Exercise: 8 Not-So-Secret Tips to a Lifetime of Health and Wellness
We all know that exercise helps to keep us stay healthy, but sometimes we just don't want to get up and move.
It can be difficult not to think of exercise as hard work, especially if you haven't moved your body much in a while. But a little reframe and changing your state of mind here can make all the difference.
Exercise is not a dirty word and there are so many things you can do just to get moving without having to commit to a 12-week boot camp!
1. Love yourself enough to put your kicks on and move
To love your body is to love yourself enough to respect your body’s need to exercise, move and groove to be at its best.
Best doesn't necessarily mean slim and toned, it means being agile, to have great blood pressure, balanced and responsive blood sugar levels, not have aches and pains when you move or get up out of bed in the morning.
It means, having the freedom to move and do what you want to do and most importantly, to feel good about yourself.
With our clinical experience in practice over many years, there is one saying that consistently proves true – move it or lose it! The radical change in post-surgery is a significant testimony to this with doctors encouraging their patients who have had knee, hip, even back surgery to get up and get moving as soon as possible.
2. Remind yourself of the health benefits
Many of our body functions benefit from movement.
Our lymphatic system, for example, constantly pumps lymph fluid around our body to collect and remove cell waste.
But when your body becomes sluggish, so does your lymphatic system. The more you move, the better it works for you, so exercise has a direct impact on keeping your body cleansed and healthy.
Movement activates and tones our muscles and stops them from wasting away. Bone density is improved by muscles moving the skeleton, encouraging efficient circulation and nerve communication as the muscles massage and pump against the bones. It's teamwork at its best when you see how body movement occurs. We are made to move!
3. Dance like nobody’s watching
Research shows that 60 minutes of walking or dancing twice a week dramatically improves feelings of wellbeing, builds healthy muscles and maintains strong bones, improves circulation, helps you sweat (healthy elimination of toxins) and is anti-ageing both in mind and body with the release of happy endorphins. Yes please!
Then there’s yoga, pilates, swimming, cycling, tai chi — so many ways to exercise. The key is to find a physical movement you enjoy and stick to it. The benefits to your body, state of health, both mental and physical wellness, are huge!
More and more people suffering from anxiety, depression and stress-related disorders such as PTSD are reporting how much better they are with regular exercise in their life.
4. Find your people and get into the groove of movement
For some people, finding the right group or even right time of day can make sticking with regular exercise easier.
Being in a class or group or going with a friend can be social and a fun way to meet people or get out of your everyday rut. For some, exercise is about time out and a chance to focus on Self. A few of our friends love to run after work as their 'debrief' from the day and blow out the mental merry go round of thinking.
Not only because it feels good to be moving your body, but as the blood starts pumping you trigger a series of neural functions releasing pleasure chemicals such as endorphins and dopamine that flood our brain and body with happiness. A natural high! These then go on to influence other functions influencing blood sugar and organs like our kidneys and liver. Exercise is a great trigger for some healthy body function teamwork.
5. Commit to being consistent rather than 'all or nothing'
Being consistent with exercise is the key to changing your body for the better. Even 30 minutes a day has been shown to improve general fitness and wellbeing.
This could be as simple as walking or cycling to work and leaving the car at home a few days a week. Exercise plus lowering your weekly carbon footprint – boom!
Beautiful sunset inspiration to move your body in yoga found with Gold Coast Teacher Viv Kohring
6. Reap the extra benefits of plump, radiant, healthy skin
How does exercise contribute to having healthy skin? In every way!
Perspiration, oxygenation and elimination all contribute to healthy clear, radiant skin.
Sweating is so good for your skin, opening pores eliminating toxins and letting your skin breathe. A big reason why you don't want to wear heavy or mineral oil-based make up when exercising. Choose to be bare or wear natural minerals as they tend to be lighter and less likely to congest and block your pores as you exercise.
Circulation improves with an increase in heart rate and floods through all of your blood vessels right down to the tiny fine little capillaries that trace through the layers of the dermis bringing nutrients and carrying away toxins.
Exercise is especially good for chasing away those dark circles that can happen under your eyes (along with more regular sleep).
Exercise expands the body by opening up the lungs and allows deeper breathing, oxygenating your cells and eliminating toxins through your breath. It's like doing housework for your body...but much more fun!
7. Sweat it out to flush out the old
To hydrate before and during exercise, then to replenish fluids post-exercise, is vital to creating maximum vitality and healthy cells.
Imagine your body fluids as a river. To keep the water flowing, crystal clear and full to the banks, it needs to be hydrated. If you exercise when well-hydrated, you support your body to access stored energy and flush the burnt energy from cells and tissues effectively, building healthy cells and muscle.
Now imagine the water is already running low in the river and is a bit murky (as in starting your exercise dehydrated) there won't be much fresh water to flush through and keep the river clean. Get the picture?
8. Replenish your body's stores by putting the good stuff back in
Having the right fuel on a cellular level after exercise (electrolytes and phytonutrients) is the key to a quicker recovery and feeling great instead of tired or washed out.
A simple way to refuel, nourish and nurture after exercise without eating a heavy meal, is to make a green smoothie. Concentrated nutrition in a glass and a delicious way to maximise foodie/tastebud pleasure in a balanced, light and easy low carb, high clean green energy drink.
Easy Peasy Refuel Green Smoothie Recipe
- 1 heaped teaspoon Mayella™ Alkalise Green & Go, Green Harmony or Nourish
- 1 fresh or frozen banana
- 3 medjool Dates, pitted
- Small handful of walnuts or almonds
- 300ml chilled milk of choice – cow, rice, almond, soy, oat, macadamia
Add together in a blender and make sure it is mixed well. Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg on top and enjoy!
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