If you’ve passed the age of 35, and you’ve been paying attention to the plentiful advice available on the subject of health, you’re well aware that you ought to be exercising regularly. Health and exercise seem to be very intimately connected. Just to review some of the myriad benefits:

• According to one of many exercise studies,* regular, moderate exercise can prolong life – prolonging it by 24%, in fact, in men who engaged in light sport for 1-2 hours each week, as compared to those who were inactive. 
• Helps avoid degenerative arthritis by lubricating and feeding cartilage
• Decreases the risk of tendonitis (painful inflammation of the tendons, which connect muscles to bones)
• Helps keep weight down
• Increases HDL (good cholesterol) which helps carry off fatty deposits that rest in blood vessels
• Helps prevent osteoporosis (weakened bone)
• Combats depression by stimulating the release of endorphins – antidepressant chemicals formed in the brain (studies have suggested that walking  outperforms antidepressants and this outdoor therapy is often referred to as ecotherapy)

Here are a few more, especially pertinent to those of us above the 35-year line:

• Exercise has been found to help you convert ageing tissue to a healthier, more youthful state.
• Past the age of 35, every week you go without exercise, you lose 10% of your fitness; in other words, inactivity rapidly de-conditions the body.
• The de-conditioning mentioned just above (the kind you avoid by regular exercise!) takes such forms as dangerous decrease in blood supply to muscle and bone, loss of muscle bulk, weakening and inflammation of ligaments and tendons, and damage to cartilage.

A Great Read

For an enormously informative and helpful read on exercise and aging, I strongly recommend a book by the founding father of rehabilitative medicine, Dr. René Cailliet: Growing Young: The Fitness Strategy to Reverse the Effects of Aging. 

Exercise and Sarcopenia

Here’s yet another salient bit for those who have advanced (or intend to) beyond 35. Exercise has been found to reduce the effects of sarcopenia. This rather scary-sounding term comes from the Greek for poverty or shortage of flesh. The condition itself is described as the loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs with aging. And as one authority put it, “Decreased physical activity with aging appears to be the key factor involved in producing sarcopenia.” ** 

All right. So there’s no question about it: exercise really is a must, if we’re to maintain good health. Health and exercise go hand in glove. Or should I say, “foot in shoe”?

Jogging

One exercise that has been in vogue for decades is jogging. Exercise “fashions” come and go, but jogging seems to maintain an unwavering popularity. Not too surprising – it’s simple, and doesn’t require all sorts of special clothing, equipment, memberships, classes and so on.

On the whole, jogging is reputed to be terrific. People pride themselves on how religiously they do it. There are whole magazines devoted to it. You can (if you like) purchase all manner of spiffy stuff to enhance the experience: pricey, super-high-tech shoes, chic outfits, heart-rate monitors, audio devices, hydration systems, special foods and supplements – you name it. It’s true, of course, that jogging IS exercise, and almost any sort of exercise is far better than couch-potato-ism!

As it turns out, though, once you’ve passed age 35 (more or less), there are downsides to jogging that begin to mount up. You see, aging is a natural process. The body does change as the years go on, regardless of what anyone does or wishes. That’s just the genetic design and pattern we’re born with. Bone density, muscle mass, circulation, lung capacity and other factors naturally decline from the peaks they reached in our late twenties. And the structures most directly involved in walking, running or jogging have also lived through all those years of use – the affects of physical activity do mount up and take their toll.

None of this means we’re doomed to inactivity or discomfort. It just means we need to understand and make adjustments to the natural changes in our only indispensible piece of exercise equipment – the body.

One conclusion authorities such as Dr. Caillait have reached regarding exercise for older adults is that once past the age of 35, it is not in your best interest to work out as hard as you can, no matter how good you might feel at the time.

So what’s an aspiring exerciser to do??

