Lynn Heieie, associate director
of admissions
What does wellness mean to you?
Wellness is about being heart healthy through discovering the perfect balance in your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The combination of how you balance things in your life is your own, unique “recipe” for health. Every individual has their own recipe that needs to be re-evaluated as they change and go through the different stages of their lives.
What do you do to stay well?
To stay well it doesn’t take much and it’s really pretty simple. For my physical well-being, I try to eat well, exercise, get enough rest, and get chiropractic adjustments regularly. To balance this with my emotional well-being, I do little things to make me feel good. I’m a country girl at heart and I love to feel comfortable in my old T-shirts, old jeans, and bare feet. Things that make me feel good could be anything from spending time with my animals, friends, family, to watching my nieces’ and nephews’ sporting events to singing at my church. However, nothing can beat going outside on a great sunshine-filled summer day. I love going up to the lake and watching the sunset over water or laying out on the dock closing my eyes and hearing nothing but the sounds of the lake and the woods.
How do you work wellness into your day?
I workout everyday whether it’s here at Northwestern, at home, or at a health club. My workout usually consists of some cardio on the elliptical machine or jogging on the treadmill followed by some strength training. I’m also I big believer in stretching before and after each session. Recently, I've included Pilates, Nia and Yoga classes into my daily routine. If I do have to miss a workout, I will take my dog, Sadie, out for a daily run or walk. When I’m feeling emotionally or mentally out of sorts, I know I need to work out hard with some good, loud music like Bon Jovi or Toby Keith or with some soft, more reflective music like Sara Groves. Emotional wellness is worked into my day by trying to follow the “Golden Rule” of treating others the way I would hope they’d treat me. It makes my heart feel good to offer hand or ear to those in need. Sometimes a simple smile or saying “good morning” is all that is needed to make someone’s day brighter.
What are your biggest struggles for maintaining wellness?
The biggest challenge for me is simply continuing to eat well and to incorporate enough vegetables into my diet.Also, stress sometimes can get the best of me but I try to not let that happen. However, I strongly appreciate those individuals in my life that help me work through those difficult times.
How do you find time to workout?
As most working parents know, finding time for ourselves, let alone time to workout, can be tricky. However, I’ve always made working out a priority in my daily life despite the different life stages I’ve gone through. When my kids were little, my top priorities always involved my kids, but I knew I needed to workout to feel good about myself and thus be a better parent. I would run at lunch every day to fulfill that “me” need and then I would go home and completely focus on my children. This made me happy and in turn made my kids happy, making me feel I was being the best mom I could be. Now that my children are older, I have more time for "me" and have added Pilates, Nia, and Yoga classes into my daily routine of cardio and strength training.
Why is being well important to you?
Wellness, again, is important because it makes me heart healthy and gives me the ability to look at myself in the mirror every day and like the person I see, inside and out. We are given only one shot at life so we better take care of our heart and our bodies in order to live a long, happy life.
Do you have any recommended resources for wellness?
One source for wellness I recommend is Sara Grove’s CD, “All Right Here” because of the strong, reflective messages it provides that relate well with any busy, working mom’s lifestyle.
