January 7, 2025 • 23 mins
January invites us to embrace a slower pace rather than an overwhelming reset. By honoring nature's rhythms, we reflect on past habits, adopt intentional goals, and cultivate a healthier lifestyle throughout the winter months.
• Embracing a relaxed January instead of a rush for new resolutions
• Seasonal rhythms promote rest and introspection
• Intentional goal setting allows for sustainable habit changes
• Morning routines can set a positive tone for the day
• Mindful eating enhances digestion and prevents overeating
• Slower workouts foster better form and strength
• Self-care practices reconnect us with our needs
• Eating seasonally aligns our diet with winter nourishment
• Grounding in nature improves mental well-being
• Encouragement to listen to one's body and align with personal rhythms
Head to www.movingthroughmidlife. com to learn more
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Courtney (00:05):
Welcome to Moving Through Midlife.
I am your host, courtney, apersonal trainer and movement
specialist who wants to help youmove through midlife with more
grace.
Each week, we will discuss wayswe can show up better for
ourselves and our childrenwithout the burnout, children
(00:26):
without the burnout.
We will focus on overall healththrough habit stacking to help
increase energy, providemovement snacks to help you move
more throughout the day, whilealso moving your body more, and
learn from professionals onmoving through midlife with ease
so that you can feel confidentwith aging.
Gracefully, grab your earbudsand join me on a leisurely walk
while we discuss moving throughmidlife.
(00:48):
Welcome to 2025.
It is a new year and maybe youare feeling that this means that
you need to really startre-energizing yourself or
refresh.
I keep seeing all of thesedifferent things that you know
(01:13):
obviously, the new year, the newyou, but I'm also seeing
restart, refresh, all of thesethings that are going to try to
draw you into somethingdifferent than where you were.
And I understand that this cancome because we have just come
off a holiday and many of ushave overeaten, maybe we got out
(01:36):
of our routines, and it can bethis want or this need to just
kind of regroup and start freshand new.
But I want you to take adifferent approach and hear me
out first, because this does notmean that we're going to lose
healthy habits.
It just means we're going tolean in a little bit differently
(02:00):
.
So what if, instead, we sloweddown in our January and we
embrace winter's pace?
For better health, it isimportant for us to take the
cues from nature and during thistime, this is a time to rest,
reflect and move at a slowerpace.
(02:20):
This doesn't mean that you haveto abandon your healthy habits.
It's about adapting them to theseason you're in.
If you look around you rightnow, you are going to see that
the trees are bare, animalsmight be hibernating and our
daylight hours are shorter.
So when I look at this, onething I know and you may even
(02:43):
feel this you want to sleep alittle bit longer, and that's
okay.
That's a good thing.
Now is a time to give your bodythat opportunity to rest and
sleep in if it needs it.
We are, even though some of usare fighting against it.
We are a part of nature.
(03:05):
We should be getting ourrhythms from nature.
We should be spending more timein nature.
All of these things are goingto help us live a healthier life
.
It's not the next supplement,it's not the next diet, it's not
all of those things that we arebeing pushed to consume and use
(03:30):
.
It really is more about gettingback to who we are and who we
are meant to be, and a lot ofthat has to do with aligning
ourselves with the seasonalrhythms that are happening all
around us.
Instead of restarting everythingfull force, why not take this
(03:54):
time to reflect on what workedlast year and begin to set
intentional goals for newsustainable habits goals for new
sustainable habits.
One thing that I always workwith my clients and with my
(04:16):
community is focusing on onething each month.
If we can practice a habit 80%of the time, we are making a
greater impact than if we wereto go in and try to change 10
things all at once and only beconsistent 30 or 40% of the time
.
So let's look at slowing downthis month and really paying
(04:42):
attention to what feels right,and if we can do that 80% of the
time, then we're going to besetting ourselves up for greater
success.
So today, I'm going to sharewith you a few tips that you can
start to implement in your dayto help you slow down this
January, down this January.
(05:10):
The first one has to do withyour morning routine.
If you wake up and you arerushing through your morning,
you're setting yourself up for afight or flight type position.
