When you’re self-employed, the boss doesn’t like it when you call in sick. Staying healthy is vitally important, yet some of us file it in the “assumption” category, instead of making a conscious effort to include it in a written action plan. How does health affect the efficacy of your work? Four Lexington entrepreneurs share their stories of workplace wellness.
Kimberly Hudson, founder of The Curious Edge Foundation, Inc.
www.thecuriousedge.org
Number of employees: 5 full-time, 12 part-time, 30 summer-only employees
Stacey Ashley, my partner in the Reading Room, a program we offer, is very health conscious. Initially, she shamed some of us to be more conscious of what we were eating and how much we were exercising, simply from leading by example. This has contributed to several of us really changing our eating habits, by increasing our protein intake and reducing the number of carbs we eat. Because we work with children, it’s important that we have a high energy level. We have a large number of students who are easily distracted. We can keep them more easily engaged when we feel good and are full of energy. That is hard to do if we feel sluggish and rundown. Some of us have completely eliminated carbonated beverages, which has resulted in the increase of water. Personally, this has changed what I am doing at home with my children. My 14-year-old daughter and I have changed our eating habits and have lost a combined 55 pounds since May. It truly has been a lifestyle change.
Liz Toombs, CID; owner and interior decorator at Polka Dots & Rosebuds Interiors
www.polkadotsandrosebuds.com
Number of employees: 1
I find that a combination of exercise, regular chiropractic adjustments and getting plenty of sleep help me feel my best. I attend classes at Kentucky Fit Club a minimum of three times a week to stay active. At the beginning of each month, I sit down and put my workouts on my calendar so I don’t schedule appointments that conflict with them. I’m getting certified to teach a hip-hop dance class there, because I’ve found that any time I teach others, I become better myself.
The chiropractic care and sleep help my body rest and keep itself regulated, which is just as important as staying active. My job can be physical at times, and I’m on the go a lot. I don’t just stand back and bark orders; I move furniture, hang artwork, load and unload items, all of which requires me to be healthy and strong. If I were unhealthy and missing work regularly, I wouldn’t have business at all.
Andre Regard, owner and attorney at Regard Law Group PLLC
www.regardlaw.com
Number of employees: 3
I do not have a program other than going to the YMCA and biking. My employees all work out on their own. I think the best I do is let my employees work out at the gym whenever they want to. I do give time off to go to the gym. Those who work out perform better.
Ramon and Arwen Careaga, president and office managerat Blue Lotus Health & Acupuncture, LLC
www.bluelotushealth.com
Number of employees: none yet
Our workplace wellness is our “office stress reduction” program. It is done in a community-style acupuncture; that is, in zero-gravity chairs and using only arms, legs and ears. It is very convenient, albeit more limited in this case, to stress reduction.
I [Ramon] am also able to teach tai-chi seminars and meditation classes for the same general purpose of wellness, longevity and stress reduction. I use all of Chinese medicine to stay healthy myself. Health care is seriously draining on every modality from surgeon and doctor, to veterinarians and nurses, to chiropractors and acupuncturists. So I use meditation, twice-weekly acupuncture, take herbs, drink more tea and less coffee, and try to moderate the amount of stress-compensation foods with healthy foods.
I don’t judge people for their diets, unless paid to, and I don’t claim to have a perfect diet. But I do try to use balance in food, volume and time of day for eating. I also recommend, for the most part, that people these days try to do less. Everyone wants to multitask, but actually this is very bad for the qi [energy]. The distraction level and the anxiety it produces is not good. When I get anxious about work or money or anything related, I try to have faith, deep breathe and remember that no hard worker in this world has ever starved, so it can always be worse — even if it could be better.
Kathie Stamps posts grammar tips at www.facebook.com/GrammarTips.