsula and East Bay that impact physical, mental, and social wellness. As we get older, creating friendships and maintaining a good balance of our wellness can be hard. Joining a running and/or walking club is a great way to incorporate physical movement while socializing. You can attend solo (if you’d like) or go with a friend!
Always Be Great Run Club
Always Be Great (ABG) run club was recently created by a twenty-four year old educator named Jeremy. He founded the run club three months ago May 2024 because of his pursuit for community and a ‘third space’ that is inclusive to everyone–whether you are a beginner or a pro everyone and anyone is welcome with open arms.
Jeremy’s running journey and the creation of ABG run club started when he hit one of the lowest point in his life. “I couldn’t sleep for two weeks straight. I only got two hours of sleep. I was also experiencing depressive symptoms and my self-image was low,” he said. So, Jeremy decided to make one of the greatest changes in his life. He turned to running something which he never thought he would love.
At our weakest, we have room to grow. We can always get back up and be better. Trying uncomfortable things is scary. Change will always be daunting because of the unfamiliarity, but there is something beautiful with
the unknown. You can eventually love it or dislike it, but recognizing you have tried is already a step in the direction of optimal wellness and positive self-talk.
I can confidently say that running and the amount of confidence that I gained from it is on a level that i’ve never experienced before. No other medium in my life has given me this amount of confidence and self-esteem. For me, personally this is the one activity/hobby and push that I needed to make me understand my self value and my self worth.
Jeremy’s love for running created a beautiful third space that welcomes all to run, foster connections, and improve their wellness. ABG run club has also collaborated with other neighboring run clubs and will continue to collaborate with other local Bay Area small businesses because it is important in the club’s mission and for the founder himself to support and represent the community. More small business collaborations will occur in the following next months for Always Be Great run club. ABG’S tagline is, “A Third Space for All” and meets every Sunday at 1 PM throughout various locations in the Bay Area. Their running schedule can be viewed on their Instagram.
East Bay Girls Who Walk Club
For all the girls who are located in the East Bay who want to walk, there is a perfect club for you! The East Bay Girls Walk Club is a walking social club founded by Marlene in July 2023. She created the club when she moved to the East Bay a little over two years ago. She found that many women around her were experiencing loneliness and lack of community, so Marlene decided to create a safe space for women to come together, socialize, and create friendships while improving their physical and mental health.
The walks are low-intensity, easily accessible, and mommy-friendly. The best part about the walking club is that there are several walks in a month throughout the East Bay and meet all over like in Richmond, Oakland, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, Hayward, Fremont, and other East Bay cities. There are plenty of locations and times you can attend! The club has also collaborated with small businesses and has hosted social events apart from walking for their members to enjoy like painting and flower arrangements which I believe is fantastic to build connection and foster a strong community within the club, but also in the East Bay area.
On benefits of mental and physical benefits by walking, Marlene shares:
“The simple act of moving your body and even the simple task of getting out of your house can be so refreshing and grounding for our minds. Besides the obvious physical benefits, walking is mostly accessible and attainable for those that are not necessarily “in shape” to do more rigorous activities such as hiking. So, it allows them to still be active without fear or even possible injury.”
Conclusion
Social running and walking clubs are fantastic, but if you also prefer to run or walk solo without a social club that is also great. Anything to get your body moving can impact wellness.
Another example of improving wellness that I find to be very helpful is journaling. We can write down thoughts whether it’s positive or negative and it helps us identify patterns, can make us self-reflect, and decrease anxiety. I have been journaling since I was ten years old. I’m twenty four now and it is bittersweet to look back on my thoughts when I was just ten years old and see myself mature throughout the years and reminisce on the memories. I don’t know a world without journaling down my life and all my thoughts and feelings. It really does help so much.
Last, but not least I find to also be very helpful is to get creative! Read! Put your phone away and pick up a book that you like, unwind, get cosy and read. I love reading and I find it reduces a lot of stress, improves my brain function because it can help with my concentration skills and my creativity whilst improving my literacy. You know what they say: We live a thousand lives by reading.It’s important to nurture the creative part in ourselves. We’re surrounded by art, so it’s also important to never let the creativity in all of us to dim. Take care of your mind, body, and soul. Always.