Now, when we wake up, ourcortisol is naturally going to
be higher at this time of day.
So that is a good thing.
Our cortisol.
We need some.
It's that Goldilocks theory Toolittle is bad, too much is bad.
(05:35):
We need just a right amount ofcortisol, because cortisol is a
hormone and it helps to controlyour metabolism, it helps to
regulate blood sugar and bloodpressure and it also helps to
decrease inflammation.
What occurs is many of us getstuck in this fight or flight
(05:55):
because we are constantly on thego and moving too quickly.
Then we're also drinking coffee, which is also going to be a
stimulant, which is going toincrease cortisol, which, again,
like I said, is not a bad thing, but too much can be a bad
thing in the past.
But you can also go toformfitonlinecom act slash
(06:18):
cortisol dash checklist and youwill be able to access a
(06:41):
checklist on your cortisol andyou can check through there to
see where you are.
Is there and this is noteverything that creates a
cortisol.
This is not something thatshows you every way your
cortisol increases, but it's allthe common ones and if you look
at that checklist and you seethat you've got a ton of checks,
then that is something that youcan start working with.
(07:03):
Okay, so, taking a few extraminutes in the morning and this
can be as simple as five minutesyou will hear me talk about
five minutes, how five minutescan make your life healthier in
different ways.
You can work out in just fiveminutes a day.
You can just wake up fiveminutes earlier in the morning
(07:25):
and it's going to help you beable to take a breath a little
bit you know more of a breath inthe morning and help you move
through your day a little bitbetter.
So in that morning, those fewextra minutes, those five extra
minutes that you give yourselfin the morning, you can be doing
(07:47):
something like deep breathing,you can journal or you can sip
that warm beverage.
All of these things are goingto help keep your cortisol
levels lower.
Because you're giving yourselfjust a few minutes.
Make sure that you're notrushing straight into your
screens or your to-do list.
(08:08):
This time should be all aboutyou and what you can do for
yourself to feel good, to rest,to relax for just five minutes.
If you do want to have someideas, go back and listen to
episode 17, and it's mom'smorning routine where I kind of
(08:30):
go through some different thingsthat you can practice.
And it's mom's morning routinewhere I kind of go through some
different things that you canpractice.
The second thing that I wouldrecommend you focus on slowing
down this month is your eatinghabits.
The first thing you want tomake sure that you are doing is
(08:50):
always sit down when you eat.
It's going to help you tonaturally slow down eat.
It's going to help you tonaturally slow down.
Sit down when you eat and chewyour food more thoroughly.
This can be really hard andthis is something that I have my
clients do, where they'll havelike five almonds and they want
they're going to eat thosealmonds as slow as they possibly
(09:11):
can, just to kind of testyourself to see how slow do you
eat.
One thing that we are doing whenwe slow down our eating is
we're improving our digestionright away.
It allows the body to determinewhat is being eaten.
So I am not going to give youthe science about this and I
(09:34):
apologize because I just don'tfeel like looking it up right
now, but I know that there'slike a gland or something back
in the back of our throat sothat when we're eating, it
identifies the food that we areeating whether it's a protein, a
fat or a carbohydrate andenzymes are created to help
digest and get the nutrients outof whatever it is that you're
(09:59):
eating.
So when we are eating quickly,sometimes there's a
miscommunication that isoccurring so we may not be able
to digest the food as well.
We may not be able to digestthe food as well by slowing down
our eating, making sure thatwe're doing everything nice and
thoroughly.
It is going to help improve thedigestion and nutrient
(10:28):
absorption, which is everythingthat we need, you know,
especially with the nutrients,it is so imperative that we're
getting everything out of thefood that we are eating.
It also is going to help youprevent overeating.
It takes about 20 minutes forour stomach to recognize that
it's full.
So the longer that you take toeat your breakfast, that you
(10:49):
take to eat your breakfast, it'sgoing to provide or I'm sorry
any meal.
It's going to provide theopportunity for your stomach to
say, hey, I'm full, so that youstop eating.
People who do this alone candecrease their weight.
