10 STEPS to Stay Motivated to Move

by | Jan 27, 2021 | Health and Wellness | 0 comments

Walking in the neighborhood-notice the technique - keep the arms up and moving with the legs.

I love walking

I hear this often -“I’m having a hard time getting exercise-I’m bored, get interrupted, it’s too cold and just don’t like it. What can I do to get my exercise and stay motivated?”

I always ask, “What is an activity you enjoy? Walking? Dancing? Ballet/Bar? Yoga? Tai Chi? Meditative movement? And then what is the best time for you to take 30 minutes to dedicate to a workout of some sort?” For me it’s walking and dancing. I love to walk.

30 minutes 5 days a week  gives you the recommended 150 minutes for promoting and maintaining health and wellness. Add two days in your week to do resistance exercises using weights, bands or even your own body. Make the 30 minutes your sacred half hour and find something you like to do. Walking can be boring. I usually listen to podcasts or make phone calls. Some people love to listen to music and walk to the beat.

When it’s cold outside, walk in place or turn on a You Tube Walking Workout video. You Tube has just about any kind of workout you’re in the mood for.

Here are the links to a couple of my favorite indoor walking workouts:

FAST Walking in 30 minute

30 Minute Boosted Fitness Walk

10 STEPS To Help You Stay Motivated 

  • Make this your time to feel good. The best motivation is what comes from you internally instead of trying to please someone else or because you feel guilty. Call it movement instead of exercise or workout if that makes you feel better.
  • Get a pedometer and track your steps-go for 10,000 but start from whereever you are and make 10,000 your goal. (More below)
  • Make it fun. Put on some cardio dancing music and dance for 30 minutes. Or add variety. You can do some cardio and whole body work.
  • Walk around your house when you are making phone calls or listening to podcasts.
  • Put on a You Tube video.
  • Join a Zoom exercise class.
  • Buy a new exercise outfit that makes you feel comfortable with your movement. And don’t forget good shoes.
  • If you can, create a special place in your basement or home just for exercise. You can put mats on the floor and posters on the walls that motivate you and help you to visualize your success at feeling and staying fit.
  • Forgive yourself if you a miss a day or two and just get back to it. It’s not all or nothing, it’s something – whatever you will do.
  • Reward yourself. After you are done, you can take a soothing bath, read magazines, play a game on your phone, or make a relaxing phone call.

More on 10,000 Steps

If you want to begin with lifestyle changes and exercise is your top priority, go out and buy a pedometer and work up to 10,000 STEPS PER DAY. I love my pedometer. I put it on in the morning and track every step. You would be surprised how little walking you get in if you sit at the computer all day. On the other hand if you have steps in your house and you vacuum daily, run errands, do the gardening, and walk to the mailbox, you may find that by mid afternoon you have over 5, 000 steps. Now all you have to do is go out and take a brisk walk for less than an hour and you will have your 10,000 steps. You can sneak steps into your day by parking your car farther away, walking up and down every aisle in the supermarket, window shopping at the mall, or simply walking around while chatting on the telephone. I wish I had invented the concept of 10,000 steps. 10,000 Steps is equal to about 5 miles of walking. In the beginning don’t worry if you are getting sufficient aerobic exercise at your target heart rate, just WALK. Once 10,000 steps is a habit increase your intensity and frequency, but for now just clip on your pedometer and get walking, and of course, if you are not used to exercise, check with your doctor to make sure you are ready to begin.

I found a great web site using this concept.
http://www.thewalkingsite.com/10000steps.html

 

Life Management and Balance Tips for Dealing with Coronavirus

by | Mar 24, 2020 | Health and Wellness | 0 comments

The Coronavirus

The Coronavirus has changed the world as we know it. These are tough times right now and we are all living with incredible uncertainty. That uncertainty is causing an array of emotions -anger, fear, guilt, sadness and curiosity. This is all natural for us as humans. We feel incredibly threatened and have no true idea of what life will look like in the future. I think most of us would agree, life will never be the same. Hopefully this will not only be a challenging time but also a time for all of us to learn how to help each other and the universe. And humans are resilient-we will get through this!

If there was ever a time to call on your spiritual journey to carry you through it is now. A Course in Miracles teaches that we can’t change the world, but we can change our minds about the world. We are all going to see the world differently. We can’t control everything going on right now. All you can do is live every moment, follow common sense precautions like hand washing and social distancing. Taking normal precautions is a good thing but if we let our fear, guilt and anger overtake us, we will be no help to the world.

