Harrington Presents to NASA for Journey to Wellness Program
Department of Health and Exercise Studies faculty member Renee Harrington presented to NASA as a part of their Journey to Wellness program on October 26, 2021.
Created in 2020 by the NASA Health Promotion Wellness and Fitness Program, the Journey to Wellness program aims to generate positive change in the health and well-being of the NASA community. The program consists of monthly events which feature high-quality presentations on health-related topics that help people effectively manage pandemic-related strains on working life, specifically, the shift to working from home.
During her 60-minute presentation and a 30-minute Q&A, Renee spoke to a diverse audience of over 1,000 people about the importance of implementing wellness techniques in our daily lives.
What did you want the audience to take away from this presentation?
The title of the presentation was “Energize: Positively Supercharge Your Well-Being”. In the presentation, I discussed the Polyvagal Theory and the autonomic nervous system and how virtual/remote work and the COVID pandemic make it a challenge to stay in the more evolved portion of our nervous system – the social engagement system – and how that affects us both physically and mentally. After that, I provided a lot of information on nutritional interventions, mind-body practices, and neuroscience techniques to be able to reset the nervous system and create overall health and well-being.
Are there any details or moments of the presentation that you felt stood out above others?
The 30 minute Q&A at the end was a highlight as there were so many great questions from participants and it was nice to be able to interact with them considering the presentation was online on Teams.
At the end I was asked what three top thoughts/advice I had to give – which I thought was one of the best questions and a perfect way to summarize the key takeaways.
I first referenced the quote, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now” (right now being the best time to start implementing wellness techniques). I then mentioned how everyone throws around the phrase “too busy” (which is just a way of saying something is not a priority) and that we are never too busy to take care of our physical and mental well-being. Lastly, I mentoned that eating healthy foods and living an active lifestyle should be an integral part of life. People often say they want work-life balance, whereas I like to promote having life balance and that work is a part of it; similarly healthy eating and an active lifestyle should be part of everyday life.
What does this presentation mean to you?
I feel honored to have been asked to share my knowledge and expertise to such a large community, especially concerning such an important topic of how to improve well-being. It was also the largest number of people I have presented to at one time.
How have you expanded your knowledge and expertise throughout this experience?
Being able to present to diverse groups is a way to expand knowledge and expertise, as you have to consider how to make the information important and relevant to the specific community. All of the employees at NASA are very intelligent and already know so much about health and wellness, so it challenged me to be able to identify areas where I can further their knowledge and motivation for a healthy lifestyle.