(11:11):
So if you are interested inlosing weight, try this one
thing and it can make a hugeeffect on your weight loss,
because you will notice that younaturally start to eat less.
Another way that you can focuson slowing down is slowing down
your workouts.
(11:32):
There are a few reasons we wantto slow down our workouts.
One is, if we are rushingthrough a workout, we tend to
not notice our form, and whenyou're not paying attention to
your form, you are increasingyour risk of injury.
Form.
(11:56):
You are increasing your risk ofinjury.
The other thing is, when wetend to move quickly through
movements, it is using momentumrather than using muscle, and it
is imperative for us to work onbuilding strength and we need
muscle for that.
So slowing down movements isgoing to help you really fire on
(12:16):
those muscles more and get themmore involved in the movements
that you are doing.
It's also going to help buildthe strength, like I mentioned,
and mobility, even throughintentional movements, so that
you're really working onlengthening muscles.
So if we go nice and slow intoa deep squat, we're working on
(12:39):
lengthening those musclesfurther than what we would do if
we did short and fast movements.
When we do exercises this way,we end up activating the
parasympathetic nervous system,which helps to promote with
recovery.
Again, there's another thing toalso make sure that you're
focusing on is if you're workingout, recovery is actually more
(13:03):
important than the workoutitself, so make sure that you
are taking time to recover afteran intense workout.
I know this is one that getsoverplayed a ton, but self-care
is imperative and we don't allhave to do it the same way.
I am going to say that warmbaths are a great one, but,
(13:27):
listen, it's not for everyoneand it's not for everyone at
every stage of their life.
It's not for everyone and it'snot for everyone at every stage
of their life, but there aresome things that you can think
about that are going to helpwith self-care.
So one thing about warm bathsis you can naturally go into an
Epsom salts, which are going tohelp with muscle relaxation, but
(13:49):
here's the thing.
So Epsom salts is justmagnesium, but here's the thing.
So Epsom salts is justmagnesium.
Another way you can do this ifyou're not going to take that
warm bath, to kind of help relaxthose muscles, take a magnesium
supplement at night.
It's going to help with anxiety.
It's going to help withrelaxing the muscles, it will
help with blood pressureregulation.
It helps with so many things,and most of us are not getting
(14:14):
the recommended amount ofmagnesium in our diet.
So adding a supplement is notgoing to be a problem.
It's something actually I wouldencourage everybody to do,
because it shouldn't bother you.
Now there are certain types ofmagnesium that are recommended.
You could do a quick Googlesearch and find out which one
(14:37):
you might need based on yourissues, things that you're
struggling with.
So then the other one ismeditation or mindfulness, to
clear your mind and reducestress.
This can be done.
It does not have to be donefirst thing in the morning, it
can be done right before you gohave to be done first thing in
the morning, it can be doneright before you go to bed in
the evening.
Just sit quietly in your bedand kind of rehash the day.
(15:01):
Another one would be groundingpractices.
This is one that I also love todo.
I think it's a great one to setyourself up for.
Success in the morning is justgoing outside barefoot, walking
on the grass and feeling thatsensation.
(15:22):
I will say you know, darn it.
The other day I did this.
I ran out to the mailbox and Iwas barefoot.
I stepped on a bee.
Oh my goodness, I got stung inbetween my kinky toe and that
next toe.
I got stung right there by thatbee.
(15:44):
My whole foot swole up.
It was terrible.
So be cognizant of what'saround you before you go outside
and stand barefoot.
But it really can be awonderful thing.
The other thing that you coulddo is just go outside and look
at the don't look at the sun,but you know, just kind of go
(16:06):
outside and look around you, letthose eyes relax.
Well, that's one thing that Italk about.
We spend so many times staringat our screens that our eyes are
like in this bicep curl thewhole time.
So getting outside and lookingat something far away is going
to help relax our eyes.
So just going out in themorning and looking at something
(16:27):
far away in that naturalsunlight is going to help relax
our eyes, help our body get whatit needs, especially first
thing in the morning of thatsunlight, so that it kind of
really helps set us up forsuccess with our circadian
rhythm.
