First Partner of California joined McKinley School and Eliot Arts Magnet Academy students in Pasadena Thursday morning to celebrate Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind Day — a statewide day of action celebrating mindfulness, movement, and play.

The Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Well-Being, co-headed by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, led more than 600 students from the Pasadena Unified schools in several activities, including yoga, dancing, meditation, and drumboxing.

The morning rally was kicked off with a dance performance, getting students moving and on their feet before joining in a partner activity. Students also practiced at-home yoga stretches and breath work guided by members of Afro Yoga and a drum-based “brain workout” called “drumboxing” led by Los Angeles Opera percussionist John Wakefield. California Surgeon General Dr. Diana E. Ramos, an official partner of Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind, joined the Pasadena students in the drumboxing activity.

“We’re here, and in other schools across the state, to remind everyone from kindergarten to grown-ups, just how important it is to make time to move, play and be mindful daily,” said Newsom.

Newsom was set to travel back to Northern California following the morning rally at McKinley School for a second celebration at a Boys & Girl Club in San Mateo County.

“We want you to take advantage of all of the plethora of beauty, and topography, and the state parks, and everything California has to offer,” said Newsom.

The Council launched Move Your Body, Calm Your Mind Day in 2023 as an initiative to promote “equitable and sustainable access to physical fitness and mental well-being resources for ALL Californians,” prioritizing youth and families, the campaign’s website reads. Newsom encouraged students to start their days with movement and practice mindfulness in order to “thrive mentally, physically, and emotionally.”

The goals of the Council include promoting daily mindfulness and breathwork practices, promoting all types of physical movement, and imagining a more inclusive fitness sports and fitness culture for California youth.

“I know these have not been easy days since the fire,” said First Partner Newsom. “We’ve [the governor and I] have been doing our best to fight for all of you and make sure you have the resources that you need.”

Eliot Arts Magnet temporarily relocated to McKinley School after the Eaton fire damaged their campus, one of six Pasadena Unified schools destroyed or forced to relocate. Nearly half of the Eliot Arts’ student body lost their homes in the Eaton fire, with many more displaced.

Newsom, along with the California Partners Project, gifted McKinley School and Eliot Arts with an “easy-to-use” guide on how students and their families can “move more and scroll less.”

Pasadena Unified School District administrators participated alongside students in their day of movement and mindfulness, including PUSD Vice President Jennifer Hall Lee, PUSD Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco, Eliot Arts Magnet Principal Lanisha Mckenzie, and McKinley School Principal Dr. Maria Toliver.

“We are encouraging our students today to step away from the screens. Move your body and calm your mind,” Hall Lee said to the Pasadena schools. “Together, we are creating a healthier and more balanced future for our students and our family.”