Getting Your Groove Back
Whether it’s’ the holidays or just a bit of the winter doldrums one can easily get pulled off the health track. In the spirit of keeping it simple, here’s a few ideas to test out when your motivation level is on the low side.
No Guilt
First clear out the mental closet in terms of “beating yourself up” over what could have taken place. Think of it as a new starting point with a focus on the future, in coaching we call that performance mindset, see post here. Revisit your wellness purpose and plans with open arms.
Maybe something has changed, and you’d like to revamp. You can set a new focus and start now to finish the year strong. Think of where you’d like to be in a year and start taping into what that feels like.
Get Outside
There is no shortage of information on the benefits of the greater outdoors to both our mental and physical health. Even sources saying as little as 10 minutes a day outdoors can lessen your stress and lower cortisol, link here. This is the easiest place to start when feeling lethargic or lacking motivation.
Besides boosting our moral, recent research from Andrew Huberman of Stanford University cites, morning sunshine is and can be a positive contributor to better sleep hygiene. Knowing many individuals might have to deal with inclement weather, give it a try, dress properly and invigorate yourself outdoors. Your body and brain will thank you.
Move More During the Day
Have the holidays encouraged more sitting than you normally do? While structured exercise is without a doubt crucial to our overall health so is daily movement. I’m sure you’ve heard the campaign, sitting is the new smoking. While I try to not succumb to fear mongering, breaking up sedentary time is important for overall health.
Authors like Neville Owen, PhD, Genevieve Healy et al, have researched this topic deeply since 2010, see paper here. From a Kinesiology perspective we know changing our body position frequently aids in not allowing imbalances to build up from a muscular and skeletal perspective. Owen and others demonstrate a boon to our metabolic health. By breaking up sedentary time a stimulus is provided, albeit it small, but effective in enhancing metabolic processes. A win, win.
Start a Breathing Practice
If getting moving is still too big a hurdle right now, investigate a simple breathing practice. Various movement modalities such as Pilates and Yoga incorporate breathing practices in their training. The author of the book Breath, James Nestor, has several short videos on how to begin, link here, and by the way his book is an insightful read on how crucial proper breathing is to our overall health and wellbeing.
Here are two other suggestions on short routines (5-6 minutes max) one from Dr. Andrew Weil and the other Coach PJ Nestler. Dr. Weil’s gives specific recommendations one should NOT exceed for maximum performance. Coach PJ is orientated towards post intense workout that incorporates lying on the floor.
Are Seed Oils Depleting Your Energy?
Whether due to lockdowns or the holidays many individuals are consuming more processed food than normal. Consistent voices in the nutritional sector such as Chris Kresser, Dr. Cate Shanahan, Dr. Georgie Ede, Nina Teicholz, Dr. Mark Hyman and many others point to the detrimental effects of seed oils on our health. Particularly interesting is the role they potentially play at the cellular and mitochondrial level.
I am not saying cause and effect, but if you are low on energy a good place to explore is eliminating seed oils and by nature removing highly processed foods from your diet. This short video highlights the even more deleterious effect of seed oils on our health, by the fact restaurants are constantly re-heating these oils at extremely high heat for sometimes weeks on end. Not a plus when it comes to your health or energy.
Finish The Year Strong
2022 is not over yet. Find one small endeavor that creates positivity and confidence. You could sign up for language class, join a Pickle Ball group, take a dance class, explore a book club or any of the above suggestions. No need waiting till January to start something new.
The momentum you build now can carry you strongly to the finish line and on to 2023.
