Kind July – Self Care

Kind July is an initiative run by staykind.org, which was founded by the Kelly family after their son Thomas was killed from a ‘one punch’ attack at the age of 18. Following the tragic death of his younger brother Stuart, also at 18, the Foundation evolved and became a national movement of kindness.

If every Australian was to do one single act of kindness everyday for the whole of July, whether it be a complement or even holding the door open for someone, it would accumulate to 775 million acts of kindness for the month alone. If we as Australians were to do it every day for a year, it would equate to 9.3 billion acts of kindness.

We invite you to take part in Kind July by signing a kindness pledge here.

Don’t underestimate how just a little act of kindness can brighten someone’s day, restore their faith in humanity or even brighten their whole outlook.

Together let’s put the kind back into HumanKIND.

July is a very busy month for health awareness. Along with ‘Kind July’, National Diabetes week, National Pain Week and Stress down day all fall inside the month of July.

Key dates in July 

July 1-31 – Kind July – Stay kind https://www.staykind.org 

July 13-20 – National Diabetes Week – Diabetes Australia https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au 

July 22-28 – National Pain week – Chronic pain Australia http://www.nationalpainweek.org.au 

July 24th – Stress down day – Lifeline Australia https://www.lifeline.org.au 

Ironically all of these subjects are issues in the majority of Australian workplaces. The effects of prolonged sitting have been linked to increased cardiovascular and diabetic complications, and physical imbalances in the body resulting in pain.

So how can you combat that?

Breaking up sedentary time by even just moving from sitting to standing reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes & heart attacks. Maintaining a seated position over a long period of time is physically stressful, so regular movement also helps to reduce muscular pain and disc and joint issues.

Breaking up sedentary time, whether it is sitting or standing, can aid in managing insulin levels and reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes, as there is a significant correlation between excessive sitting and diabetes. 

Also subtle movement even just moving from siting to standing promotes higher HDL (“good” cholesterol) and lower LDL (“bad cholesterol”), which in turn can improve blood pressure and lower the risk of heart attack.

Our bodies evolutionary were made to stand, so maintaining a seated position over a long period of time is physically stressful. This in turn can lead to adverse pain in the neck, hips, back and shoulders. This can manifest trough muscular pain, nerve damage, and disc and joint issues.

 Breaking up sedentary time, whether is sitting or standing, can aid in managing insulin levels and reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes – JustStand.org
90% of people need to stress less, 74% of those people reporting being overstressed from work – Lifeline Australia
Subtle movement, even just moving from sitting to standing, can improve blood pressure and lower the risk of of a heart attack – JustStand.org
Simple specific low intensity exercises at the work station can improve posture at the desk and help combat associated aches and pain

Aligned for Life Pilates Kind July Pledge

That is why in this month of ‘Kind July’ we want to give back to the community by offering four businesses complementary workplace health program for 4 weeks called ‘Feel-good Fridays’. The program would run for an hour each week with the offering of Mat classes and Desk Exercise programs to empower you to take charge of your own health and wellbeing.

Click here  to register interest on behalf of your business or workplace.

This Kind July, make a pledge to not only be kind to others, but also kind to yourself.