The phrase “self-care” might evoke images of spa treatments and restorative body therapies like hot stone massage, aromatherapy facials, or masks and body scrubs. Maybe you think of self-care as spending an afternoon at the salon with your stylist and nail technician or a soothing bath with candles and a fragrant body scrub at the end of the evening. For the record, I LOVE all of these things. In fact, for many years, I dreamed of opening a spa that offered yoga, massage, other bodywork therapies, esthetic services, hydrotherapy, luxe body products, the works. Services like these are designed to be relaxing, rejuvenating, and they can help promote mental and physical equanimity. As a result of these treatments, self-image and mindset are often improved, and for an hour or two, you are transported out of the daily grind into a soothing, peaceful experience.
As much as I love all of these treatments, they do not make up my routine self-care practices. Like you, I have a busy schedule, balancing work, family, and home life. There are dinners to plan, kids to transport, relationships to nurture, deadlines to meet, you know how it goes. Time is limited, and I have to be selective about what I commit to and how I plan my schedule.
If you haven’t guessed already, the self-care practice I always make time for is MOVING MY BODY. As I conveyed about spa treatments and salon services, this is not to say other aspects of self-care like good nutrition, meditation, and (especially!) sleep are not important. All of these practices are vital to achieving deep health, that is, vibrant health across the physical, mental, emotional, social, and relational domains. As much as possible, we should devote some focused attention to each of these areas. But, if I could only do one, exercise would win every time.
Our bodies are designed to move. They’re designed to crawl, walk, run, jump, dance, skip, and bend. I have always loved to move. My mom often tells me the story of how, as a little girl, I would do repetitive cartwheels in the kitchen when she was trying to talk to me. At some point she would always have to say, “Steph! Stop. Doing. CARTWHEELS!” When I was younger, I was in gymnastics, and along the way began dance. I went on to study modern dance in college, and soon after, developed a love for yoga and became a certified yoga instructor.
If I don’t move my body on a regular basis, I start to feel very off. My mood is affected. I’m more prone to the effects of stress. I feel less resilient. What I know for myself is that I need to enjoy the exercise that I’m doing or I will be inclined to skip it. This means I have a highly varied movement schedule. Depending on how I feel mentally and physically, sometimes I run, sometimes I walk, sometimes I do yoga, and sometimes I do a fitness program like T25. I also like to strength train and designed a workout I can do at home with just a few dumbbells of varying weights. I believe movement and exercise SHOULD BE enjoyable or at the very least, rewarding when you are finished. If there’s not some moderately fun component to it or if the practice is too challenging, we will be much less likely to actually do it.
If you struggle to get motivated to exercise or to fit it into a busy schedule, here are a few strategies you can try:
- Number 1: Exercise as early in the day as you can. Exercising early in the day makes it more likely you will keep that commitment to yourself. I know I don’t have to tell you there are a million things that can and WILL come up throughout the day. Exercising during the first part of your day also creates momentum. You’ve accomplished something already, which puts you in a great mindset for tackling your to-do list and tasks scheduled for the rest of the day.
- Number 2: Don’t be a “hardaholic” about exercising. What I mean is, don’t think you have to exhaust yourself in some epic workout to reap the benefits of moving your body. You do not! Studies have shown as little as ten minutes of exercise a day is beneficial. If you love to be outside, go on a brisk walk or head to your local park for a short hike. If you have kids, play catch or tag for ten minutes in your backyard. If you love to bike, gear up and enjoy a ride around the block a few times as the sun is going down. We often discount the smaller chunks of movement in our lives, but all of those bits add up and can make a huge difference in how we feel and how our bodies function.
- Number 3: Change things up. If you are finding yourself in a rut, not wanting to exercise, IT IS TIME to try something new. Maybe look into an at home fitness program, or go to a yoga class (online or in person), or sign up for some type of movement class, whether that’s a dance class, Tai Chi, a group fitness program, etc. There are so many things we can do to move our bodies in ways that are enjoyable. Sometimes you just have to experiment a little bit and figure out what you like and what you are willing to do on a consistent basis.
- Number 4: Start small. Really small. Fight the urge to overcommit and overschedule exercise for yourself. If you’re not getting to the gym as much recently or if you stopped meeting your jogging/walking partner, do not try to suddenly schedule in five or six days a week of exercise. Try aiming for a 40 percent effort. If you would like to exercise, ideally, five days a week, start with two days. Make the length of time small as well, so that it’s impossible for you to skip the scheduled commitment. This will build your own trust in yourself, as you’re creating evidence that you KEEP your scheduled commitments. Keeping these commitments will become easier and easier, and over time, you’ll be on the right track to achieve your bigger goals.
Remember, when done consistently ALL MOVEMENT COUNTS and ALL MOVEMENT ADDS UP. At the end of the day, powerful change results from the small actions we do on a consistent basis.
Now, I would love to hear from you and know what you do for exercise. Do you have any challenges fitting movement into your daily or weekly schedule? Leave a comment below and then… go move! xo