Team Fitness Gurus: Volleyball!

Team HCC: Sebastian's Special Connections

Case Study 20

Emotional Wellness Fun and Function Model

George Scheu has been married 44 years and he says there is never a dull moment because he has his wife to help lighten the mood. He states his emotional wellness comes from years of a good marriage where friendship is strengthened because he and his wife enjoy each other's company. George learned about good relationships through the social influences of the time and his grandparents who emphasized taking the time for visiting with family and friends.

George's advice to others who are seeking emotional wellness is to seek peace through good realtionships with others. Practicing the "golden rule" is the beginning to bringing peace to one's life and for times of trouble it is important to remember to pray and seek guidance.

Case Study 19

Spiritual, Physical, Mental and Social Wellness Fun and Function Model

God has a vision for me, and my life’s journey is to find that vision. Wellness is living out that vision. I see spiritual, physical, mental, and social wellness as one comprehensive way of life. I try to eat right, I try to exercise in ways that I enjoy, I try to keep up on current events, I try to read stimulating articles or books, I try to relax, I try to be open to God, I try to respect and interact with other people. All of those activities are interrelated. It is generally hard for me to do one without involving the others. Some of my most intense prayer, for example, occurs on the hiking path or in the shower. Sometimes I may be more attentive to one of those dimensions than to another; but if I want to be well, I need to pay attention to each of them.

That philosophy has evolved with my life. Different people at different times contributed different elements of it. I usually need time to figure things out, and so I often put the pieces of my wellness philosophy together long after those pieces have been a part of my experience. From my mother I developed an appreciation for taking care of my body—healthful eating and exercise. From my father I developed an appreciation for taking care of my mind—asking questions and exploring possibilities. Forty years as a Franciscan friar have given me on-going opportunities to explore and develop my own spiritual life. Fourteen years of Al-Anon meetings (a fellowship of friends and relatives of alcoholics) have given me the tools to interact more constructively with other people.

Life is on-going, not static. Do I always live out my philosophy? No! I get side-tracked. One dimension of life sometimes requires more immediate attention than another. If I am not careful, other dimensions of my life may suffer. When my mother died, for example, I became my father’s care-giver and neglected my own bodily well-being. In sixty-seven years I have come to recognize when one dimension of my life is out of synch with the others. I have learned to let go of behaviors, values, and outlooks which may have served a purpose at one time in my life but which now hinder me from living fully. I am learning to change.

Loren Connell, OFM

Nutritional Wellness

submitted by Ann Partlow

Navigating the Cereal Aisle

There is perhaps no greater variety at your supermarket than in the cereal aisle. Which to choose?

Keep these tips in mind as you gaze down the endless cereal shelves:

• Read the Nutrition Facts labels to compare nutrient content of products and pick those made with whole grains.


• Some cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals. Check the nutrients in fortified cereals. Most cereals supply approximately 25% of the Daily Value for vitamins and minerals, and some have much more.


• Cereals that are good fiber sources supply at least 2.5 grams of fiber per serving; whole-grain cereals typically contain even more.


• Don’t assume cereals labeled “natural” or “granola” are necessarily more nutritious. Some of these products can be high in fat, sugars and sodium.


• Adding low-fat milk or yogurt makes cereal a great source of calcium and other nutrients; that’s why labels give information for both cereal only and with added milk.

For more information on navigating the shelves at your local grocery store, visit the Savvy Food Shopping section.

Produced by ADA’s Public Relations Team

Team Stewart: Vital Life at Home

Team Stewart invites the residents, staff, and volunteers and their families to share their stories of fun and function as they journal their healthy choices and become part of our Vital Life Healthiest Community in America!

Vital Life Community Focus

The Vital Life Wellness Program is based up 8 key essential human ecologies that we must adapt to and exploit for beneficial purposes and they are:

· Social

· Nutritional

· Physical

· Environmental

· Occupational

· Intellectual

· Spiritual

· Emotional

As an adaptive animal these are the elements or ecologies that we must have knowledge or command of to be able to be successful human beings.

Note we don't say to "survive", because we want to be more than just humans "doing" we want to be humans "being". To accomplish this outcome we have to have priorities to be able to go forth; that triad of priorities is identified as the Vital Life three-legged stool on which the entire program is based; those priorities are:

· NUTRITION – we must survive

· FITNESS – we must survive

· SOCIALIZATION – we must survive

Once this triad is established as a basis for all else we do then we must do what the human being does so well, learn and grow. We must learn how to inculcate the other five human ecologies into our rhythms of daily living if we are to become whole well round human beings, fully human and fully alive in mind, body and spirit. Bill Witte