- Eating consciously
- Thinking positively
- Sleeping deeply
- Connecting intentionally
- Moving often
Now in our lockdown situation, the last one is arguably the most threatened but it is vital in supporting the others: Exercise makes us more conscious about our body so can lead to us eating more consciously. Physical activity relieves stress and releases feel-good chemicals so we can think more positively. Exercising with intensity can help us sleep more deeply and reaching out to family or virtual classes on-line can increase our connectively. So how can we make sure we move more often if housebound?
People don't always like change but we can learn new habits (like adjusting to more rigorous handwashing, sneezing into our elbows, only shopping for essentials and toilet paper!) We need to learn some new habits around exercise and remember that being at home can be a major advantage - we can work in exercise gear, colleagues can't see us and we've gained extra time by not having to commute to the office. Possible ways to create "moving more" habits are:
- Build 30mins of aerobic exercise into our daily routine
- Do star jumps while the kettle is on
- Set an alarm for every hour and do squats for a minute
- Walk while on the phone
We could maybe even take our new habits back to the office.
