Movement practice in a stressful time

Metabolically speaking, learning something new and moving are the two most expensive things for your brain to do. So learning a new movement is a double whammy. When you are depleted and stressed this can be very taxing. If you are running on coffee, have a million things on your list, aren’t sleeping well, struggling with finances or job issues, that is not the time for a punishing workout. Believe it or not it took me a long time to realise that, as often in my frustration I wanted to break a sweat and pound the pavement and work out as long as I could until I dropped from exhaustion.

Here are some ideas for building up your reserves and protecting your immune system:

• do one simple and familiar exercise several times throughout the day (like a calf stretch). It doesn’t take long and can be a moment of reflection and focus.
• if you are a gym or training hard kind of person, do work that feels familiar. Now may not be the time to start a new program.
• consider walking to accomplish an errand that is within a mile or less of home. While it is easier and faster to jump in the car, walking will give you time to think, you get great ideas walking, the blood flow will improve to the hips, legs and feet and brain. You will see stuff you would miss in a car (intrinsic motivation!).
• go to bed a half hour or hour earlier. I like to make a mug of sleep inducing tea to take to bed. I have a few sips before bed, and if I wake in the night, it’s also refreshing to sip cold.
• make a part of the day a ritual. It can be making the perfect cup of coffee or your lunch. It can be smoothing lotion on your hands and arms. We run through our days on automatic when we are too busy, so taking those small moments throughout your day slows down time and allows you a moment of happiness and gratitude. (You could combine this with your simple exercise.)
• I am such a list person. Every day I write in my calendar what I will do that day. Then I check them off. If they don’t get checked off, I sit for a minute and consider — do I really need to do that today? Can it go to tomorrow? Do I need to do it at all? This is a tough one because procrastinating can add to stress levels and that’s not what I’m talking about. What you have on your plate — does it deserve to be there?
• appreciate that others around you are also dealing with a lot right now. You never know what is going on in someone else’s life. Recently I purchased a pair of shoes from Europe that I had to return. Even though it wasn’t a big deal, I got really stressed out about the process. I emailed the company a bunch of times, needy and complaining. Suddenly I realised I was being “that client!” I emailed them and thanked them for their professionalism and support. They appreciated that and even said “don’t panic, we will get this done!” At any time, you can be the person freaking out over some little thing and it feels really good when someone says “I will help you.”