Mindfulness May at Afea

May 31st 2024

Welcome to Mindfulness May!

At Afea, we dedicate the month of May to mindfulness and self-care, which is a big part of our award-winning workplace culture.

To enable us to better serve and uplift people in our community, we recognise that we must take care of ourselves and our mental health.

We had weekly in-office activities, from afternoon tea to training with world-leading mental health research organisation, Black Dog Institute.

Here’s how we celebrated this month:

Week 1: Afternoon Tea and Cheers for Peers

What better way to kick off the week and our month-long celebration than with a very special Cheers for Peers. We shared some cakes, sweets and treats as we celebrated our personal wins, team milestones and our collective mighty moment: being named a Best Place to Work for the fourth year in a row!

Week 2: Mindfulness Tips

We received excellent tips to practice mindfulness from Leora.

Some of the convenient ways you can practice mindfulness now include:

🍏 Start practising mindful eating. Spend time eating lunch outdoors and focus your attention on sounds and senses, what you can see and hear. Using all your senses of taste, smell and touch can bring you into the moment

🚶 Take a walk, or try other forms of exercise like yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi. Gentle movement can be a great way to quieten the mind and connect to your body.

‍💨 Taking long, deep breaths, pausing and looking around can bring you to focus on the present moment, and create a feeling of calm.

Week 3: Mental Health at Work with Black Dog Institute

We joined mental health sessions led by world-leading organisation, Black Dog Institute.

Psychologist Anne Bunt guided us through a deep dive of workplace risk factors. She also shared how we can have an effective conversation about mental health. We even had a conversation roleplay to help us practice!

Week 4: Office Pilates

We wrapped up Mindfulness May with a Pilates session in our Parramatta and Liverpool offices. We reconnected with our mind and body in a beginner-friendly sessions led by Madeleine Connor (Leora Marketing & Communications Specialist).

As a gentle, low-impact exercise, Pilates is suitable for people of various fitness levels. Pilates offers benefits such as improved posture and increased core strength. It also helps with stress reduction and better body awareness, which is what mindfulness is all about!