Another tip is in regards tomore of a winter adapted habit,
(16:49):
and this is where you focus oneating seasonally.
So instead of eating coldsalads or cold smoothies, look
for things that are warm andnourishing.
You could have lots of roastedvegetables.
This is a great time for thick,comforting soups.
It doesn't mean that they haveto be unhealthy.
(17:10):
A lot of thick soups don'trequire cream.
A cream is a wonderful thing,but you can create that
creaminess just by blending withan immersion blender, just by
blending certain vegetables intoyour soup.
It's going to create that samemouthfeel that cream would
(17:33):
produce With those warming foods.
Another one is look at warmingdrinks.
I recently posted on the blog ahot chocolate smoothie recipe,
and it is a warm smoothie, veryhealthy for you.
Lots of good things, butinstead of doing cold milk, I
(17:58):
used warm milk and then createdthe smoothie that way.
Warm teas are amazing.
Think about drinking more teas.
Teas are so good for you.
Green tea the antioxidants areamazing for you.
There's lots of health benefitsfor drinking green tea, so that
(18:18):
would be another one that Iwould recommend you focus on in
these winter months.
All of these things are goingto help with slowing down, and
slowing down is great for yourhealth.
It helps to reduce cortisol andstress, promoting better immune
function.
We have just come off theholidays and we are also in a
(18:42):
time when illness is huge.
I will tell you that I havebeen sick.
I had a fever, I don't know ifit was flu.
Flu is definitely going aroundin my household, but it did not
last very long.
But unfortunately, right afterI had that fever, I turned
around and got food poisoning.
(19:03):
So I have been down sick myself.
But all of these things canhelp with your immune function,
making sure that you're slowingdown and taking the time to rest
and recover, what our bodyneeds and also what we need.
At this time we as women, andmany of us being mothers, we do
(19:28):
not give ourselves much grace.
It is imperative for us toreconnect with our needs and
emotions.
We have come off a season ofmoving very quickly.
As much as the holiday is meantfor fun and relaxing and
comfort and tradition for manyof the women in the household
(19:54):
and mothers, we are the onesthat are creating that
environment for everyone else.
It does not mean that we arealways experiencing that as well
.
It's many late nights, it'slots of running around, it's a
lot of stress on not onlyphysical stress of, you know,
(20:14):
extra cooking, extra baking,extra shopping, extra doing
everything for everyone else.
You know, if you have familiesthat you care for, you might be
feeding grandparents andchildren and everybody's coming
to your house and you're alsotrying to keep the spirit, the
(20:34):
magical spirit for everyone, andthat can be very draining
everyone, and that can be verydraining.
And we then turn around and nowwe're racing to try to get in,
you know, the best shape of ourlives or whatever it is that you
might be striving for in thenew year, and it's, it's just
too much.
(20:54):
It's.
You need some time to justbreathe, reconnect to who you
really are and what you reallywant.
It doesn't mean that this is nota time for you to try to
positively change.
I'm not saying that at all.
(21:15):
I'm just saying take a softerapproach to it, slow down, do it
a little bit differently, seeif your body enjoys it a little
bit more.
And yeah, that's basically it.
So take this month to slow downwith me, practicing the seasons
(21:39):
, do what feels right, listen toyour body.
It does guide you along the way.
If I tell you nothing else, Iwill say this over and over
again.
If you could take a few minutesevery day to listen to yourself
and what your body needs ratherthan listening to everyone else
(22:02):
out there.
It will guide you.
It will guide you, I promiseyou.
And understand that slowingdown does not mean doing nothing
.
It means, instead, beingintentional and aligning with
the season's rhythm.
Intentional and aligning withthe season's rhythm Try one slow
(22:24):
living habit this week andnotice how it impacts your
health and your mindset, andthen feel free to join us over
in the FormFit community.
It is Move Better, feel Betterover on Facebook.
And then, just if you couldmake sure to subscribe to this
podcast, leave a review theyhelp me tremendously and then
(22:48):
tune in in the next couple ofweeks where we will be talking
about other health focusedinsights.
