KEEPING YOUR CUP FULL = TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF

You may have heard the saying “you can’t pour from an empty cup”, which brings so much truth to our reality today. Taking care of ourselves means we are keeping our cup full, providing us the ability to give and care for others. This resonates with me a lot and is something I have been really tuning into over the last year. By tuning in and ensuring my cup is full, I have noticed my performance with work and play are better. I find joy in simple things and I am more present when I am giving to others. Our everyday may look different right now but taking care of ourselves should still be our number one priority. With additional stress and fear of this uncertain time, now more than ever, it is important to take care of our mental, physical and emotional health. With the possibilities of so many new routines such as, working from home, having kids and significant others around 24/7, no extracurricular activities, gyms beings closed, no access to parks and the list could go on, it can be difficult to manage and navigate this new normal.

With a shift in focus and a commitment to ourselves, we can create daily habits and routines that can fill our cup. When I do this, I am happier and I have more energy to care for those around me. I’m calmer and my mind is clearer. During this pandemic, we each will experience a roller coaster of different emotions and that is okay. Our team at BOKS wants to be there for our community of trainers, parents, and kids. We encourage you to make a daily checklist of actions that you will do for yourself, so your cup is full and you are in the driver seat for your health.

Here is a look into what my “Fill Your Cup” checklist looks like:

Make my bed
Drink water as soon as I get up with my vitamin C
Get outside before I start work, short 15-minute (typically I will take my cup of coffee I make around the block following the Public Health Agency of Canada guideline).
Move my body with virtual online fitness classes and scheduling my own movement breaks throughout the day (BOKS provides many free and accessible resources for families) Here is one exercise I love to do to energize my body:

Take time to sit in stillness
Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Read for a least 10 minutes
Facetime family or friends
Send a text to check in on my peeps
Always have my water bottle full
Get outside after work and listen to a podcast (this is the time I would typically walk to a fitness class, so I want to build that into my new normal)
Walk the stairs in my condo (this is a personal daily challenge I have set for myself during quarantine)
Sleep by 10 pm; Wake up 6:30 am (sleep routine is super important for my mood and performance throughout the day)
Make a checklist at night for the next day of things I want to accomplish

What will your checklist look like?

Adjusting to Life at HOME – Finding Balance in this New World

Although we are all in completely different situations, with varying degrees of stress, workloads and priorities, we can likely all attest that these new and uncertain times are finding us at home more often, if not all the time. In some cases, we may have more time on our hands with less social events in the calendar, potentially reduced hours at work or in some very unfortunate situations, no work at all. In other cases, we may feel completely frazzled with not enough hours in the day to fit in a full-time job with the needs of your ever-present children. If you have kids, school is now taking place in the home and there are no longer any after school activities for you or your children. Regardless of your situation, our individual experiences have been turned upside down. Now that we are a few weeks in, we have a bit more perspective on what this means to us and perhaps we are starting to accept our new reality and are finding ways to get back on track. I am far from an expert in this regard, as knee-deep in the turmoil as the rest of you, but I am hoping by sharing what is working for me, maybe some of you will share your thoughts as well and we can all come out of this in a better place. Here are my top ideas for finding some assemblance of balance in this new world.

Be easy on yourself

When we were first thrust into this 24/7 stay at home situation, I was busy trying to keep all balls in the air – creating schedules for my kids, maintaining our house and a full-time work schedule. What I eventually realized was that something had to give. I could not be all things to all people. I needed to take more breaks in my day to be present for my kids. I am grateful for a workplace that recognizes this crazy juggling act we are all in and gives me the grace I need to work out a balancing act that works within our home.

Create a schedule that works for you in your current situation

It may be impossible to maintain the schedule you had prior to being at home, so create a new schedule that makes sense for the demands of your current situation. As part of this schedule, make sure to get to bed and get up in the morning at consistent times, ensuring you are getting enough sleep. Maintain the regular habits you had before your world was turned upside down, ideally ensuring that this includes consistent sleep and exercise. For me, prior to our current situation, it was setting my alarm for 5:30 am and working out before my workday started. I am not doing this consistently in our new world but I can tell you that my best days are the ones where I make sure this happens. I have found that adjustments to my schedule to suit the new world are ok and necessary, as long as I still keep a schedule that makes sense and fits the needs of my family and I.

