About 300 Socorro Independent School District employees, students, their families, and community members got their hearts pumping at the Healthy Body, Strong Mind Community Wellness Meetup in February at Americas High School.
With 35 health and wellness exhibitors, and fitness demonstrations from Gold’s Gym, Pure Barre, R.I.P.P.E.D. Fit Factory, and other local fitness boutiques, participants like Christopher Buntyn tried different workouts to find the one that best suited them. The event also featured giveaways, raffles and other activities and games.
“This event is great because you could come in with no knowledge or a lot of knowledge, and there are so many different types of workouts that before the day is done, you would end up finding something on the menu that you would like,” said Buntyn, theater director at Capt. Walter E. Clarke Middle School.
The Healthy Body, Strong Mind wellness program encourages overall fitness, nutrition and mindfulness for SISD faculty and staff. Activities include in-person and online fitness classes, wellness and nutrition, and mindfulness exercises. The program also has a community component to motivate students, parents, and other family members to be fit and healthy.
“Healthy Body, Strong Mind came into place to benefit the employees of our district,” Alexsia Tucker, SISD Coordinator of Sports Program/SHAC Coordinator. “So, we thought, why not open this up to our community members and allow them to take in this overall experience and benefit from wellness and health.”
Leonor Gunning, a second-grade teacher at Elfida P. Chavez Elementary and a 2023 Team SISD Teacher of the Year, led dozens of people in the Gold Gym’s workout.
Gunning, a fitness instructor for over 20 years, demonstrated a Les Mills Workout that combined body combat warm-up, yoga, tai chi, pilates, and abdominal exercises. Les Mills Workouts are group fitness classes that use choreography and music.
“I’ve been a teacher for 25 years, and I’ve been working out even before I became a teacher,” Gunning said. “Now I get to share it with my staff. I get to show them what I’ve been doing for 25 years that has helped me stay stress-free, fit, and healthy. I feel great. I feel amazing! I want them to feel like I do and feel like this every day.”
Buntyn, who also is a Healthy Body, Strong Mind facilitator, enjoyed Gunning’s full-body workout. He emphasized that exercising the mind was just as important as exercising the body.
“We got a brain-body connection,” Buntyn said. “Our brain sits up here, but the connection is into our nerves, our nervous system, our blood flow, all the way to our fingertips and toes. So, when we’re moving our whole system, we’re actually helping the body. That’s why we always hear exercise is good for mental health.”
Learn more about Health Body, Strong Mind at www.sisd.net/healthybodystrongmind and follow the program on Twitter at @SISD_HBSM.
SISD’s Healthy Body, Strong Mind meetup event photos
Published March 22, 2023
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