Here is yet again, another thing that we all know we need, but that we may be underinvesting in. Creating a habit of daily movement could be one of the very best things you do to take care of yourself this holiday season and throughout your life.
In her book, The Joy of Movement by Kelly McGonigal, PhD she talks all about how physical exercise can be an incredible remedy for stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness, things that we experience daily in our modern world. She goes into all the scientific research and data but in short, our brains function on a higher level after physical exercise. We are better able to problem solve, connect with others, manage stress and understand our emotions all with this one simple thing, movement.
We can be better friends, spouses, parents, employees as we learn to create a habit of daily movement. That is why we are making it a priority over the next few weeks.
We are also starting small, because like any habit we need to establish it before we can improve it. So in order to follow through with the commitment of this last habit, we are going to find an anchor moment, a place in your existing routine to do 2 minutes of exercise. Yes, that's it, 2 minutes. Of course you can do more if you would like, but a minimum of 2 minutes everyday. That can be stretching, jumping jacks, a walk, pushups, you name it.
What will you choose to add to your existing routine?
And don't forget to celebrate! How will you celebrate that you took time for movement each day? My celebrations are usually just a big smile and the thought "yay, I did it!" be as creative or as simple as you want, but don't forget to celebrate.
Here's a little video from Kelly McGonigal, PhD where she talks about how exercise actually makes it so you enjoy things more, who doesn't want to get more joy out of their everyday lives?