Keep weekends as weekends

With many of us working from home, it is easy to make our workdays longer or to log in on the weekends. But now more than ever, our time off is so important for our mental health – to recharge and re-energize. It is also more challenging to define weekends as weekends when we are in the same place all the time. However, there are so many ways we can still work towards making the weekends feel different. One way is to create new activities that help to make your time feel different than your weekdays. Maybe you connect with your family for a Zoom games night or you take an extra long walk that you simply would not have time for during the week. If your passion is baking, get the family involved and fill your freezer with all sorts of goodies. We recently discovered an old portable ping pong net that we have now attached to our kitchen table and we are enjoying lengthy ping pong tournaments on weekends. Find your JOY and fill your weekends with it.

Get ACTIVE/Stay ACTIVE

For your physical and mental health, make sure to fit activity into your every day. Make sure to involve the family in this activity so everyone is getting moving. For my family, I carve out a combination of my own personal fitness every day as well as movement time with my family. With the family, we make sure to join the BOKS Facebook Live workouts every weekday at 12 pm EST. I also have committed to running with my daughter three times per week because that is something we both love. My son has us heading outdoors for games of soccer/football or basketball. As a family we go for daily walks. Getting outdoors while we can is so important and is one of the things I commit to every single day. Find what works for you and those in your household and make sure to fit it into your daily calendar!

Stay Connected

It is more important than ever to reach out to those in our circle. We are lucky to live in a time that makes this possible. What I am realizing is how the lack of socialization is impacting my children and how much they are missing the socialization that the school environment provides. We are making sure that we all get daily Facetime calls or Zoom chats with family and friends. This allows us to feel connected and also to know that we are not alone in any of the struggles we may be experiencing. Another way to stay connected is to mail cards or letter (snail mail) to people weekly or even have a thoughtful surprise delivered (groceries, a meal, flowers, art supplies, etc.). This will undoubtedly bring joy to the recipient and it also brings me joy to know I am making someone else smile.

Don’t Compare

We all know that “comparison is the thief of joy” but with the prevalence and importance of social media while we are in our at home environments, it is so easy to start to fall into that trap. The important thing for us all to remember is that we are all walking our own journey and we are all having good days and bad days. I encourage you to stay on your own path and find the joy in your own day. My daughter recently created the “Happiness BOKS” for our family and every day we are encouraged to add things to the box that made us happy that day, brought us joy or things we are grateful for. We read out the ideas during our family dinners and it makes us all realize that no matter how difficult our day may have been, we still have so many things to be grateful for. I encourage you to create your own “Happiness BOKS”.

I hope some of these ideas resonate with you.

Stay safe, stay at home and I hope you are able to find some sense of balance in this new world.

BOKSpectations: Setting Rules for Your BOKS Class

“BOKSpectations” may be a mouthful to say, but if properly outlined and executed, they can mean the difference between an ordinary BOKS class and an extraordinary BOKS class.

BOKSpectations are really just a fun way to lay out “rules” for your BOKS class. Over the years we’ve seen many different variations of these expectations depending on school environment, age range of the children, etc. but all are pretty much centered on the same guiding principals for behavior:

BE ON TIME

BE A GOOD LISTENER

BE RESPECTFUL

BE A TEAM PLAYER

HAVE FUN!!

Your BOKSpectations may be different (e.g. putting away backpacks and jackets maybe important to you) but no matter which you choose we recommend reading through these expectations at the beginning of each BOKS Class.One of our trainers suggested using your first BOKS class of the year to collectively write your BOKSpectations with your BOKS students. The kids will be more likely to follow the expectations if they played a role in defining them.

We’ve created a poster that you can print for your BOKS class which can be downloaded here or you can create your own!

Here are some other creative suggestions from some of our BOKS schools:

A BOKS acronym:

Be kind
Only do your best
Keep moving
Stay safe

You can mix in your schools core values and focus on how the class should run like Tynan Elementary School in South Boston did:

BOKS Program Rules:

Listen
No pushing
No hitting
Keep your hands to yourself
No yelling
No fighting
Clean up when you are finished

Tynan Core Values:

Be kind, be responsible, be safe, be respectful

You can create your own mantra to say at the beginning of each class to inspire the kids to work hard and believe in themselves like Baldwin Early Learning Elementary School did:

Baldwin Early Learning “I Matter”

I am confident
I am a fighter
I believe in myself
I matter!
I am strong and
I am a scholar.
I Matter!
I will succeed and
Reach my dreams
Because I Matter!
No matter how hard it gets
I will never give up
Because I Matter!
BOKS Rocks

To access all of our resources please visit the BOKS Trainer Hub and log a BOKS session.

