So what's going on? The school year ended and I finished up those IEPs, notes, writing summer
programs, setting up students for summer school and some planning for next year if you are lucky. While I am in the midst of all of that, I decided to sign up for Free the Yoke.
I found them on Twitter last year, and was really interested at their use of social media to engage people to increase physical activity. Two of my favorite topics, really, for anyone who knows me.
Teams work together to earn points based on their physical activity. Each person donates at least $20, and the winning team will have donations made to their charity of choice. I signed up for #TeamGSD and connected with a number of physical therapists across the country whose goals spanned marathons to regular yoga to just moving a little more...goals are individual but the real result for all of us will be developing healthy habits.
The first half of the summer was easy, I hiked the Camino de Santiago, 240K from Porto to Santiago. I walked 4-7 hours a day and did at least 30 minutes of yoga every day to stay stretched out. Now I am back home, back to the gym, and the real work begins: staying in a good exercise routine, and trying to add in that yoga that I really need. As a pediatric physical therapist, I am always advocating for increasing physical activity, asking kids and families to change their routines so that they can experience the health benefits of increased physical activity. But its not so easy, not for me, and more difficult for people who have additional physical barriers.
Nevertheless, I am going to work on increasing my physical activity, in the hopes of improving my health, and in the process hopefully being a role model for others. Looking forward to #freetheyoke and #teamGSD. Look for us on Twitter, we are there :)