A task each day for 12 days is totally do-able, right? Day 1 Practice belly (diaphragmatic) breathing for at least one minute. Many of us hold tension in our upper bodies and don’t even realize how shallow we breathe. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. Breathe in deeply though your nose. You should feel your stomach rise before your chest. Feel your rib cage expand. Exhale. Set a timer for one minute and repeat. You will be amazed at how great you feel when you are done! Day 2 Drink two 8 to 12 oz glasses of water within the first two hours of getting up. As you sleep, you lose water via respiration and through your skin. You need to replace it! It is a great habit to develop and puts you on track for better hydration. Cheers! Day 3 Write down three things you are grateful for right now. 💕 Practicing gratitude has been shown to improve physical and psychological health, opens the door to more relationships, and increases mental strength. It's okay to be general and include family, health, and home. However, it can be even more powerful to tune into what you are specifically grateful for in THIS moment. Day 4 Aim for 2 to 4 servings of veggies today! 🥦🥕🌶🥒 I know it can be tough if you aren’t a fan. What’s on your plate? Day 5 Make a list of your top priorities (no more than 5) for tomorrow morning before going to sleep. Writing this down can lessen anxiety you may have about all you need to do leading to a more restful night's sleep. AND it makes for a more productive morning! ✔️✔️ Day 6
Unless you regularly go to classes that incorporate it, you may not get balance exercises in your weekly routine. It is important to occasionally challenge your balance. Try this: Balance on your right leg. Bring your left knee up waist high. Extend arms out to side (like an airplane ✈️) Perform arm circles forward for a count of eight. Repeat in the other direction. How was your balance? 👍 Now try it on the other side. ✔️ Too easy? Try it again but close your eyes!
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Failure. Plenty has been said and written on the subject. This is nothing new...moving on and learning from failure is critical to success. But how easy we forget when we are in the midst of struggling with it. Next time you're found, with your chin on the ground As a child, when I was distraught about being unable to accomplish a task, my mom would sing High Hopes. At the time, I didn't pay attention to the lyrics or receive comfort from hearing the song. It was a distraction; one that was both funny and annoying...the annoyance increasing with my age. For years, I believed it was either failure or success with nothing in between. Failure was and continues to be HARD for me. I know; it's hard for everyone. Some of us, though, take it straight to heart. My identity was wrapped up in "not failing" and when I did, I was an emotional WRECK! My inner dialogue was brutal. Failure was to be avoided at all costs; I generally would give up before facing it again. I can now appreciate the song and understand why my mom would sing it. Persistence in the face of failure is challenging but absolutely necessary for success. We've seen a surge in body positivity and body acceptance in all forms of media. #bodypositive has over five million posts on Instagram. More brands are featuring women of varying sizes and shapes. Yet, the underlying message remains, especially in relation to the fitness industry, that to be considered fit/healthy, you must look a certain way. Most fitness programs aimed at women are linked to aesthetics. Get that beach body. Work for the perfect round butt. Develop goddess quads. Get rid of belly fat and sculpt your abs.
I don't have six pack abs and I don't want them. But I feel like I'm expected to. Fitness goes beyond appearance. We know this. Yet, aesthetics is what large portions of the fitness industry use to drive sales. The hard, shiny bodies and exposed toned torsos are what is equated to being healthy and fit. It is what we are supposed to strive towards. Let's say no. Leading a physically active lifestyle and engaging in a purposeful exercise program is about MORE IMPORTANT THINGS. We exercise because:
Many other amazing mental, emotional, and physical benefits aren't listed here. Once I started exercising because of the way it makes me feel and the health benefits rather than chasing after specific body part shapes, I found it much easier to get moving. I stopped making as many excuses to skip planned exercise. As a result, my body did change and I ended up with some of those specific body part shapes after all. So go for a walk. Dance. Lift weights. Do yoga. Move your body. Do it for yourself - not because you are trying to change to fit some sort of “ideal”. Create goals that work for you and your body. Your fitness journey will be much more pleasant if you do! |
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