Healthy Holiday Treats to Make with your Kids

The holiday season is here, and the BOKS team is overflowing with cheer (and yummy treats!). This year, we want to help you and your family find the perfect balance between indulging in your favorite holiday foods while maintaining your family’s healthy nutrition habits.

We understand finding this balance becomes even more difficult with holiday parties, work events, and extravagant dinners with family and friends but it’s important to keep the holiday spirits high and the sugar intake ~relatively~ low for everyone’s sake. No need to worry, because our holiday health hacks allow you and your family to indulge in sweet treats that taste good and make you feel great!

We scoured the web and found two recipes. The first is created by Julie Wunder from www.runninginaskirt.com and the other from www.delish.com that are both simple, delicious, and fun to make with kids! Neither dessert requires an oven, which makes these ideas perfect for kids of all ages and stress-free for you. Try them out and share a picture with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram so we can all share a little holiday treat!

Recipe 1: No Bake Peppermint Fudge Energy Bites: A festive treat with a nutritional boost!

Prep time: 10 min

Ingredients

1/2 cup craw almonds
1/3 cup pitted medjool dates (about 6)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon mini dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed peppermint

Instructions

Put almonds in a food processor and chop.
Add the dates and blend well.
Add the cocoa powder, vanilla extract. peppermint extract, and coconut oil. Blend for several minutes until starting to combine. Add a couple drops of water if necessary to help it move.
Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few final times to combine well. You don’t want to pulverize the chocolate though.
Take a heaping teaspoon of the mixture in your hand and roll into a ball. The coconut oil will soften, and it will be very messy. The warmth of your hand will allow the coconut oil to help bind the bite. You will end up pushing it more together than actually rolling it. While it is still warm press into the peppermint.
Allow the finished bites to set in the fridge for 30 minutes to re-solidify the coconut oil.

Recipe 2: Light Chocolate Bark: Enjoy the delicious blend of peanut-butter and chocolate without worry!

Prep time: 10 min

Ingredients

24 oz. dark chocolate (at least 60 percent cocoa)
1 c. natural peanut butter, warmed
1 c. unsalted peanuts, chopped
1/4 c. pretzels

Instructions

Line a baking dish or sheet with parchment. In a small glass bowl, heat dark chocolate in the microwave on low heat, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. Pour into prepared dish, tilting so it fully covers the bottom of the dish.
Drizzle over peanut butter, then drag a toothpick over the peanut butter in the opposite direction of the drizzle, creating a swirl.
Top with peanuts and pretzels and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour. Break into pieces and serve. (Bark can be stored in a resealable container up to 2 weeks.)

Ultimately, the key to having a happy and healthy holiday season is understanding moderation. It is okay to go back for the extra slice of chocolate cake, just be self-aware and maintain a balance of indulgence-intelligence.

Have a happy and healthy holiday!

Kids Helping Kids: How to Launch a Student-Run Charity Event

This past May, five students at Milton Academy, located in Milton, Massachusetts, ran a charity Spikeball tournament raising hundreds of dollars in support of BOKS, proving that any one at any age can make a difference! Mark Pang, Emma Borggaard, Abby Borggaard, Emma Drisko, and Henry Taylor, aged 15 to 18, all part of the board of Milton Academy’s Roundnet Club, planned and executed a 2-day, 40-team event with over 80 participants and many spectators.

The BOKS team caught up with Mark, Emma B., Abby, Emma D., and Henry, to thank them for their efforts and gain some best practices for other looking to run a charity event:

For those who don’t know, Spikeball is a popular beach game that, according to the Spikeball Website, is like if volleyball and foursquare had a baby. The game is played in a 2 v. 2 format and a player starts a point by serving the ball down onto the Spikeball net so it ricochets up at his opponents. The returning team has up to 3 hits between them (think bump, set, spike) to return the ball back onto the net. The rally continues until a team can’t return the ball onto the net within their three touches.

“We knew that Spikeball had become really popular at our school, so we knew we could use that for a good cause,” says Emma D.

