It's all about movement.
As we enter into our 6th week of quarantine we’ve started to settle into a bit of a routine at my house. This week was the “busiest” week so far, as I added a new challenge into the mix. I’m proud to say that I hosted my first virtual health talk via Zoom! The talk centred around the two principals that I think are really important for overall health, balance and healthy movement. During the talk someone asked a really good question, “What advice do I have for those that are feeling overwhelmed, not only with the physical stress from working from home but with the mental stress of tackling it all? And so that brings us to this weeks blog topic.
I think right now it’s safe to say all of us are a bit stressed in some fashion. Whether you are working from home, out of work, an essential worker, homeschooling, parenting or simply trying to get through the day. Naturally when we are stressed our body goes into flexion, our body rounds down and forward. It’s a natural instinct for the body to go into protection mode.
My number one recommendation is to incorporate more movement into your day. Movement is life! I talk about it all the time because it really is that important! When we get our body moving it free’s up tension, decreases the release of cortisol, the “stress” hormone and stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators. Whatever movement you choose is up to you, it doesn’t have to be intense physical exercise but simply anything that gets you up and out of your chair.
Here are the top activities that my family and I do on a regular basis to get our body moving:
Gardening
Daffodil’s in my front garden.
Currently I’m a bit obsessed. I’ve always had a green thumb but I have to say during this quarantine I’ve stepped up my gardening game. Whether it’s doing some garden clean up, planting new seeds, nurturing my indoor seedlings or just admiring my spring bulbs, I’m getting my hands dirty and my body moving.
Online Workout Videos
My new favourite online workout videos to do are PopSugar Fitness on Youtube. Here’s why I like them: it’s FREE, there’s a ton of VARIETY (cardio, dance, yoga, beginner, full body, etc), typically they are SHORT workouts (20-40 minutes) and there are a lot of videos where NO EQUIPMENT is necessary. And the added bonus is my son loves to do them with me!
Evening Dance Party
In my house we LOVE to dance. It’s always a family affair and it’s a fun activity that we typically do somewhere between after dinner and bedtime. We pick our favourite songs and dance it up to whatever songs get us moving. Here’ a snippet of our dance party last night.
Neighbourhood Walk
We have a puppy in our house, his name is Bowie. He’s an 18 month old Cockapoo. Lucky for me, it’s an easy way to get some steps in by regularly taking him for walks. My son used his Easter money this year to buy a kids Garmen watch. It’s a Superman themed pedometer (he LOVES anything superhero) which has been an amazing thing to motivate him to come along for the walks with us. It counts his steps and unlocks a Spiderman game on my phone once he reaches 60 minutes of continuous activity. It’s fun and definitely motivating!
Throwback photo of us on a hike in Bancroft, summer 2019.
Movement is an essential for life. It gets blood flowing, boosts your spirits and decreases tension in the body. Try to find something that INSPIRES YOU to get your body moving!