Mind YOUR Health at Fit Chicks
May is Mental Health Month
“Your body cannot heal without play. Your mind cannot heal without laughter. Your soul cannot heal without joy,” ~ Catherine Rippenger Fenwick
Let’s move the needle on mental health, resilience, and happiness - together!
LADIES! We have some things in the works coming for May to help us shine a light on our mental health in honor of Mental Health Month, otherwise known in the studio as MIND YOUR HEALTH MONTH! Before I share what we have coming up, I’d like to introduce you to a local not-for-profit for women in our community. Please say hello to Ignite Transform. Here is a snippet of the article written by Townepost about the founder, Dr. Mary Beth Woehrle, and this wonderful organization.
Local Nonprofit Helps Women Achieve Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Wellness
Growing up in an abusive household, Mary Beth Woehrle fell into addiction and experienced many rough years as a teen and young adult. At age 25, she began seeing a counselor. At 26, she started an AA program to get sober. She also had bariatric surgery and hit the gym in order to improve her physical fitness. As she worked out and shed weight, however, suddenly a wave of unexpected emotions began rising to the surface.
“I found myself in tears because I couldn’t contain what was happening emotionally,” says Woehrle, who had a revelation. “I thought, ‘This is why so many people fail at bariatric procedures. They start losing their buffer and the past trauma issues that so many obese people have bottled up come rushing back. As a result, they go back to what’s comfortable in order to avoid dealing with the emotion.’”
As you know, we as a community love to share our FitChicks love and support with other organizations in our community that spotlight and focus on helping women. Ignite Transform is one of those organizations and we want to be here to help share the good work Ignite Transform is doing and make more women aware of their presence in our community. But in addition to bringing awareness, we also want to support them during MIND YOUR HEALTH MONTH in May.
Dr. Mary Beth Woehrle -
Ignite Transform and Center 4 Community, Executive Director and Founder
As we continue to nail down dates on the rest of our itinerary for MIND YOUR HEALTH MONTH, here are just a few things to put on your calendars to help the Ignite Transform community and our FitChicks community on our journeys of living healthy - mind, body, and spirit, for a lifetime, together.
Clothing Drive, May 1 thru May 21st — If you are in the throws of spring cleaning, HAULT!! A community of women needs your help!! We are hosting a “gently used” Athletic Wear & Gear Clothing Drive for the women of Ignite Transform. Our clothing drive will begin on May 1st and will run until Friday, May 26, 2023. Beginning on May 1st, please bring in GENTLY WARN leggings, sweatpants, T-shirts, sports bras, and tennis shoes. If you have already cleaned out your closets and happen to catch a fantastic sale (i.e. $5 T-shirts…) on any of these athletic items - newly purchased items are welcome also, as are cash donations! PLEASE NOTE - LARGER SIZES ARE NEEDED, TOO
Ignite Transform Envelope Challenge Fundraiser (more info to come)
The Sharing Nook - “How Do I Mind Your Mental Health” Many of us mind our health in different ways, like seeing a therapist, taking medication, meditative walks, or calling a friend. Complete a short note on our “How Do You Mind Your Health?” to post to the Mind Your Health Celebration. We will have post-it notes or cards in the studio for you to write and share what you do to Mind Your Health! Starting May 8
Mental Health Awareness - It’s NOT Just in Your Head! - May 16th, 2023 at 6:30PM - 7:45PM
Presented by Melanie Short, MSW, LCSW with Jrny Counseling. Join us for a discussion during Mental Health Awareness Month! Melanie will discuss some of the ways we try to ignore our mental health struggles and what causes us to wait so long before we’ll even consider getting any help. Sometimes it’s WAY too long!! She’ll also discuss how we can all become more aware of mental health struggles in ourselves and our loved ones. Let’s shift the perspective from one of hiding in the stigma, to an open dialogue that can become a part of our day-to-day conversations about how we’re really doing. Because if you don’t voluntarily make some time for your wellness, then you’ll eventually be forced to make time for your illness. Here is the link below. Tickets are free. If you happen to have a training session that evening, and you still want to support Ignite Transform, please go to the page and donate. Reserve a spot here
AWE BINGO (In-studio game, starts May 19)
Help support Ignite Transform. Please feel free to click the “donate” button on the page and make a contribution to this amazing not-for-profit for women in our community or participate in their new Envelope Fundraiser Event. Please stay tuned and keep reading your weekly emails … more to come.
Brave not perfect, Cee 🦋
P.S. Be sure to check out this video, too. Watch Dr. Mark Hyman discuss mental illness prevention:
P.P.S. Remember the Clothing Drive - bring in your sports bras, gym shoes, leggings, and tops