Hope you all have a wonderfulday, make sure to keep moving
and happy new year.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand found something to take
away to help you practicehealthier habits, move more or
(23:11):
handle the midlife and agingwith grace.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend or
leave us a review to help usreach more.
Moms just like you Head tomovingthroughmidlifecom to join
the free community or learn howyou can move more and feel
better in your daily life.
Welcome to Moving Through Midlife.
I am your host, courtney, apersonal trainer and movement
specialist who wants to help youmove through midlife with more
grace.
Each week, we will discuss wayswe can show up better for
ourselves and our childrenwithout the burnout, children
(00:26):
without the burnout.
We will focus on overall healththrough habit stacking to help
increase energy, providemovement snacks to help you move
more throughout the day, whilealso moving your body more, and
learn from professionals onmoving through midlife with ease
so that you can feel confidentwith aging.
Gracefully, grab your earbudsand join me on a leisurely walk
while we discuss moving throughmidlife.
(00:48):
Welcome to 2025.
It is a new year and maybe youare feeling that this means that
you need to really startre-energizing yourself or
refresh.
I keep seeing all of thesedifferent things that you know
(01:13):
obviously, the new year, the newyou, but I'm also seeing
restart, refresh, all of thesethings that are going to try to
draw you into somethingdifferent than where you were.
And I understand that this cancome because we have just come
off a holiday and many of ushave overeaten, maybe we got out
(01:36):
of our routines, and it can bethis want or this need to just
kind of regroup and start freshand new.
But I want you to take adifferent approach and hear me
out first, because this does notmean that we're going to lose
healthy habits.
It just means we're going tolean in a little bit differently
(02:00):
.
So what if, instead, we sloweddown in our January and we
embrace winter's pace?
For better health, it isimportant for us to take the
cues from nature and during thistime, this is a time to rest,
reflect and move at a slowerpace.
(02:20):
This doesn't mean that you haveto abandon your healthy habits.
It's about adapting them to theseason you're in.
If you look around you rightnow, you are going to see that
the trees are bare, animalsmight be hibernating and our
daylight hours are shorter.
So when I look at this, onething I know and you may even
(02:43):
feel this you want to sleep alittle bit longer, and that's
okay.
That's a good thing.
Now is a time to give your bodythat opportunity to rest and
sleep in if it needs it.
We are, even though some of usare fighting against it.
We are a part of nature.
(03:05):
We should be getting ourrhythms from nature.
We should be spending more timein nature.
All of these things are goingto help us live a healthier life
.
It's not the next supplement,it's not the next diet, it's not
all of those things that we arebeing pushed to consume and use
(03:30):
.
It really is more about gettingback to who we are and who we
are meant to be, and a lot ofthat has to do with aligning
ourselves with the seasonalrhythms that are happening all
around us.
Instead of restarting everythingfull force, why not take this
(03:54):
time to reflect on what workedlast year and begin to set
intentional goals for newsustainable habits goals for new
sustainable habits.
One thing that I always workwith my clients and with my
(04:16):
community is focusing on onething each month.
If we can practice a habit 80%of the time, we are making a
greater impact than if we wereto go in and try to change 10
things all at once and only beconsistent 30 or 40% of the time
.
So let's look at slowing downthis month and really paying
(04:42):
attention to what feels right,and if we can do that 80% of the
time, then we're going to besetting ourselves up for greater
success.
So today, I'm going to sharewith you a few tips that you can
start to implement in your dayto help you slow down this
January, down this January.
(05:10):
The first one has to do withyour morning routine.
If you wake up and you arerushing through your morning,
you're setting yourself up for afight or flight type position.
Now, when we wake up, ourcortisol is naturally going to
be higher at this time of day.
So that is a good thing.
Our cortisol.
We need some.
It's that Goldilocks theory Toolittle is bad, too much is bad.
(05:35):
We need just a right amount ofcortisol, because cortisol is a
hormone and it helps to controlyour metabolism, it helps to
regulate blood sugar and bloodpressure and it also helps to
decrease inflammation.
