By Bethany BROWN

In partnership with UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind (SBSM), Glendale Unified School District has created a state-of-the-art fitness studio at all secondary schools to benefit the health of the GUSD student community for years to come. The studios have officially been added to all middle schools across the district and studios at the high schools are set to be open in the fall.

The celebration of its opening at Rosemont Middle School was held the morning of Thursday, May 26 as students and staff gathered in the amphitheater to hear from experts about the importance of physical and mental health and how they directly relate to one another.

SBSM has been a leading provider of youth health and wellness resources throughout Los Angeles for over 20 years and aims to promote self-confidence and healthy lifestyle choices among today’s youth. SBSM targets its efforts to provide equitable access to physical education and wellness programs at middle schools and high schools. The program ensures schools have the necessary training and tools for the physical education department to reach its highest potential.

Matt Flesock, executive director of UCLA Health SBSM, said he believes that health equity is one of the most important concepts to promote in today’s world. His primary focus within his position is to build community partnerships, advocate for equal access to health and physical education and motivate students to live healthy lives.

“We couldn’t be happier to be here and support you guys,” he said to students. “Our goal is to encourage you all to understand the true value of health and fitness.”

The newly developed fitness studios are equipped with some of the best spin bikes, rowing machines and agility ladders, among others, which provide opportunity for students to work at their own pace and try new things until they find a routine that fits. Flesock introduced Tasha Danvers, a British Olympic bronze medalist who finished in third place in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Danvers asked the students to give themselves a round of applause because she expects them to “make the best use of their new equipment” and recognizes it’s not always easy for people to remember to prioritize their health – both mental and physical. She honored students for their perseverance during a rather difficult last couple of years and hoped the fitness studio will serve as a space where they can decompress and focus on their overall wellness.

She then led the audience in several breathing exercises, which she claims were the same ones she did prior to winning her medal. As she compared the brain to legs, continuously moving and working, she stressed the importance of taking a break – a “brain break” – as well as taking physical breaks.

“We have to give the brain moments where it just gets to stop,” Danvers said. “These breaks keep us from getting exhausted, frustrated, stressed and anxious. It doesn’t always have to be a breathing exercise; it’s just about taking a moment to silence your mind and do something completely different than your normal routine to help calm and refresh the body and mind so that you can continue to get better and stronger.”  

Flesock emphasized SBSM’s motto, “Break a Sweat, Change Your Life,” and said the beliefs surrounding this motto are the positives and benefits that come from movement that are immense: mental health, academic improvement, social/emotional skills and more.

“It’s all connected back to being active,” he said. “We’re providing students with access and opportunity that previously didn’t exist at their schools and in the many communities that we serve. We hope that by providing this access we are allowing students the ability to change their lives. To build positive healthy habits at a young age and help our youth charter a path to a healthier, more active lifestyle is one of the best preventive health measures you can have.”

In addition to the fitness studios, SBSM also provides a nutrition curriculum, fitness curriculum and mindfulness program for students and teachers that further aims to strengthen the value they place on health – mental and physical. Flesock said that each component of health and wellness amplify and build on one another and to focus on just one of them would be a disservice in that it would cap potential.

“It is less about asking which one is more important than the others and it’s more about, ‘How can we make sure that each pillar of wellness is nurtured and supported?’” he said, noting that each deserves to be tended to equally. “You can’t have a strong foundation with weak cracks on one side.”