Fortunately, there is some happy news on the subject of jogging: rapid walking offers the same great benefits, and then some. In fact, rapid walking burns more calories than jogging the same distance, and works the upper body as well. All without the damaging effects of repeated impact which jogging subjects us to.

Stay tuned!

In researching this post for you, I’ve discovered or been reminded of quite a few items of interest in the field of exercise, all intimately connected with your posture, posture improvement and general health. I’m quite excited at all there is to share, so be sure to check back with me here soon – there’s definitely more to come. (Would you be interested in learning the secrets of a group of runners who’ve been known to run as much as 16 marathons’ distance in two days? Yes, I thought so…)

I must be running along now, but first let me ask you: What experiences have you had with this subject of jogging? Particularly if you’ve passed 35, I’d be very interested to know what you’ve observed, and how you’ve dealt with exercise challenges as time has marched on.

* New England Journal of Medicine, March, 1986

**Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine

Many people who visit me are seeking relief from pain of one kind or another. Back pain, neck pain, spine pain, nerve pain – the list is painf… quite long. In some cases, these good people are suffering from more than one type of pain. Posture correction often plays a part in a patient’s treatment, but let’s take a look at the subject of pain itself.

Pain: What IS It, Really?

First of all, just what IS pain?

“Everyone knows that,” you say. Ouch! Fair enough, but what about the medical, scientific view of pain?

Here’s a definition from one distinguished medical dictionary* –

Pain: a feeling of distress, suffering, or agony, caused by stimulation of specialized nerve endings. Its purpose is chiefly protective; it acts as a warning that tissues are being damaged and induces the sufferer to remove or withdraw from the source.
Interestingly, the word pain itself comes from the Latin word, poena, meaning punishment.

Pain can be broken down into types, too. Here are a few of the major ones:

Acute pain: Pain in response to injury or another stimulus that resolves when the injury heals or the stimulus is removed.

Chronic pain: Pain that lasts beyond the term of an injury or painful stimulus. Can also refer to cancer pain, pain from a chronic or degenerative disease, and pain from an unidentified cause.

Referred pain: Pain felt at a site different from the location of the injured or diseased part of the body. Referred pain is due to the fact that nerve signals from several areas of the body may “feed” the same nerve pathway leading to the spinal cord and brain.**
There are even further types and finer breakdowns. It’s a broad subject.

Pain Treatments 

All right – now that we know a little more about pain itself, let’s turn to the big point of interest: pain relief.

Pain medications have become pain management “tool of choice” for literally millions of people today. The most commonly used pain relievers are the over-the-counter (or “OTC”) varieties. These act on the body in various ways, giving at least temporary relief from pain – usually by blocking or interfering with the body’s mechanisms for perceiving pain or transmitting pain signals to the brain.

Going back to what pain is – a warning that body damage is occurring or has occurred – you can see that pain killers are essentially shutting off the body’s natural alarm system. They mask the true problem, rather than solving it. You might feel better for the moment, but is this really a good idea?

As a comparison, what if the fire alarm went off in your home in the middle of the night? Would it be a good idea to clamber out of bed, shut the noisy thing off and head back for some more sleep? No. You might well end up having a far, far longer snooze than you intended!

Obviously, the sensible answer to that screeching fire alarm is to find the fire and put it out.

Similarly, the safer and more sensible answer to pain is to discover what’s causing it, and treat the cause. If you don’t do so, the problem at the root of your pain may very likely worsen, resulting in a far more grave situation than a temporary discomfort. (By the way, my choice of the word “grave” here was deliberate.)

Pain Treatments – Side Effects

Quite aside from our earlier fire alarm exercise in logic, there is the matter of side effects. 

Pain medications can do much more than just inhibit pain. Some of the things they may do are much worse than the pain they were taken to remedy. So if you choose to take pain killers at all, caution is an absolute must. Especially if the pain reoccurs, and you “treat” it again and again with pain killers, possibly in increasing amounts.

