The thing that separates the good schools from the great, is about how well they understand that what they teach, doesn’t just lie in the academic. For as high as our academic standards at C.D.L are and how hard our students work; what we pride ourselves on is an education that can prepare for when life truly begins.

And much like the academic, the basics is where it all comes together. Because maintaining a healthy body and mind doesn’t require much creativity. But it does require routine. Simple maintenance in the most obvious areas. Getting enough sleep. Eating well. Reducing time spend between them and electronics. And it’s easy to forget that. So at C.D.L, in our Wellness sessions we bring our boys at Olympus together to remind them about those healthy basics and getting them involved in revitalising their interest in them.

Featured below is a photograph of our C.D.L counsellor Jody supervising a mindfulness exercise.

The point of the exercise echoes what the point of the whole Wellness program is, to remind our boys of the most basic of things and take control of them.

The session Jody conducted was very similar to meditation. Our boys were asked to relax and to become as aware as they can of their bodies, guided through it by Jody. Eyes closed, they take a sensory journey from the top of their heads, all the way down their nerves, to the tips of their fingers and toes. To become aware of their breathing and their pulse.

The regular function of our bodies can so often become background noise to our busy daily activities, it’s valuable to revisit them. To be in control of our breathing and know how we’re actually feeling. And most of the time, it’s tired. And a lot of exhaustion can come from being stuck in ones head. But remembering to inhabit our bodies as a whole, can relax us and tell us the whole story about how we’re feeling.

Over this year, we will be revisiting many exercises in Wellness to teach our boys about the simple maintenance they can take care of to get better sleep and be more aware of what they need.

We hope that you all out there are taking the time to listen to your bodies as well and get the rest and relaxation that you need, as well.

Best wishes, from the Olympus Boarding Team.