What occurs is many of us getstuck in this fight or flight
(05:55):
because we are constantly on thego and moving too quickly.
Then we're also drinking coffee, which is also going to be a
stimulant, which is going toincrease cortisol, which, again,
like I said, is not a bad thing, but too much can be a bad
thing in the past.
But you can also go toformfitonlinecom act slash
(06:18):
cortisol dash checklist and youwill be able to access a
(06:41):
checklist on your cortisol andyou can check through there to
see where you are.
Is there and this is noteverything that creates a
cortisol.
This is not something thatshows you every way your
cortisol increases, but it's allthe common ones and if you look
at that checklist and you seethat you've got a ton of checks,
then that is something that youcan start working with.
(07:03):
Okay, so, taking a few extraminutes in the morning and this
can be as simple as five minutesyou will hear me talk about
five minutes, how five minutescan make your life healthier in
different ways.
You can work out in just fiveminutes a day.
You can just wake up fiveminutes earlier in the morning
(07:25):
and it's going to help you beable to take a breath a little
bit you know more of a breath inthe morning and help you move
through your day a little bitbetter.
So in that morning, those fewextra minutes, those five extra
minutes that you give yourselfin the morning, you can be doing
(07:47):
something like deep breathing,you can journal or you can sip
that warm beverage.
All of these things are goingto help keep your cortisol
levels lower.
Because you're giving yourselfjust a few minutes.
Make sure that you're notrushing straight into your
screens or your to-do list.
(08:08):
This time should be all aboutyou and what you can do for
yourself to feel good, to rest,to relax for just five minutes.
If you do want to have someideas, go back and listen to
episode 17, and it's mom'smorning routine where I kind of
(08:30):
go through some different thingsthat you can practice.
And it's mom's morning routinewhere I kind of go through some
different things that you canpractice.
The second thing that I wouldrecommend you focus on slowing
down this month is your eatinghabits.
The first thing you want tomake sure that you are doing is
(08:50):
always sit down when you eat.
It's going to help you tonaturally slow down eat.
It's going to help you tonaturally slow down.
Sit down when you eat and chewyour food more thoroughly.
This can be really hard andthis is something that I have my
clients do, where they'll havelike five almonds and they want
they're going to eat thosealmonds as slow as they possibly
(09:11):
can, just to kind of testyourself to see how slow do you
eat.
One thing that we are doing whenwe slow down our eating is
we're improving our digestionright away.
It allows the body to determinewhat is being eaten.
So I am not going to give youthe science about this and I
(09:34):
apologize because I just don'tfeel like looking it up right
now, but I know that there'slike a gland or something back
in the back of our throat sothat when we're eating, it
identifies the food that we areeating whether it's a protein, a
fat or a carbohydrate andenzymes are created to help
digest and get the nutrients outof whatever it is that you're
(09:59):
eating.
So when we are eating quickly,sometimes there's a
miscommunication that isoccurring so we may not be able
to digest the food as well.
We may not be able to digestthe food as well by slowing down
our eating, making sure thatwe're doing everything nice and
thoroughly.
It is going to help improve thedigestion and nutrient
(10:28):
absorption, which is everythingthat we need, you know,
especially with the nutrients,it is so imperative that we're
getting everything out of thefood that we are eating.
It also is going to help youprevent overeating.
It takes about 20 minutes forour stomach to recognize that
it's full.
So the longer that you take toeat your breakfast, that you
(10:49):
take to eat your breakfast, it'sgoing to provide or I'm sorry
any meal.
It's going to provide theopportunity for your stomach to
say, hey, I'm full, so that youstop eating.
People who do this alone candecrease their weight.
(11:11):
So if you are interested inlosing weight, try this one
thing and it can make a hugeeffect on your weight loss,
because you will notice that younaturally start to eat less.
Another way that you can focuson slowing down is slowing down
your workouts.
(11:32):
There are a few reasons we wantto slow down our workouts.
One is, if we are rushingthrough a workout, we tend to
not notice our form, and whenyou're not paying attention to
your form, you are increasingyour risk of injury.
