Gayle HI strongly believe that if health is a priority in your life, you will find the time in your day to eat healthy food, move your body, de-stress, and rest.
Because what we prioritize gets done.
But I am a human being, living in the real world, and know full well that some days, there really truly is….
NO TIME.
These are the days that the well laid plans get all messed up due to travel delays, child illness, or that last minute urgent request from your boss. The days when things that weren’t on your schedule must take priority over those things that were on your schedule. Those days when the unplanned must become the planned.
The days when events out of your control wind up in control.
They happen to us all. Hopefully not very often, but that’s how real life works. We try our best, but sometimes our best is trumped by Mother Nature, the need to pay your bills, or a bad case of the flu.
For many of us, an out of control day creates enormous stress. While dealing with the crisis at hand is stressful, we then beat ourselves up mentally for not doing all those healthy things we should be doing.
Stress heaped on top of more stress is never a good situation.
So how do we pull ourselves out of the stressful downward spiral of self hatred, resentment and guilt?
By doing a few things every single day that become a healthy foundation you can rely on – even during those days where you have no time for your usual healthy routine. These take seconds to complete. Use resources that you can find anywhere. And improve your health immediately.
- Take a deep breath. I mean a really deep breath. Take a moment now and place your hand on your abdomen, just below your belly button. Now, breath from that area under your hand until you feel your hand rise with your belly. Inhale to the count of four, and really feel that breath move from your abdomen, through your lungs, into your throat, to the top of your head. Now hold for a second. Hold it! Good – exhale to a count of five. Notice how you feel. Taking a big long deep breath will do a couple of amazing things for your health. First, provide oxygen to the brain, creating clearer thinking. Second, give your body the ‘time to relax’ signal, allowing physical and mental relaxation to happen immediately. A quick ‘stress break’ if you will. Immediate health benefits, mentally and physically, all in 10 seconds using just your body. Easy peasy. Here are some other ideas for quick, easy breathing exercises.
- Drink a glass of water first thing every morning. There is no better way to tell your body to ‘wake up!’ than to feed it a big glass of water. Your energy levels skyrocket with the oxygen intake. (remember your grade school science – water is two-parts hydrogen, one-part oxygen). Your body will thank you for the immediate hydration fix after going so long without a sip of water. And all those toxins that congregated in your body as you slept? Well they get washed away. Immediate health benefits, mentally and physically, in one minute, using a glass of water.
- Stand up and stretch. You can do this one first thing in the morning along with that glass of water, or any time you move from the sitting position to the standing position (feels great after a long flight!). Bring your arms up over your head and reach up as high as you can (hands together) into the sky. Then, slowly bend your body to the left, then slowly back up straight. Now, slowly bend your body to the right, then slowly back up straight. If you are feeling good and want a bit more, slowly bend over and try to touch the floor. Tighten your belly and as you roll back up, bring your arms back up over your head for a final reach before you bring them down. Immediate health benefits physically because you are realigning your body and stretching out muscles that have been cramped up in either the sleeping or the sitting position. Immediate health benefits mentally because you took a moment to think of nothing else but how you were moving your body, and how that felt. Three minutes and all you need is your body.
These few tricks will help keep your mind and body healthy on those days when doing anything more feels impossible.
But, the MOST important trick is this: Get back into your healthy routine as quickly as possible! Even if you are only able to add a few actions back in a day – over time, these small steps will lead you back to your healthy home.
You can always control some area of your health – even if the rest of you is out of control.
If You Do Nothing Else …
Build these three easy habits into your daily routine starting tomorrow – so when you hit one of those ‘out of control, no time for anything days’, these three actions will keep your health from falling completely off the list.
Gayle H
