Celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week: Embracing Movement and Mindfulness

At Tokio Marine HCC International (TMHCCI), we understand the importance of mental health and its profound impact on our overall wellbeing. To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, Monday 13 – Sunday 19 May 2024, we curated a calendar of events under this year’s theme of “Movement.” 

Our week kicked off with several of our offices participating in physical activities in nature:

• A series of mindful walks over lunchtime designed to help participants reconnect with their surroundings, connect with colleagues outside the office, reduce stress and enhance mental clarity.
• Employees from our Dusseldorf office walked 4km through their local green spaces.
• In Barcelona, a Chi Kung session introduced employees to coordinated body posture and movement, breathing, and meditation.
• A 5km run along the South Bank in London.

In the office and online we offered yoga sessions and dial meditation to those who prefer a more tranquil approach to movement. These classes allowed employees to stretch, breathe, and find balance amid their busy schedules. Yoga’s focus on mindfulness and body awareness perfectly complemented the theme of movement, highlighting how gentle exercise can soothe the mind and body.

Stretching the City hosted a Move at your Desk workshop to get our employees moving throughout the day, where a Pilates teacher demonstrated simple yet effective exercises that can be discreetly incorporated into the working day. They also provided corporate massages to help release the tension we can hold in our shoulders and necks.

Recognising that not all beneficial activities require physical exertion, we hosted arts and crafts workshops, including a paint-a-long in London and a crochet-and-chat session in Leicester. Both activities have been shown to have significant mental health benefits, providing an outlet for creativity and allowing employees to unwind and tap into their artistic side.

Our wellbeing initiatives are designed to help employees find the right balance, reduce stress and foster a workplace culture where everyone can flourish and belong.