The students had many charities to choose from when picking a benefactor for the event and so the BOKS team was honored when we heard we were the team’s nonprofit of choice. Why is BOKS a worthy cause, in the students’ eyes? Henry stated, “I think it’s really important for kids to get exposed to sports, and to have physical activity be a daily constant in young peoples’ lives.” Emma B. agreed, adding that, “Getting active and playing sports has been a huge part of my life. It has really helped me make close friends, and it also helped me focus on my schoolwork.”

Abby also understands the BOKS mission sharing that she supports BOKS, “because for me after school, having an activity and getting exercise before I start my schoolwork is really helpful for me to reset and start working again.”

Once the students decided upon a premise and a cause, their next step was spreading the word. “In the student center where kids hang out, we posted a big sign, sold T-shirts for a week leading up to the tournament, and sent out emails to the whole school” says Mark. The word certainly got around! The students reported that an influx of other students began to sign up for the tournament. “We set up a bracket beforehand and had 15 nets set up on the quad in the center of the school,” says Henry. “It took two days to get through all the teams!”

The students all agreed that finding a charity that you care about and executing an event is extremely achievable. We asked the students if they had any advice for other students who may want to do this in their own schools:

“Going into it, it’s good to have the mindset that it’s really not that hard to set something like this up,” says Mark. “It seems kind of intimidating at first to try and organize it all, but it didn’t take long to get things together once we committed to the idea.”

Another important detail the students shared when setting up the event was making sure it involved an activity they knew other students would love. “Spikeball was already a big thing at our school, so since there was a general interest, people signed up right away,” Henry said.

These five high school students put in the time and effort to achieve a fun reward for an excellent cause. Through their Spikeball success, they proved that any student – if they put their mind to it – can do the same.

Check out the Milton Academy Roundnet Club on Instagram: @SpikeballMA

Top Tips for Implementing Obstacle Courses

Obstacle courses are a BOKS favorite for so many reasons. They’re super versatile and customizable, great for both indoor and outdoor spaces, and don’t require any special equipment. As the weather improves and the best place for exercise is outside, building an obstacle course is a great way for kids to improve endurance, strength, and cardiovascular health.

For a beginner, obstacle courses may be intimidating at first. Where do you set the obstacle course up? How will I get my group of all ages to run through it?

For the obstacle course aficionado, you may still run into questions about engaging every age group in the same course or changing things up when obstacles no longer pose as much of a challenge. BOKS is here to answer all your questions and offer some obstacle course tips and tricks.

Set-Up:

The first step to setting up an obstacle course is to assess the area you’ll be using. If you’re setting up indoors, try to get creative with the path you set the obstacle course to! From the obstacle course master himself, trainer Frank DeAngelis from Thomas Hamilton School:

“When we’re forced inside the gym, we’ll do a spiral starting at the outside and moving closer and closer into the middle. We’ll also utilize our entrance and exit, having the kids start going in one door, have them do the course (maze-like) and have them end at out opposite door and run out and around the hallway.”

Taking the obstacle course outside may give you more room, as well as using hills or a playground as part of the challenge.

Stations:

Pick out how many stations you want in your obstacle course – try starting with 4 to 5 and you can build on the course from there. Larger courses may include more stations, or just increase the length between stations to build cardio strength.

Next, choose what you want your stations to be. This is the fun part, where you can work in a skill-of-the-week you’ve been practicing.

For ideas on what to include, check out our FREE obstacle course pack, where you can find some BOKS-curated picks. Some of our favorite stations include:

Log Rolls
Jumping over “fire”
Bear Crawls
Water Bottle Flipping

Volunteers:

One of the most important components of an obstacle course is having volunteers to help you set up, monitor, and demonstrate the stations. Ideally, 2-4 additional parents or teachers should help with set up and running the course. Volunteers are important not only for assisting with set up, but they can also act as trainers while kids are running through the stations – making it easier for you to monitor all the kids!

To prepare for the volunteers, make sure you have a plan for the course, either printed out or drawn by hand. At the very least, make sure they’re familiar with how the course will be set up and how many kids will be going through.

Spicing things Up

Now, if you’ve mastered obstacle courses, “spicing them up” may be your biggest challenge. There’s only so many times you can run back-and-forth and jump over cones.

DeAngelis added his obstacle courses, “evolved with a lot of trial and error, seeing what the kids like to do, and working that in with what the kids needed to do as far as building their skill level.”