We can best help by keeping ourselves healthy so that those who really need the frontline care of our courageous doctors, nurses, and health care workers can get the proper care with the proper equipment. They are the boddhisatvas- a Buddhist term for one who stays around until everyone is healed before taking the final step into Nirvana.

Did you know that the sanskrit word for compassion is Karuna? I heard this on a Dharma talk the other day and I thought- “Wow” That doesn’t sound a whole lot different than Corona, which actually means crown. I’d like to think that rather than be afflicted with coronavirus, which they say we may all have a touch of, we could be afflicted with koruna – compassion for everyone right now. None of us are totally sure how to handle our lives right now so reach out with calm and kindness as much as possible.

Here are some other ways to balance the anxiety and stress of these uncertain times.

Meditate – Simply give your self time to sit, breathe, and allow whatever thoughts and feelings to come up-tears are good and so is laughter. See my post on meditation.

Yoga and Tai Chi or just meditative dance are all fun and relaxing. Put on some quiet music or a video and move through your favorite poses. Sometimes I just put on healing music and dance like I’m floating.

Take a break from television and social media. We can become oversaturated with newscasts and updates. It is good to stay abreast to directives for how to live and work right now, but not all day. I notice how emotional we can get when our fear takes over-that will just fry your immune system

Boost your Immune System. Keep your cells healthy. Check out my post https://themiddlewayhealth.com/our-internal-warrior-the-immune-system/on taking care of it by healthy eating and drinking but more importantly healthy doing and thinking.

Exercise-One of the best things you can do right now is to keep moving. Many people have worried about gaining weight while isolated. Easy to grab snacks and eat out of anxiety and boredom. Get out and walk, if you can. When I am on the phone (unless it is a coaching call) I walk inside my house-amazing how many steps on I can get this way. There are some great fitness videos and workouts on You Tube.

Cook and Plan healthy meals. I happen to love to cook but friends who have just been eating out in the past are now getting back to enjoying their kitchens and culinary creativity. Get out the cook books and have fun making nutritious and colorful foods.

CONTACT ME FOR MORE STRESS MANAGEMENT TIPS OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE COACHING IN MEDITATION AND WELLNESS

 

Our Internal Warrior-The Immune System

by | Oct 21, 2010 | Health and Wellness | 0 comments


You wake up and notice throughout the day that you’re not feeling quite right. You wake up and still feel tired. You feel an odd sensation in your body. Your throat is a bit scratchy. You may even notice your glands near your ears are a bit tender or even swollen. I call this the eewy jeewies or that punky feeling. I know when I feel this way that my immune system is weak and I am at the tipping point for illness. My awareness of this feeling tells me I need to take care of myself with diet, exercise and stress management.  I may need to rest, increase my Vitamin C by eating fresh fruits and vegetables. I may even crave oranges or foods with the vitamins my body needs.  I notice I don’t crave my normal cup of coffee. Instead I want a cup of hot tea. At lunch I want hot soup. Our bodies are amazing. If we pay attention, we will get warning that our immune system wants to work for us.

What is it that prevents us from getting sick? And when we do get sick, what is this marvelous system that helps us heal.  It is our immune system. This system is working all the time, whether we are sick or well. It is a system of specialized organs and cells. The organs are the thymus gland, lymph nodes, spleen, and bone marrow. The cells are white blood cells, T cells, called T helper cells and T killer cells, and B cells. These cells are smart and know when germs or foreign particles don’t belong.  They all have a job and work together to fight organisms that cause disease. They are living breathing cells. Each cell has a job, much like an army.

To boost the power of your immune system you need to eat a healthy diet full of fresh vegetables and fruits, limit simple sweet sugary foods, and increase pure water and liquids. Your body needs to rest if you get sick, but to avoid illness and keep the immune system strong you need to keep your body strong with exercise and play.  Most of all you need to do a mind check.  There is power in positive thinking. Laughter, smiling and joy increase immunity. Conflict, sadness and pessimism weaken immunity. Daily meditation and listening prayer reduce the frenzy of thoughts in our mind and lessen stress, thus improving function of this powerful internal warrior. Funny that for this warrior system to fight illness, it helps to have a peaceful heart and mind.

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