Patients often say “I had to take pain killers last night.” Not to seem harsh or scolding, but may I say that rather than “had to,” a more correct statement would be that they chose to take pain killers. After all, the cause of the ache or pain wasn’t a bodily shortage of ibuprofen or aspirin.

Pain Tolerance – How Much Can You Take?

Now let’s take a look at the matter of pain tolerance. 

You’ve probably encountered the stoic sort who really has to be hurting before he or she would even think to mention it.

At the other end of the spectrum, there’s the person who’ll whinge at the slightest twinge.

Is this difference in pain tolerance “all in the head,” or is there really some physiological difference to account for it? Many fascinating studies have been done on the subject. In brief, evidence shows that pain tolerance is influenced by a number of different factors – physiological, mental and emotional. Depression, amount and frequency of exercise, smoking, obesity, genetics, past injuries, diseases, even such surprising factors as right- or left-handedness and hair color, all seem to play a part.

A theory I’ve developed through my years of study and practice is that as we use more and more pain medication, our “pain scales” are reset so that the brain says “Ouch!” with less input. If at first it took a hammer to produce an ouch, now it takes only a feather.

So whatever their tolerance, many turn to OTC pain medications. The drugs may ease the suffering for the moment. Well, cheers for that. But the pain was there for a reason: to sound the alarm that something is amiss. So by taking such medicines, one is suppressing the body’s natural warning signal. It’s like shutting off the fire alarm because it’s irritating, and it can have similar long-term results

Pain Treatment Guidelines

Before we go further, let me emphasize that if you’re being treated for pain by a medical professional who has prescribed pain relievers, do what your doc says. You may be interested in trying something – exercises, adjustments, etc. – in addition to what your doctor has advised. That may be fine, but please do not do so without consulting your medical professional first.

Quite aside from pain relief medications, there are many other approaches to dealing with pain. They include acupuncture, physical therapy, massage, assistive devices (such as canes, splints, and ergonomically designed chairs) biofeedback and hypnosis.

Of course, two approaches I recommend quite highly are (surprise!) chiropractic and posture correction treatment.

Pain Treatment – The Posture Correction Connection

I’ve had some remarkable successes with back pain treatment exercises and other practices and procedures, all to help patients deal with pain. These many great results have been in terms of immediate relief, as well as the longer-term business of rooting out and remedying the source of their discomforts. Here are a few videos I’ve put together for you, in this very area. I hope you enjoy and benefit from them:

Stiff Neck Remedy 

Stiff Neck and Shoulders 

Shoulder Pain Relief 

____________________

There, now – making your way through all that didn’t hurt a bit, did it?

Now I’d like very much to know your thoughts and experiences.

What is your experience of pain? Do you or don’t you with pain killers? Do you think you have a high or low pain tolerance?

Come on now – it doesn’t hurt to share! You can write to me down below. Or, Twitter being quite the thing these days, you’re more than welcome to tweet about it. Either way, I look forward to hearing from you.

* Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.

** Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. © 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

If you’ve spent much time in search of a remedy for bad posture, you have no doubt heard about posture support devices. I’m talking here about the sort one wears, such as a lumbar support for low back pain (LBP), or a shoulder support to correct rounded shoulders by forcing them back. You’ll hear all sorts of claims for such devices, but do they really lead to good posture?

Posture Support – Fact or Fiction?

My hypothesis is that while such devices may offer temporary benefits in some circumstances, they are not really effective in the long run.

It may even be that supports for poor posture prolong the problem and prevent a real solution. Since the support is artificially holding the head, neck or a portion of the back in a particular position, the muscles that should be doing the work aren’t allowed to. Deprived of their rightful jobs, these poor indigent muscles may weaken and atrophy (wither away). No one likes to be given the sack – not even muscles!

Sticky Tape versus Real Solutions

When there is a posture problem of any sort, it is there for a reason. The real answer is to discover the underlying cause, then take steps to address the cause.