Some tips include:

Incorporate team work into your obstacle courses. For example passing a ball “over under” style.
Making sure to emphasize finishing as a team will help each kids to help look out for one another and can be a critical skill they take
Time the kids as they go through the obstacle course. This can be a great way to keep things interesting and fun, as well as build stamina and team work.
Adding balls and ball-passing to obstacle course can add a level of difficulty.
You can time the group that goes through, split your class up into small groups and time each of them, or time individuals to see if they can break their own records. This is a great way to keep an obstacle course interesting for older kids that are running through the same course as younger ones.
Be creative with the materials you use! You don’t need anything fancy to create an awesome obstacle course. Use cones and string/rope/tape to create hurdles or obstacles to crawl under or recycle old water bottles for bottle flipping!
Incorporate class skills that that you’ve been learning into the course. For example, if you’ve been working on balance, create a “balance beam” for the students to walk across as one of the stations.

Key Takeaways

Obstacle courses are a great way to switch things up if a class is getting used to the same material each day. They can challenge kids on strength, speed, and endurance, and it really lets the kids burn off some extra energy while practicing BOKS skills of the week and other exercises they’ve learned.

The are no “wrongs” or “rights” in obstacle course building. Use what you have and have fun!

Additionally, obstacle courses can have a great, lasting impact on kids by inspiring them to continue to challenge their skills on all levels. Obstacle courses can teach them the importance of collaboration, and always looking out for your fellow teammates as they go through the course.

Remember, the only thing holding you back is your own creativity!

BOKS Springtime Produce Picks!

Spring is a time for regrowth and rebirth, which starts right under our feet in the soil. Once the snow melts and the sun begins to come out, all kinds of new growth begins, starting one of our favorite seasons for the best produce!

The new beginning of Spring can also lends itself to changes in habits and behavior – this is a great time to incorporate new foods into kids’ diets to get them out of their picky-eater lifestyle. There are so many delicious and unusual fruits and veggies that are only available this time of year. Some of our Springtime favorites include:

Artichokes

Artichokes can be an intimidating to cook and serve, but don’t be scared: They’re actually incredibly easy to make, and even easier to gobble up! Our favorite way to prepare these flowers is to cut them in half, boil in water for 15 minutes, and lay they straight on a hot grill until just charred – the leaves will fully cook so they become easier to eat. Eating artichokes is so fun, it’s almost like playing with your food! Try serving artichokes with dinner as a fun new vegetable your kids are sure to love. (Image courtesy of here)

Grapefruit

Grapefruit can sometimes lean towards the bitter side, but during springtime they come to ripe, and it’s no longer necessary to pile sugar on top of grapefruit halves as some often do. Add grapefruit slices to salads to add a bright punch – you can even use some grapefruit juice and oil to make a salad dressing! (Image courtesy of here)

Sugar Snap Peas

Sweet as candy! These crunchy delights are good enough to eat by themselves. Having your kids help you de-shell fresh snow peas for cooking can be a great way to get them into the kitchen (and they can snack on the fiber-filled shells as they go!) (Image courtesy of here)

Grapefruit, Mint, and Pea Spring Salad

Ingredients

2 Ruby Red grapefruit
1 1/2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
6 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 oz. mixed baby greens
Sea salt and black pepper
2 tbsp. thinly sliced fresh mint
~½ cup sugar snap peas, shelled

Cut a slice off the top and bottom of the grapefruit. Stand 1 grapefruit, cut-side down, on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut around the curve of the fruit, removing the peel and white pith. Working over a medium bowl to catch the juice, cut between the membranes to release the segments into the bowl. Repeat with the remaining grapefruit.
Take the fresh peas out of their shells- this can be a great think for kids to do while you cut the grapefruit.
Strain 2 tbsp. of the juice into a small bowl. Add the vinegar, then gradually whisk in the EVOO.
In a large bowl, toss the greens and dressing; season with sea salt and black pepper. Top with the grapefruit segments, peas and the mint.

(recipe adapted from here)

Make this recipe, or any other springtime favorites? Share with us on social media #BOKSkids for a chance to be featured!

What it’s REALLY Like to Run the Boston Marathon for BOKS

It’s been one month since our BOKS Boston Marathon team took to the historic streets of Beantown to complete 26.2 grueling miles and raise money to help us reverse the physical inactivity pandemic!

