Roll to the Vancouver Bike Show

This weekend CMHA Vancouver-Burnaby will be hosting a booth at the annual Vancouver Bike Show. The bike show is this weekend March 3 and 4, 2012. This is the place to be this weekend for anyone with an interest in riding - see bike demos, meet pro-riders and much more at this two day affair.

The CMHA booth will be providing information about our upcoming fourth annual community bike ride. Our bike ride brings together hundreds of cyclists riding through the city to raise money for mental health services in our community. Register now if you are interested in a fun day of riding, which is full of family friendly activities benefitting a great cause!

If you are planning on biking to the event this weekend always remember the five basic principles of safe riding:

• maintain your bicycle in good working order
• be as visible as possible to others
• learn the skills needed to control the bike
• cycle in traffic safely and predictably
• know and obey the rules of the ride

To learn more, the bike show this weekend will help any rider from novice to advanced learn training tips, how to ride safely in the city and the importance of staying healthy and getting outside. Hope to see you there!

Love To Be Well

Love is in the air, and not just due to the rapidly approaching holiday Valentines day. This past Wednesday, February 8th, CMHA staff, affiliated services and community members came together at the community creekside centre to celebrate wellness at the event Love to Be Well.

As guests entered the event they were invited to write their thoughts about mental health on hand cut hearts. They were asked to share what does mental health wellness mean to them, and if they had a wellness wish for another. The activity helped set the tone for the event and provided those present with the opportunity to see what others had written and wished for others.  

Everyone who attended had the opportunity to mingle over refreshments and meet representatives from different services and programs provided by the CMHA. Some of the services ranged from P.E.D.A.L. and Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition providing tips for this years community bike ride, to Get Set and Connect and super saturday club, which are regular programs run by the CMHA.

The guest speaker of the evening was healthy food guru Adam Hart. Adam is a nutritionist, Whole Foods chef, speaker, coach and author of e3 For Life. Adam spoke to the crowd about the strong food mood connection, and how what you eat can affect your mental health. During his talk, Adam touched upon how to reduce the impact of depression, how to use food to increase mental clarity and how to enhance your mental imagination.

The evening was capped off with laughter yoga led by Certified Laughter Yoga Leader Seia Roots. Laughter yoga includes traditional aspects of yoga like deep breathing and stretching with exercises designed to self-trigger laughter. Laughter yoga provides a stress release and studies have shown it provides positive psychological benefits. With a smile on their face after completing laughter yoga, guests left refreshed and renewed with new tools equipping them to love to be well.

Community Bike Ride Part 2

Thank you to everyone who came out to support mental health by riding, volunteering or donating services on Sunday! It was a rainy ride, but everyone, through their assistance and support, help raise awareness of mental health issues.

A longer update, and photos, will appear on this page soon!

Community Bike Ride for Mental Health

Join us this Sunday for the first annual community bike ride to support mental health! It's a fantastic way to spend a Sunday of a long weekend - enjoying a fun bike ride and supporting a great cause.

The scenic route starts at Central Park in Burnaby, makes its way past Queen E. Park and Trout Lake in Vancouver, before returning to Central Park. Snacks and refreshments will be provided for all riders, and participants will also receive a commemorative t-shirt. There will also be entertainment and prizes!

In Vancouver and Burnaby, over 161, 000 of our family members, friends, neighbours and coworkers are affected by mental illness, and good mental health is important for all of us. The Canadian Mental Health Association runs programs, events, support groups and educational opportunities aimed at helping those with mental illness in their recovery, and in promoting mental health for everyone. Take part in the Community Bike Ride because not only are exercise and volunteering good for your mental health, but your participation raises awareness and makes a real difference in your community.

We can't wait to see you there on Sunday! For more information visit: http://www.cmhacommunityride.ca/