Form.
(11:56):
You are increasing your risk ofinjury.
The other thing is, when wetend to move quickly through
movements, it is using momentumrather than using muscle, and it
is imperative for us to work onbuilding strength and we need
muscle for that.
So slowing down movements isgoing to help you really fire on
(12:16):
those muscles more and get themmore involved in the movements
that you are doing.
It's also going to help buildthe strength, like I mentioned,
and mobility, even throughintentional movements, so that
you're really working onlengthening muscles.
So if we go nice and slow intoa deep squat, we're working on
(12:39):
lengthening those musclesfurther than what we would do if
we did short and fast movements.
When we do exercises this way,we end up activating the
parasympathetic nervous system,which helps to promote with
recovery.
Again, there's another thing toalso make sure that you're
focusing on is if you're workingout, recovery is actually more
(13:03):
important than the workoutitself, so make sure that you
are taking time to recover afteran intense workout.
I know this is one that getsoverplayed a ton, but self-care
is imperative and we don't allhave to do it the same way.
I am going to say that warmbaths are a great one, but,
(13:27):
listen, it's not for everyoneand it's not for everyone at
every stage of their life.
It's not for everyone and it'snot for everyone at every stage
of their life, but there aresome things that you can think
about that are going to helpwith self-care.
So one thing about warm bathsis you can naturally go into an
Epsom salts, which are going tohelp with muscle relaxation, but
(13:49):
here's the thing.
So Epsom salts is justmagnesium, but here's the thing.
So Epsom salts is justmagnesium.
Another way you can do this ifyou're not going to take that
warm bath, to kind of help relaxthose muscles, take a magnesium
supplement at night.
It's going to help with anxiety.
It's going to help withrelaxing the muscles, it will
help with blood pressureregulation.
It helps with so many things,and most of us are not getting
(14:14):
the recommended amount ofmagnesium in our diet.
So adding a supplement is notgoing to be a problem.
It's something actually I wouldencourage everybody to do,
because it shouldn't bother you.
Now there are certain types ofmagnesium that are recommended.
You could do a quick Googlesearch and find out which one
(14:37):
you might need based on yourissues, things that you're
struggling with.
So then the other one ismeditation or mindfulness, to
clear your mind and reducestress.
This can be done.
It does not have to be donefirst thing in the morning, it
can be done right before you gohave to be done first thing in
the morning, it can be doneright before you go to bed in
the evening.
Just sit quietly in your bedand kind of rehash the day.
(15:01):
Another one would be groundingpractices.
This is one that I also love todo.
I think it's a great one to setyourself up for.
Success in the morning is justgoing outside barefoot, walking
on the grass and feeling thatsensation.
(15:22):
I will say you know, darn it.
The other day I did this.
I ran out to the mailbox and Iwas barefoot.
I stepped on a bee.
Oh my goodness, I got stung inbetween my kinky toe and that
next toe.
I got stung right there by thatbee.
(15:44):
My whole foot swole up.
It was terrible.
So be cognizant of what'saround you before you go outside
and stand barefoot.
But it really can be awonderful thing.
The other thing that you coulddo is just go outside and look
at the don't look at the sun,but you know, just kind of go
(16:06):
outside and look around you, letthose eyes relax.
Well, that's one thing that Italk about.
We spend so many times staringat our screens that our eyes are
like in this bicep curl thewhole time.
So getting outside and lookingat something far away is going
to help relax our eyes.
So just going out in themorning and looking at something
(16:27):
far away in that naturalsunlight is going to help relax
our eyes, help our body get whatit needs, especially first
thing in the morning of thatsunlight, so that it kind of
really helps set us up forsuccess with our circadian
rhythm.
Another tip is in regards tomore of a winter adapted habit,
(16:49):
and this is where you focus oneating seasonally.
So instead of eating coldsalads or cold smoothies, look
for things that are warm andnourishing.
You could have lots of roastedvegetables.
This is a great time for thick,comforting soups.
It doesn't mean that they haveto be unhealthy.
(17:10):
A lot of thick soups don'trequire cream.
A cream is a wonderful thing,but you can create that
creaminess just by blending withan immersion blender, just by
blending certain vegetables intoyour soup.
It's going to create that samemouthfeel that cream would
(17:33):
produce With those warming foods.
Another one is look at warmingdrinks.
I recently posted on the blog ahot chocolate smoothie recipe,
and it is a warm smoothie, veryhealthy for you.
Lots of good things, butinstead of doing cold milk, I
(17:58):
used warm milk and then createdthe smoothie that way.
Warm teas are amazing.
Think about drinking more teas.
Teas are so good for you.
Green tea the antioxidants areamazing for you.
There's lots of health benefitsfor drinking green tea, so that
(18:18):
would be another one that Iwould recommend you focus on in
these winter months.
All of these things are goingto help with slowing down, and
slowing down is great for yourhealth.
It helps to reduce cortisol andstress, promoting better immune
function.
We have just come off theholidays and we are also in a
(18:42):
time when illness is huge.
I will tell you that I havebeen sick.
I had a fever, I don't know ifit was flu.
Flu is definitely going aroundin my household, but it did not
last very long.
But unfortunately, right afterI had that fever, I turned
around and got food poisoning.
(19:03):
So I have been down sick myself.
But all of these things canhelp with your immune function,
making sure that you're slowingdown and taking the time to rest
and recover, what our bodyneeds and also what we need.
At this time we as women, andmany of us being mothers, we do
(19:28):
not give ourselves much grace.
It is imperative for us toreconnect with our needs and
emotions.
We have come off a season ofmoving very quickly.
As much as the holiday is meantfor fun and relaxing and
comfort and tradition for manyof the women in the household
(19:54):
and mothers, we are the onesthat are creating that
environment for everyone else.
It does not mean that we arealways experiencing that as well
.
It's many late nights, it'slots of running around, it's a
lot of stress on not onlyphysical stress of, you know,
(20:14):
extra cooking, extra baking,extra shopping, extra doing
everything for everyone else.
You know, if you have familiesthat you care for, you might be
feeding grandparents andchildren and everybody's coming
to your house and you're alsotrying to keep the spirit, the
(20:34):
magical spirit for everyone, andthat can be very draining
everyone, and that can be verydraining.
And we then turn around and nowwe're racing to try to get in,
you know, the best shape of ourlives or whatever it is that you
might be striving for in thenew year, and it's, it's just
too much.
(20:54):
It's.
You need some time to justbreathe, reconnect to who you
really are and what you reallywant.
It doesn't mean that this is nota time for you to try to
positively change.
I'm not saying that at all.
(21:15):
I'm just saying take a softerapproach to it, slow down, do it
a little bit differently, seeif your body enjoys it a little
bit more.
And yeah, that's basically it.
So take this month to slow downwith me, practicing the seasons
(21:39):
, do what feels right, listen toyour body.
It does guide you along the way.
If I tell you nothing else, Iwill say this over and over
again.
If you could take a few minutesevery day to listen to yourself
and what your body needs ratherthan listening to everyone else
(22:02):
out there.
It will guide you.
It will guide you, I promiseyou.
And understand that slowingdown does not mean doing nothing
.
It means, instead, beingintentional and aligning with
the season's rhythm.
Intentional and aligning withthe season's rhythm Try one slow
(22:24):
living habit this week andnotice how it impacts your
health and your mindset, andthen feel free to join us over
in the FormFit community.
It is Move Better, feel Betterover on Facebook.
And then, just if you couldmake sure to subscribe to this
podcast, leave a review theyhelp me tremendously and then
(22:48):
tune in in the next couple ofweeks where we will be talking
about other health focusedinsights.
Hope you all have a wonderfulday, make sure to keep moving
and happy new year.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand found something to take
away to help you practicehealthier habits, move more or
(23:11):
handle the midlife and agingwith grace.
If you enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend or
leave us a review to help usreach more.
Moms just like you Head tomovingthroughmidlifecom to join
the free community or learn howyou can move more and feel
better in your daily life.
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