After having some time to reflect on the monumental accomplishment, a few of our runners shared their thoughts on the experience. Conor Murphy emphasized the uniqueness of the Boston Marathon, stating that it’s, “unlike anything I have ever experienced. It’s special to feel the love and support of an entire city.” Fellow CrossFit Coach, Kevin O’Connell echoed this sentiment adding that, “the crowds, fans, and spectators were incredible and give you a renewed faith in humans. I would highly recommend that if anyone ever gets the chance to run, and run for a purpose like BOKS, you have to do it!”

Running for BOKS and Reebok also proved to be a great motivation for our runners. “Running for BOKS, is right on point with what we do every day at Reebok! We help people get fitter, happier and healthier and if we can start this process with our kids, then we are setting them up for success for the rest of their lives” shared Austin Malleolo on why he joined the team for the second year in a row.

Conor Murphy added, “I loved every second of [the marathon]. Having said that, I made promises to myself during the race that if I fought through the pain, and never stopped running, I would never make myself run another marathon again; however, after acknowledging the people that donated and supported me along the way it makes me realize I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. After all, it’s for the kids.”

**We want to give a huge thank you to Spencer, Denise, Connor, Austin, and Kevin for doing a spectacular job fundraising for BOKS and preparing for the marathon. We’re so grateful to have had runners like you run for the BOKS cause! With your help, we were able to raise over $35,000 to keep kids healthy and active all over the world.**

In order to get to know the athlete’s running the race for BOKS, we asked them a few questions about their experience training for the marathon, as well as their passions outside of running.

Spencer Hendel:

Q: What is your favorite part about being a BOKS ambassador?

A: The opportunity to inspire kids to be the best versions of themselves. To think more positively when faced with adversity. And that no matter what you are doing, always try your hardest.

Q: What is your favorite post-run snack?

A: A Donut

Q: Did you have any running experience before? How has it been training for a Marathon?

A: I was not much of a runner growing up. Running five miles was a long distance for me. Training for the CrossFit Games forced me to run longer distances, however it did not come naturally. But just like most things in life, the more you do something, the better you get at it. Now running ten miles is relatively easy for me and at some points enjoyable.

Austin Malleolo:

Q: What should we be doing as a society to help get more kids active/reverse the physical inactivity pandemic?

A: Simply put we need to first BE the example and workout consistently, treat physical activity as FUN and not a chore or punishment. Then we need to provide our youth with the opportunity to workout and learn daily! 

Q: Favorite holiday and why?

A: Christmas, I love giving gifts, the smells, the music and the whole ambiance!

Kevin: 

Q: Why do you think physical activity is so important for kids?

A: Physical activity is how we develop.  There is no arguing that our brain is built to help us move and in moving we help our brain to develop.  As movement and play later develop into sport it also helps us to learn important life lessons like communication, team work, discipline, how to win and how to lose.  

  Q: Favorite movie?

A: This is the hardest question for me to answer and one that I am asked a lot.  I have rated roughly 5,000 Movies or Shows on Netflix which means I have spent about 3 years of my life watching movies or shows. Some go to films for me are anything Marvel, Harry Potter, or Fast & Furious.  Honorable mentions include Draft Day, Life Aquatic, We Bought A Zoo. 

  Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?

A: I was not a very fit kid growing up.  It wasn’t until high school that I started to enjoy training and sports.  That being said my parents recently moved and found an old project from when I was in 2nd grade where we had to design the layout for a city.  In this city I had some of the main buildings you would come to expect from an 8 year old.  For example, a hospital, school, police and fire station, bank, hotel and maybe even a Chuckie Cheese.  The interesting part is that in each building I had designated a space for a gym.  So, since I was 8 years old I always thought it was important to incorporate fitness into your daily routine regardless of where you were.  To that end I always wanted to be in a position where I could help people grow and reach their goals.  That started as a therapist and ultimately led to me becoming a trainer full time.  

Conor Murphy:

Q: What’s your go-to pump up song?

A: National Anthem

Q: What’s your favorite part of a BOKS class?

A: Seeing the positive influence the class leaders have on the kids.

Q: What’s your all-time favorite movie dance scene?

A: Magic Mike 2 when Channing Tatum is in the house.

Denise Thomas:

Q: What made you commit to running the Boston Marathon for BOKS?

A: Kathleen Tullie asked me and I think she’s a wonderful human being, and one of our most encouraging and empowering members [at Reebok]. She will walk through a wall to make something she cares about happen. So, I will walk through this (Marathon) wall for her and the BOKS Organization!