You see, the problem that’s observed outwardly (rounding shoulders, low back pain, forward head posture) is never just a singular issue. Applying a support or a brace is a bit like putting sticky tape over the oil warning light in your car: It might make you feel better for a while, but the problem hasn’t gone away, and may worsen. Sooner or later you’re going to have to do something about it.

Let’s take shoulder pain as an example. The list of possible causes is long, and there is certainly no universal solution, right for all of them. So how can anyone make the broad claim that their elastic brace, special pillow, High-Tech Wonder Contraption™ or secrets-of-the-ancient-Peruvians magic crystal healing necklace is going to end every shoulder pain sufferer’s woes? That’ silly – to put it charitably.

Is There a Straight Solution?

“All right, but what about my posture?” you ask. “How do I get to the underlying cause of my own posture problems? How do I achieve healthy posture?”

Happily, it may be that the root of your difficulty can be found with a simple, inexpensive posture analysis. I’ve had some extremely exciting successes with it, helping people gain better posture and all the health benefits it brings. You can learn more about this service right here.

I can’t guarantee you perfect posture. No one can, honestly. But healthy posture can be yours, most definitely!

A parting thought…

Speaking of achieving good posture, have you noticed that some mums (other people’s mums, of course!) seem to believe nagging about bad posture is a sovereign remedy? Professionally speaking, I haven’t found it to be a reliable cure. In any case, you could hardly classify nagging and nattering as posture support now, could you?

I won’t nag about it, but I’d surely appreciate hearing from you. Write (use that box down below) and share your posture woes and the most outlandish posture correction device you’ve ever seen or tried.

Supportively yours,

Since such a significant portion of our lives is spent in sleep, it’s reasonable to suspect that the way we sleep might affect our posture. And so it does.

One question I’m often asked is whether orthopaedic pillows are truly helpful, or worth the investment.

Well, first let’s establish what we mean when we talk about these specialized snooze cushions.

What is an orthopaedic pillow?

The term “orthopaedic pillow” embraces a whole array of different pillow types. There are neck pillows, knee pillows, body pillows, pillows for the pregnant, side-sleeper pillows, back-sleeper pillows – so many types that it could make one sleepy. Read all the snoozy details here.

This profusion of pillows shares a basic purpose, though: To promote comfortable, healthy sleep by providing support and cushioning. A good pillow should allow bodily functions such as breathing and circulation to carry on unhindered. Of course, it should do this in such a way that the neck and spine are not twisted or otherwise subjected to undue stress.

Preferences

Now, I must admit that I have neither personal nor professional prejudices pertaining to the pillow you pick. It truly comes down to what you find comfortable.

Sleep is enormously important, in any case. Your sleeping position truly can make all the difference in sleep quality – and affect your posture, too. For more on that, allow me to recommend my book, Posture – Give It to Me Straight! It includes a detailed section on sleep, the sleep positions chiropractors swear by, and sleep dos and don’ts. And there are some definite don’ts!

What’s Your Experience?

I hope that if you now find yourself yawning, it’s not because I’ve bored you – but rather that I’ve prompted you to ponder the possibility of a nice rest. Before you nip off for a nap, though, I’d be delighted if you would scroll down to the box below and tell me about your experiences in search of a better sleeping pillow. Do you love a bit of memory foam? Does your othopaedic pillow look and feel like a speed bump? Do you take your special friend travelling? Your bedtime stories may just help me zzzzzzz. Sorry, I nodded off.

Sweet dreams.

Neck muscle strength is one key to healthy, natural and comfortable posture. Unfortunately, so many of today’s occupations and activities tend to weaken some of your neck muscles, which leads to worse head posture and even weaker muscles. Also neck tension, and head and neck pain. Not a nice progression.

