Great Week One! 3/17/2017
This week we started both education and fitness programming with the great folks at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission! And some of the support we received was from one of our program participant graduates of last Summer’s Sober Living Enrichment Program!
Our first education group discussed the role nutrition plays in addiction recovery, and in living a lifetime of staying stopped. No one really thinks about under-nourishment and malnutrition while actively addicted. The fact that we start eating regularly again when clean and sober is about as far as most of us think about nutrition in recovery. That’s why we teach clients about the power eating right has in our healing more quickly, in reducing cravings and mood swings, and in supporting long-term abstinence.
Fitness groups were conducted at the Ethel Pearson Park. Team members got their fitness on by walking to and from the park (just under a mile round trip), by playing various sports sports together – like kickball, basketball, Frisbee golf, and catch – and by engaging in calisthenics.
Living Free’s primary fitness goal is motivational. It’s not about what our group members do so much as it is about them doing something they find enjoyable, and maybe a bit challenging. Staying engaged over time – just like for recovery – is the key to success! The more we get them out there, the more they want to do!
But what are some of the other clinical benefits of a regular, structured and supervised program of exercise?
- Improved conflict resolution skills
- Team work
- Acceptance
- Coping skills development
- Break from the myriad of life problems most are facing
- Increased desire to quit smoking cigarettes / consuming nicotine
- Greater focus on health and food choices
- Improved awareness and practice of appropriate behaviors in the community
Contact us to learn how we can implement this program into your treatment milieu – including discounted and confidential gym access through our partnership with a leading national gym/fitness provider!