Q: Best donut you’ve ever had? And from where?

A: Oh my goodness! How can you make me pick just one? I have two, no three places.

1) Kanes’s (Saugus, MA) – glazed

2) Red’s (Monterey, CA) – glazed ($0.95) – absolute steal

3) Randy’s (Inglewood, CA) – glazed

ALWAYS GLAZED!

Q: How do you get through your long runs?  Certain type of music/podcasts?

A: “Getting through them” couldn’t be more accurate. Lol! Survival mode. For all my long runs I have listened to music, but the 20-miler I listened to an audiobook “Can’t Hurt Me” By David Goggins. This guy is a little crazy and ran way longer than I have, so I figured even if I’m in pain I could at least run a fifth of what he’s used to. I don’t typically listen to anything, but these runs have been hard on the soul.

May: Month of Mindfulness

OHHMMMMMMMM.

Did you know that May is mindfulness month? Which means it’s the perfect time to start incorporating mindfulness into your life and the lives of those around you, specifically children.

We get it. Everyone has busy schedules. Multitasking has consumed our lives and it seems like we’re constantly moving at light speed. Each day we all try to fit in more than the day prior. And while you’ve likely read the endless research attesting to the positive impact meditation and mindfulness has on both adults and children – who really has time for it!?

Would you change your mind if we told you that by taking 20 minutes a day to meditate you could actually get more done? Don’t believe us? Check out this article fromHarvard Business Review:

“If You’re Too Busy to Meditate, Read This”

Meditation or mindfulness improves so many facets of one’s life — well-being, physical health, mental health, etc. Who do you know that doesn’t need a little help to alleviate stress on a day to day basis? When you induce a state of relaxation, which can be achieved with mindfulness, you can reap the benefits.

Practicing mindfulness could even make you a better parent, friend or partner. In fact, your children might be the ones who reap the most benefits from your practice. Not only are kids more apt to try it if you do, but they inherently will feel the change. And for children it’s not only known to be effective in helping students achieve academic success but also manage social behavior, anxiety and build resilience.(Learn more HERE)

Mindfulness allows one to:

listen intently and wholeheartedly
observe your thoughts or emotions
connect on a deeper level

Ultimately, the hope is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by purposefully paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment. And there are an infinite number of ways to be and practice mindfulness. Try incorporating thse four tips into your daily scdeudle this month:

Mindful Movement– Practice being aware of your whole body and do this with your kids. Yes, it’s yoga to a certain degree, but in any physical activity, such as BOKS,try pairing your breath with each movement. Attempt to notice where you feel muscles stretching, resistance and tightness. By doing this, you can be present and start to exercise balance and clarity. (Learn more HERE)

Meditate– Find a quiet spot in your home, sit, close your eyes, and practice slowly repeating a positive statement or mantra. By continuously repeating this statement out loud or silently, one begins to reach the unconscious mind which helps to attain a connection to this positive statement. Or if you don’t want to sit for an extended period of time just close your eyes and be silent for a few minutes each day, while focusing on taking deep breaths. Here are a few ideas for mantras for kids, but try making up one of your own!

I am doing my best
I matter
I am important
I am smart
I am kind

Connect– With your senses and with each other. When you are lost in thought, you don’t experience what your senses are picking up. Pause to soak in the experience that you are in right then and there. Follow in your children’s footsteps and take a second to smell the flowers, breathe in the salty ocean air, put your toes in the sand – whatever it takes, remind yourself of the small things. Sometimes they are the most important.

Just Be– Get lost in doing things you love with your family and appreciate exactly where you are. We’re so focused on getting the right photo for Instagram or making sure that our children are happy, that we’re moving forward in our careers, relationships, etc. we don’t take the time to just be. By simply becoming aware of your place, non-judgmentally observing as the moments come and go, you are being more present.

Whether it’s today tomorrow, or two weeks from now you’re still going to be busy. So, try to take a minute to be mindful, and teach your children as you learn. Trust us, you’ll be happy you did.

By: Caeli Sullivan – BOKS Senior Manager, Business Partnerships; Certified Yoga Instructor

A Note from Tara Stiles on the Importance of Yoga & Mindfulness

A NOTE FROM TARA STILES – Founder of STRALA Yoga and contributor to the BOKS Yoga & Mindfulness curriculum

It’s not the yoga that heals you. It’s you that heals you.