Forward Head Posture

Those weak neck muscles (and the whole unpleasant progression) come from what’s known as forward head posture. You may have heard of it. Certainly you see it all around you these days (maybe even in your own mirror). Instead of the ears lining up neatly above the shoulders, the head is held forward, turkey fashion. This position weakens muscles at the front of the neck. At the same time, it gives you over-tense muscles at the back of the neck, and in the shoulders too, as these muscles work hard to pull your head back in line with your shoulders.

Now, it’s fine to say that forward head posture causes weak neck muscles, but what causes forward head posture in the first place? Many things can be at its root. But overall, forward head posture could be said to arise from frequent and repeated downward-looking activities, and activities in which the head tends to be held forward. To name a few: Computer use and desk work. Sewing, knitting and other close hand-work. Sitting slouched. Washing dishes, dressing your children, reading with a book on your lap, driving with the head forward – more than two or three inches from the headrest. Get it? Pretty much life and all that we do!! Darn!

Neck Strengthening

Frustrating though all this may seem, it’s nothing to hang your head about. There are simple (even pleasant) neck muscle exercises you can use to strengthen your neck again, and improve your own neck posture. To be fair, I should warn you that in the process you’re also likely to lose some of that nagging neck tension. Yes, and some head and neck pain, too. You are certainly very apt to look and feel much more alive and alert. Such perils!

So – how to better posture (and reap those other rewards, too)? I could give you step-by-step instructions – 1, 2, 3, blah, blah, blah – but that would be tedious for both of us. So! Because it will be far easier for you to see how it’s done, I’ve made a video for you to watch. You can see it at the top of this page.

By the way – if a picture is worth a thousand words, has anyone figured out how many a video is worth? Hmmm.

When you’ve finished with that video, check out part 2 right here. 

Tell Me about It!

Once you have watched one or both videos, and tried out the little neck muscle exercises, I’d love to hear how you liked them. There’s a box down below where you can type me a quick note.

Oh – and if you happen to know the answer to that question about how many words a video is worth, be a sport and tell me, won’t you?

Poor posture is unattractive and ages you more than the lines on your face (but I’m sure you don’t have many of those).

Muscles Of Facial Expression

When we think about posture I know that few of us think about the muscles of facial expression, but we should! Can you imagine never exercising a muscle in your leg, for example, but simply holding it tense for 10, 20, 30, maybe 40 years? What do you think your leg might look like? Not pretty is it.

Now the truth: Most of us forty somethings (seems like only yesterday it was 30 something, how sad) have never used facial muscle exercises for our facial muscles and boy does it show! Hellooooo wrinkle city, goodbye youth.

Look at this picture I snapped out of my Atlas Of Human Anatomy (Frank Netter):

Is it any wonder that you smilers and frowners look a little leathery by 40? Yikes, me too! So anyway, we need facial muscle exercises. Tone facial muscles. Seriously! 

Since you’ve stopped here for a visit, I’m going to guess that you’ve been seeking The Ultimate Sitting Posture for some time now. But alas, without success.

Whether or not most of our daily activities are performed while planted in a chair, many of us are seated a goodly amount of the time. And unless we’ve been lucky enough to instinctively adopt a habit of sitting with good posture, or been coached by someone schooled in the science of seating, we’re more or less miserable after a lengthy chair session. Bunched-up back, knotted neck, sore shoulders, bum begging for mercy – ugh.

A grim scene, to be sure. But is there any hope? Is there really an answer to how to sit properly? A way to spend chair time that isn’t a pain?

In a word, yes!

As long as you’re physically able to sit, there’s every chance you can find a happy sitting posture.

And once you’ve settled on that healthy posture, there are also (yes, I’m going to use the dreaded “e” word) exercises you can do to help transform that crisp new posture into your well-worn, comfy norm. The position you just naturally take when bum hits chair, without having to think about it or police yourself. Ahhhhhhh!

