Health KickStart Series #2: Speed Up
By Nicole Martin
January 3, 2018
Welcome to Part 2 of our Health Kickstart series. If you haven’t watched or read Part 1: Frame Your Day, you can do that here.
This series is designed for people who want to get healthy… but just can’t seem to get any traction. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. So, the goal here is to give you a step by step plan to do just that. Each part of the series will give you a small, comfortable action to take each day. Before long, if you stick with it, the steps within this plan will make a significant impact on your long-term health.
Watch Part 3 Now!
Or, read more below…
In Part 1: Frame Your Day, we started each day by getting your mindset to find the positivity in each of your days like a compass always tracking toward the magnetic North Pole.
Now, we’re going to get moving.
Why?
Because if you look around and watch older people, many of them are hunched over. Over a third of our nation is obese. We’re one of the idlest cultures in history.
People who don’t move during their lives end up in a spot, later in life, where they CAN’T move.
As an integrative health coach and nutritionist, I see it all the time… I once had a woman who wanted desperately to get healthy and eat better. But she couldn’t stand at the kitchen counter long enough to cut vegetables. It’s super sad. And hers wasn’t an isolated case.
But there’s an answer. No matter where you are in life, no matter how unhealthy you might be, even a little bit of movement each day can go a long way. Even if you have to sit in a chair and just curl your toes, five minutes of that each day will make a difference. I know because I’ve seen the transformations… over and over and over.
So, here are four ideas for moving—and making those movements count!
1. Take a Walk
Nothing crazy here. Just walk around the block. Or as far as you’re comfortable going. Even if it’s just down the driveway to get the mail? Great! Just do it.
2. Take the Stairs
Elevators are fantastic if you want to haul freight up 30 stories. They’re not so great when it comes to getting us moving.
With each step, notice what your body is doing. Notice which muscles are working. This is called “mindful movement,” and when you get your brain involved in with your body’s movement, it can maximize your efforts.
So spend five minutes today and take the stairs. Keep your mind in it as you do it. It seems almost ridiculous, given how simple it is. But, again, we’re talking about baby steps. The only way to create lasting change is to start small… and then build.
3. Try this Simple “Mindful Movement” Exercise
1 – Stand up with your toes pointed forward and your feet about 4 inches apart.
2 – Push both feet into the ground and squeeze up—tighten your ankles, tighten your calves, tighten your thighs, continuing up through your entire body allowing the breath to come in passively.
3 – Now take a step forward with one leg, exhaling down through that leg.
4 – Now tighten the muscles of your forward leg. All the way up- ankles, calves, thighs.
5 – Notice how your back leg is lighter. While pushing into the ground with your forward leg, allow your back leg to lift up and take a step forward.
6 – With each movement, notice how each muscle down through your body feels as it tenses and relaxes.
7 – Repeat.
4. Do Whatever You Can
If any of the first three on this list are too much for you, do what you can. Remember the toe-curling from before? It can be something as simple as that. Just keep your mind involved as you do it, and you’ll see real progress.
The key, again, is to keep it simple, keep it small, and keep it going.
Make those five minutes meaningful, make them a habit… and before you know it you’ll be heading in the right direction.
[Want to go more in-depth with mindful movement? Download our free Movement guide right here.]
Listen to Part 2 here:
