Here's to your health

Do you exercise regularly? We keep hearing how important it is for all of us to do this on a daily basis if we want to remain healthy. For several years, I've fairly faithfully kept up an exercise regimen. But lately, with some additional stressors in my life and a couple of aches and pains that meant a change of my regular routine, I've become more lax.

So it was good news when I read something in a magazine that reminded me that exercise need not come in 30-minute or 60-minute segments to be helpful—but that intervals throughout the day still help our bodies. It's said that we may get the same blood pressure, cholesterol and waistline benefits if we sprinkle bits of exercise throughout the day.

So if you're waiting on the phone (perhaps listening to the awful elevator music some companies play while you wait for customer service!), do some stretches, tighten your stomach muscles 10 times or rise up on your toes and squeeze your calves 10 times. When you're watching TV, do some leg circles or get on the floor and do some leg lifts. While cooking, do a few knee bends as you stir the pot.

You get the idea. Give up guilt and work in what you can. It'll be healthier all around for you!

Be good to your body and brain

Several months ago the AARP Bulletin featured a cover story with 50 ways to live longer. It was filled with suggestions such as cutting back on pain pills, getting sufficient sleep each night, reducing sugar intake, etc.

One of the suggestions jumped out at me. It followed the suggestion to drive less, and it was "Better yet walk." Reminding us that a great prescription for longer life is to exercise, the article said that doctors are actually prescribing walks instead of medication. Wow, what a great idea! There are so many benefits to walking—particularly now when in most parts of the country, weather is lovely and permits walks in nature. We get the health benefits of movement, and we get to soak up the beauty of nature as well.

Claude Bouchard, director of the human genomics laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana said, "There is no pill that comes close to what exercise can do." It benefits our brain, heart, skin, mood and metabolism. And that's good self-care.

I've heard it said that sitting is the new smoking. And many of us sit at computers, sit in a workplace, sit in cars, and sit some more! So I'm talking to myself here—and to you, too: Let's be good to our brains, hearts, skin, moods and metabolism and fit in some walking (or other exercise) today! Your body and brain will thank you.

Ever get stuck in your head?

Depending on our cultural and ethnic background, some of us operate more from our heads than our hearts or bodies. Does that ever happen to you? Do you ever think an issue to death—almost to the point of your head hurting?

I come from a northern European background, so I grew up with a lot of stoicism. We didn’t express our feelings quite as readily as what I imagine southern Europeans do. I often envy them that trait.

Mind you, stoicism has its place. But I prefer to be in touch with my emotions. I want to know what is deep down in my gut: What am I feeling? I want to know what’s in my heart. How about you?

Living below the neck
How exactly do you get out of your head and down into your heart and into your body?

Some things that help me do that are: art (either observing it or creating it), handwork and crafts, something physical such as dance or exercise (a walk in the woods can really awaken my senses) and anything that helps me FEEL more and THINK less. You might lose yourself in cooking and that can be a creative way to get out of your mind. Or you might find yoga a good way to get into your body. Meditation is helpful for many people. Try out different things and see what works for you. Tell us in the Comment section what is helping you.

Practice some exuberance in your life. How long has it been since you jumped up and down in joy? Since you laughed and couldn’t stop? Practice getting out of your head today. You might just find you feel more positive—ready to solve whatever has been on your mind lately!

A balancing act

If you know anything about finances, you’re aware that whatever ratio of stocks, bonds and cash you choose for your portfolio, you’ll need to continue monitoring it and making changes to maintain the balance you want.

Life is like that, too, isn’t it? If you long for balance in your life, you first need to determine how you really want your life to look. For what do you most yearn? Are you longing for more time with your loved ones? Do you desire more you-time, more time for self-care?

It helps to draw a circle and divide it into pie pieces that represent the various aspects of your life that take your time: career, family, social life, exercise, faith life, whatever other parts of life you wish to include. You might consider how much time each area now receives and how much time you’d like to give.

Once you make your choices and make the changes necessary to reach your goals, you’ll realize that tweaks are necessary from time to time as “life happens.” A situation will arise that will demand more time in one area or another. Just like a financial portfolio, your wheel of life will need rebalancing.

Take time today to make choices. Don’t let your life manage you. As best you can, manage your life by making conscious and intentional choices about how you spend your time and energy. Doesn’t it just energize you to even think about taking some control over your life that way?

What else needs attention so you can be the amazing woman you were meant to be? Go for it!

Is self-care a priority?

When your life gets really chaotic, is self-care one of the first things to drop off your to-do list? Be honest now.

I confess that, as much as I’ve come to value self-care, I still allow that to happen sometimes. The to-do list is long, I am trying to meet deadlines and obligations, and I think, “Well, maybe I can just skip exercising today.” Or “Gee, maybe I don’t have time to fix that healthy salad for lunch. Let me just grab something quick from the frig.” Maybe it’s, “What? Quiet time (or time with my friend)? Wow, I have way too much to do today. I’ve got to stick to my list.”

Or here’s another reaction I’ve used sometimes: I will take that time for self-care and then I’ll feel guilty that I did. I’ll beat up on myself, thinking I should have used that time to get my work done. Do you ever do that? “Should” on yourself? “I should have done this.” “I should have done that.”

You’re worth it
Let me encourage you (and myself!) right here and now to get your priorities straight! Take that time for self-care, whatever that means for you. That may mean a spa treatment, coffee with a friend, regular exercise, a good soak in the tub, a good night’s sleep regularly, or perhaps just quiet time at the end of the day. Whatever relaxes or re-energizes you, go for it. You absolutely are worth it.

And whatever is on your to-do list, that’ll most likely get done in less time and with better spirits if you do take the time for self-care. Even if it doesn’t get done when you had hoped, no doubt it’ll be there waiting for you.

It’s so easy to put yourself last. Give your all at work. Give to your partner, kids and friends. And if there’s anything left (often, there isn’t!), you get something. What if you did what we’re told to do on flights: Put your oxygen mask on first and then help someone else put theirs on? What if you fill your cup? Maybe then you’ll have enough to share with others.

I invite you to share your best self-care tip with us. What do you keep as an absolute priority? And what does that do for you?

Does size matter?

Are you obsessing on your body weight or self-image now that we’ve begun a new year? So many women are.

I confess that my Christmas indulgences (oh, those sweets were delicious!) are coming back to haunt me right now. And I am hearing the same messages you are about going on a diet, starting a Weight Watchers program or ordering NutriSystem.

It’s all making me wonder whether we can have a healthy self-image no matter what our dress or pants size. Does size really matter? Can you maintain your self-confidence no matter what the scale says?

Healthy or sexy?
We women get so many media messages about being svelte and sexy. It’s all a bit overwhelming at times.

We also receive media messages about being healthy—about eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep.

Have you decided where you fall on the continuum with good health at one end and having a model’s figure on the other? You can be healthy even though you have a larger dress or pants size than you’d like. And being a size 6 doesn’t necessarily mean you are in good health.

I encourage you to try clear out all society’s messages, all the ads and media messages that tell us (subtly, of course) that we aren’t lovable or won’t be happy if we aren’t size 6 (or less!) or 100 pounds dripping wet. Consider what it takes to make you feel your best. What foods make you feel good? What amount and type of exercise is best for you? What do you need to feel great about yourself? What would it take to feel healthy and energetic?

I’d love to hear your ideas on this. What are you doing to create a healthy self-image? Please share your comments and tips so we can all be inspired.