HEALTHY SITTING POSTURE: HOW TO GET THERE FROM HERE

Now, please understand. I’m not telling you you’re about to magically (* bing! *) change your seated posture all in one sitti… um… all at one time. But there are some simple basics to follow. They’re well covered in my book, Posture – Give It to Me Straight. You’ll learn what to do, and understand more about why, and how it all works. Those basics might just be all you’ll need. (And for a good deal less than you’d spend on visits to my clinic.) 

By the way, if you like the sitting solutions you find in the book, ohhhh, but you will love the pointers for standing, driving and sleeping. Your body might just become a good friend again. Fancy that!

While we’re sitting here, I’d also like to share a little more seating-related video advice with you office denizens – from my fish tank to yours.

SIT DOWN AND SHARE YOUR STORY

So – have a look, put these things to work, and please let me know how it goes. I’d truly appreciate hearing your story, and what worked for you. (Or what didn’t work.)

Good luck!

Oh, but before you go, could you give me a hand with one last thing? Shoot me a quick note on any other pesky posture problems you run into. Don’t be shy – just pop down to that box below, and let me know.

Thank you – and happy sitting!

Is Your Acidic Diet Wearing Out Your Bones?

Do you have strong bones or is your acidic diet wearing them out?

I always include a detailed analysis of the diet when you have a chiropractic assessment because I know that diet and bone health are very much related.

Most of my clients are surprised to learn that the foods they eat regularly (wheat, cheese, caffeine) may be weakening their bones. Our blood is slightly alkaline (the opposite pH to acid) and that is where our body prefers to be.

Acid Alkaline Diet

I explain to my clients that in order to balance the acidity of a poor diet, the bones leach calcium to balance your pH. This is a very rough explanation but for our purposes all you really need to know. Foods like strong cheese, wheat, meat, caffeine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, soda drinks and dairy weaken bones over time. The body does better choosing more alkaline foods. Click  HERE  for a food acid alkaline chart.

Calcium Rich Foods

To maintain strong bones we need a good supply of calcium and contrary to popular belief, dairy isn’t the best source. Diary is on the acidic side of the food chart and it is also not the easiest form of calcium to absorb. Makes sense-humans drink milk from human mums and cows drink milk from cow mums. Dark leafy greens, seeds and seafood are calcium rich foods. For a good list of non dairy calcium, click HERE .

Vitamin D Foods

Of course we also need vitamin D for strong bones. Think of the sun as food for your bones. Sunlight stimulates the production of vitamin D so you need at least 20 minutes outdoors every day without sun screen.

Fish oils are a perfect source of vitamin D provided you know that your source of fish isn’t full of mercury. This is the one supplement I think we all need. I take a teaspoon a day of high quality fish oils (don’t go budget here). Get the best quality fish oils you can afford. I prefer liquid (most are lemon flavoured and just fine). Click  HERE  for a good list of vitamin D foods.

Bone Health & Exercise

You hear it all the time but weight-bearing exercise is absolutely crucial to strong bones. Riding a bike and swimming are great for your heart but they are weightless so don’t help your bones as such. Fast paced walking with good arm swing and even velcro weights around the ankles if you are keen (1-2 kg is fine). Running if you are under 35 (too hard on the joints over 35). Weight-lifting, martial arts, dancing are all fantastic!

Good Posture

Your posture is crucial to the health of your bones. If your body is out of its symmetrical alignment then there is uneven pressure and stress on your joints and this can lead to wear and tear (osteoarthritis) in those joints. Learn about your posture type. Have your posture analysed and then follow a posture program unique to your posture.

Choose one thing to take on this week and put it into action. Stop fizzy drinks or cut caffeine down to under 4 a day or have one 20 minute faced passed walk or read my book Posture Give It To Me Straight (and find out your posture type) or put 3 new alkaline foods on your shopping list or decide to have a week free of alcohol.

What are you going to do? To share what you are taking on, leave your comments below.

