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Walking to Wellness in the Florida Sunshine
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This post was written by Melissa Murray, a Graduate Student in the Department of Neuroscience.
Having formerly been an employee and now a graduate student at Mayo Clinic in Florida, the necessity for health and wellness in my life is a big factor. The LiveWell campaign really helped me to see everyday activities or changes that could be undertaken to improve my overall well being. I was excited when the Walk to Wellness program was initiated, because I did not realize I had a pattern for being a bit sedentary.
Awareness is a key component to health and sometimes it takes a simple motivation to open your eyes. My fellow students and colleagues joined in on the fun and we formed teams. We sometimes would meet on the weekends just to add more steps even after reaching our goals. I think the after-lunch walks were my favorite. To see 20 of us walking down the road chatting and checking our pedometers to learn who was ahead for the day was probably more fun than it should have been. Sometimes I would get up early and go to the gym if I knew it was going to be a day of computer analysis just to boost my team's standing. Even after the program ended, the LiveWell site offered a place for me to keep track of my activities and habits. Of course exercising is not the only key component to overall health, the site and the cafeteria have provided good food suggestions. We even have the information for our meals available to us to help in making an informed decision on what to order. Healthy body equals healthy mind, which has been quite useful in my endeavors to understand the brain.
If you are interested in learning more about employment opportunities in the Sunshine State please visit www.mayoclinic.org/jobs-jax.