I was lucky as a kid to grow up with a healthy dose of mindfulness without the side of pretense. My parents led by example that it was important to take care of our bodies by eating close to nature, take care of ourselves and each other by acting with kindness, and take care of our surroundings and the planet by being mindful of our daily actions. We recycled everything from milk cartons to old clothes. Picking up trash in ditches was a fun weekend activity.

It may have seemed strange at the time, but this way of being instilled the philosophy of yoga in my life in a real-world and super useful way. It is just how they live and it makes a lot of sense. For me, the way of being came first and the poses second. I was introduced to the physical practice of yoga in my teens, when I really needed it.

Physical yoga provided a vocabulary of movement and pretty great structure for practicing how I wanted to be. Healthy, connected, radiant and happy. Picking up cans in the ditch was one way to practice. Moving with ease during simple and challenging moments alike on the yoga mat is another. Essentially both led to the same place, and how we are in one moment is how we are in everything. We have an opportunity to practice with everything we do.

With STRALA we address how we are first, learning a way of being easy in body and mind. We practice being gentle with ourselves, and responsive in our movement to who we are and how we feel. This combined way of being and moving leads us to some pretty spectacular results. We become sensitized to how we feel and responsive to what we need to be radiantly healthy. We become pretty great care givers of ourselves, and from this place have a firm ground to help others.

I’m thrilled that STRALA is a part of BOKS, helping so many kids connect with themselves, get and stay radiantly healthy, and feel fantastic in the process. Having a little one now , I feel the importance personally of putting our attention on the wellbeing of children.

How we are is ultimately the experience we give to others. I learned growing up how I wanted to be, and in my teens I learned a vocabulary of movement to continue this practice.

When I was a teenager, tension and rigidity had started to find their way into my life, as it does for most of us at some point or another. Learning a physical practice that matched the sensibilities and mindset I discovered as a kid was mind blowing. I realized we collect stress not through the things that happen in our lives, but in how we choose to live.

The coolest part is we can learn and practice a better way to deal with the simple and challenging moments alike. It begins with dropping the tension, and re-learning how to be in alignment with our selves through a mindset that says no pain no gain is a myth, and our best path to accomplishment is in feeling good every step of the way. It continues through a practice of natural movement in our lives, that agrees with our mindset.

Of course it’s really challenging sometimes to change our mindset. It’s so familiar to us, it’s in all our habits, and we’re comfortable here. We wear our stress with a badge of honor. If we’re exhausted, we must be working hard and achieving big things. If we’re super-frazzled, we must be headed toward our goals.

The tricky reality of living this way, soaked in stress, is our mind and body cannot function properly. In tension mode we can accomplish some things, but we eventually break down. In tension mode we fall out of the flow of possibilities. Our body literally can’t maintain optimal performance in these conditions, and to put it simply, is always preparing for battle. This is a strategy that works for the short-term, and when real dangers are present. But it’s not a strategy we can sustain, and it doesn’t work when the obstacles we face are mostly inside of us.

When we’re living in stress and tension mode, we collect more stress and tension, and eventually break down. When we live in harmony with our self, anything is possible.

Yoga is a wonderful practice with a rich vocabulary of movement. It allows us to get into our whole body and move in every direction possible, so every part of us can come into harmony with every other part. But the problem we run into with our yoga is the same problem we run into in our lives. We make it about nailing a pose, and hitting a goal. We bring our tension and stress along with us for the ride.

The amazing thing is, we come to yoga to de-stress and gain health and wellbeing, but it’s impossible to separate how we are in the rest of our life from how we are for those moments when we’re here to practice mindfulness. So we need to practice how we are, as a way to replace the old habits that don’t work so well with new ones that do.

We need to practice shifting our mindset from stiff and tense to soft and fluid. We need to believe in ourselves, and believe that when we stay in the process and focus on moving naturally, in alignment with ourselves, we’ll achieve more than when we force, push and struggle our way through life. This is a massive shift in how we are, and when we’re brave enough to take a look at how we are right now, we have massive opportunity to cultivate how we would like to be.

This isn’t about becoming great at yoga. It’s about becoming great at you. When you shift your attention away from the goal of a pose and onto yourself, you’ll be able to achieve so much more with grace and ease. You’ll be able to drop the tension and stress that lead to so many of our problems, and you’ll feel fantastic along the way.

You have everything you need, right inside, waiting to be discovered.