August Wellness Warriors

Lea Crowley – August Wellness Warrior Award Recipient

We are excited to introduce our first ever recipient of the UF & UF Health Wellness Warrior Award. Each month we will select two individuals from the peer-nomination form to be highlighted as the award recipients. Lea Crowley is our inaugural Wellness Warrior and the first  of two award recipients for August 2019.

Department: Community Health and Family Medicine (CHFM)

 Years of Service: < 1 (I started in November 2018)

Favorite hobbies? Yoga, cycling, bullet journaling, and spending time with my dog Curtis

How do you live a healthy lifestyle?

I practice yoga daily, whether with the wonderful teachers at Wildflowers Yoga (my favorite studio in town) or on my own at home. When the weather isn’t too stormy, humid, or hot, I cycle to work. A friend and I have a regular weekly bike date on the Hawthorne Trail, which helps us stay accountable for getting out of the house. I also do my best to eat foods that I know make me feel good; I’ve found that some foods taste delicious but make me feel awful after eating them, so I avoid those. We also cook most of our own meals at home, which helps us make healthier dietary choices and saves money!

What inspires you to make healthier choices and live a healthy lifestyle?

My main inspiration to maintain a healthy lifestyle comes from the way it makes me feel. When I exercise regularly and make an effort to eat healthier options, my mood is more positive, and I feel much more energetic. Whenever I fall off the healthy wagon for a couple of days, I feel the difference in my mood and energy and that’s enough to push me to hop back on the wagon.

Do you have a success story you would like to share?

Since becoming the Wellness Partner for the Department of Community Health and Family Medicine, I have observed with joy and enthusiasm as my colleagues have taken steps to boost their wellness. This feeling of enthusiasm and joy for playing a small role in helping other people achieve a higher level of wellness was a key factor in my decision to finally begin yoga teacher training. Once I complete my training in April, I aim to teach classes around Gainesville and help motivate a larger community to find what feels good for them!