]]> http://posturevideos.com/2011/11/food-for-your-bones/feed/ 0 http://posturevideos.com/2011/11/how-to-fix-posture/ http://posturevideos.com/2011/11/how-to-fix-posture/#comments Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:15:28 +0000 Paula Moore The Chiropractor http://posturevideos.com/?p=3108

How do you improve your posture without spending a fortune visiting your chiropractor?

Improve Posture

Do you want to improve your posture but to date have found everything you have tried has failed to work? In clinical practice, I hear this complaint time and time again. Perhaps you have been receiving treatment from a healthcare professional for some time now and still you notice little posture improvement?

If you find this as frustrating as I do as a practitioner then I am about to tell you why your aches and pains persist and what you can do to improve posture.

Posture Analysis

The majority of new clients that come to see me in practice have poor posture, even the clients who have had some form of regular treatment. That is just crazy. I am going to tell you that how to fix posture involves first understanding your Posture Type.

When I carry out YOUR DETAILED POSTURE ANALYSIS I determine if you are Posture Type A, B or C. For many of you who want posture improvement, this is the step that has been missing.

Swayback Posture Type A

Posture Exercises

It isn’t enough to tell you that you have a short leg and a low shoulder on one side. That means nothing to most of you I’m sure. Put that into context along with a detailed mathematical Posture Analysis and your unique Posture Type and then tailor posture exercises specific to your Type and presto, you may actually start to improve your posture.

What has been the most frustrating part about your own posture? Pop in it the comments below.

Do you lack exercise motivation? Do you need exercises for the lazy? If you don’t exercise, you are almost guaranteed health problems later in life. You already know this but still you don’t exercise right?

You Only Live Once

A friend of mine once said to me (when speaking of the units of alcohol he was consuming) ‘you only live once’. You know this is true but I ask you: If you only live once, don’t you really want to LIVE?

So we spend our twenties and some of our thirties and maybe still for some of you, your forties-trashing your bodies. Drinking too much, staying up too late, NEVER exercising (but we are fond of saying, ‘I walk a lot’) and doing work that doesn’t fulfil us until we retire.

The worst part is now that you are retired, your body is in no fit shape to do much of anything but spending many more hours watching TV, drinking a half bottle of wine each evening and perhaps lying on a deck chair beside a pool in a 5-star tourist trap and we call that a ‘holiday’.

Sounds pretty sad doesn’t it? It really doesn’t have to be this way. This week I spent Monday-Wednesday in increasingly present levels of overwhelm. Nothing seemed right, not the working from home that I have worked so hard to create over the years; the people in my life certainly weren’t right either. It all sucked.

Then I noticed I had skipped my morning posture routine two mornings running and had only gone outside to my car to grab my lumbar roll so I could take a photograph of its correct usage for my new book, Posture Give It To Me Straight. I hadn’t had any sunlight except for the light that pours in through the skylight in my office (thank goodness for that).

We all need to move our bodies and move them everyday. How often do you go several days moving only from your car to your office and back to the car again? Do you start to experience overwhelm and want to smash something? OK, maybe that’s just me (it is usually just a thump of my fist on the desk top).

Exercise Motivation

So I decided to create a real schedule, as per Timothy Ferriss’s advice in his very action oriented book: The 4-Hour Work Week. I put into my diary on Thursdays at 9.30am I Kickbike 4 miles along the seafront to the next train station and then train it back. This is a two hour jaunt and I love it.

Are you the type of person who needs a target to exercise? Having a place to get to (the next train station for me) and something super fun to do (my Kickbike) really helps. It also gives me a good 2 hours of needed sunlight (for Vitamin D) and now here I am writing this post and enjoying myself. I’m in the flow again.

What slot could you commit to in your diary each week? What activity would work for you? A walk, a bike ride, a roller blade, an outdoor stretch, dog walk, dance class that you walk to, drumming class that you bike to? Get inventive and why not share in the comments below what you are going to take on. What’s it going to be?