Wellness Week - that's (almost) a wrap!

LLW has wrapped up its fifth Wellness Week and the celebrations proved to be more colourful and creative than ever before!

Wellness Week saw teams joining in activities to support physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing – as well as simply enjoying the company of colleagues in settings away from work. The theme this year was Wellness Week – it’s time well spent.

Unfortunately the weather played havoc with a few activities, so some teams are yet to have their re-scheduled events. We will bring you more news and photos as they come to hand.

In the mean time, here’s a wrap up of how teams have celebrated so far…

The Byng St team from Orange had a fabulous morning visiting our rehabs Elouera and Wyla before playing a round of indoor tennis in their Alice in Wonderland-themed costumes (the original plan to play croquet got rained out).

Cassandra reported: “We could not stop laughing, we made a lot of other people laugh, even the ladies trying to play competition tennis on the other courts, who thought we looked terrific and loved our morning tea. The clients at Wyla wanted to join us. A huge thank you to Deanne’s sister who made the cake and cupcakes.”

On the Sunshine Coast, our Nambour team spent time at picturesque Maleny doing a Paint n Chew workshop. Organiser, Linda Brodie said: 

“The weather was perfect and the scenery divine. We are all ‘very well’ now for having this lovely experience and time together.”

The team from Pettigrew St Caboolture held an Office Olympics. The staff enjoyed it so much, they are now considering making it a regular team-building event.

Paul judged the paper plane competition – James’ plane held the record for longest time in flight and was judged on where it eventually landed, directly beneath the Care Opinion Poster!

After rounds of Trivia, Banangrams, Smarties straw races and a delicious sushi lunch, Lyndal was declared the winner and title holder until the next challenge. Congratulations Lyndal!

In Dubbo, it was Alby and Matthew’s turn to choose the Wellness Week activity. Being keen golfers, naturally they chose golf. 

Alby had the advantage, as he is the current National Aboriginal B Grade Champion, while Matt plays in a regular competition. Sue’s only experience of golf had been ‘paddock golf’. The team played nine holes on a very soggy course, which added to the challenge, especially for Sue!

The Spring Hill team celebrated with 15-minute neck and shoulder massages during the week, a Keys to Happiness workshop hosted by Marcela from our People and Culture team, and a very “fruity” morning tea, which required staff to power a blender by riding a bike. It was lots of fun trying out different smoothie recipes and just having quality time with a banana (thanks Nicola 🙂). 

In Bundaberg, one of our smallest and newest teams  – Lauren and Nicole – enjoyed a walk around the Botanical Gardens and morning tea in the cafe. They also visited the Tom Quinn Salvation Army Gardens. It was a great opportunity for Nicole and Lauren to just “hang out” together, away from work.

Likewise, Kendall from our Goondiwindi office, took the opportunity to enjoy time in her local surrounds – something she strives to do all year round.

As she is a team of one, Kendall got her dogs and cat into the spirit of Wellness Week, taking them on walks along Brigalow Creek. 

She also visited the Botanical Gardens to learn about Aboriginal bush medicines and other uses of native plants.

In Kingaroy, the team enjoyed a country drive past lavender fields and other beautiful scenery (Google sent them on a wild goose chase) before visiting a new cafe in Kingaroy. Andrew said the cafe was part of a larger street-scaping project and had lifted the energy of the town. The team was happy to support a fledgling local business and spend time together.

The team at Mirikai enjoyed neck and shoulder massages, wearing bright shirts and a nutritious juice bar.

Our Food Services Coordinator, Shane also cooked up a beautiful nourishing lunch for Mirikai staff and clients to tuck into.

At Carinya, clients and staff enjoyed a range of activities, including mindfulness and meditation, crocheting for beginners, a pool competition, sand art, a picnic lunch, cultural beach walk and time in nature.

The teams from headspace Southport (below) went on a scavenger hunt, created beautiful art pieces, and enjoyed an amazing shared lunch.

Our Dalby staff shared the joy of Wellness Week with the other services in their building, enjoying the collaborative process of making a beautiful creation with coloured rice.

The Nana Muru team took a trip to Shoalhaven Regional Gallery. They also enjoyed some standing yoga.

Friendly rivalry emerged when our South Coast teams – Nana Muru and Watershed – got together for an afternoon of indoor bowls. Thanks to Leanne for organising the event and congratulations to Bel for claiming the title of Wellness Week Champion!

Heidi from the SW QLD AOD team asked her colleagues to share their ideas and strategies for maintaining wellbeing all year round. She compiled all the great suggestions into one document.

The Toowoomba team took time out to complete jigsaw puzzles….a meditative activity that has been shown to decrease stress and enhance short term memory. So it seems fitting to end this blog about Wellness Week with a quote from one of the world’s leading thinkers on meditation, Deepak Chopra:

There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.