Simple Mindful Habits To Improve Your Wellness
Hello Friends,
In week two of our domain exploration, we will be guided through healthful practices by Anthony Heath, Wellness Instructor. I have had the blessing of not only being friends with Anthony, but also his client at different stages of my fitness journey. I am truly grateful for his nudging to make choices post-partum that led to my healing and restoration. Anthony has also selflessly offered his expertise to my family by guiding us all through family and couples trainings. The children absolutely love their yoga sessions with him. Here’s to becoming healthy!
Grandrising Queens and Kings,
As a wellness/lifestyle fitness coach during these unusual times, I’ve had to pivot quite a bit in order to meet my clients at their various points of need. The pandemic revealed that the majority of my clients were yearning for engagement in a process with meditative, movement, and mindfulness components - one that would facilitate holistic synergy between mind, body, and soul.
I’d like to share three focus areas that I have found to be extremely beneficial in facilitating this harmony: mindful eating, mindful breathing and meditative movement. These can be intentionally woven into your daily practice and health and wellness routine.
I. Mindful Eating
Mindful eating is the most integral component of health and wellness practice. This can sometimes be difficult, but there are solutions that can help to simplify this for us. In order to function optimally, we must be properly and frequently fueled with nutrient-rich foods. A simple way to incorporate more nutritionally-dense foods into our eating habits is to add one fruit with breakfast, and one vegetable with lunch and dinner. Eating more mindfully encourages us to become more aware of the nurturing components of our food, as well as recognize our hunger and satiety cues, helping us make better decisions about how we fuel our bodies.
ll. Mindful Breathing
Breathing is essential to all aspects of health and wellness. Proper or improper breathing techniques can have a profound impact on our lives. In times of emotional distress, we tend to take short, shallow breaths which don’t fully engage the full capacity of our diaphragmatic floor (core muscles), resulting in a weak and hollowed rounded posture. It's an all too familiar struggle for many of us, but there are techniques that we can engage in for just 5 minutes at a time that can address this issue.
My preferred technique is called “time out”. To do this:
I simply set an alarm for a few times during the day. Each time my alarm goes off, I step away from what I'm doing to find a quiet place, and get into the most comfortable position possible against a wall or floor
Once I’m comfortable, I bring the back of my head and shoulders back until they are in direct contact with the wall or floor
Then, I close my eyes and begin to relax my shoulders by gently running my palms down the sides of my thighs. That repetition brings me into neutral alignment
Finally, I focus breathing deeply - in through my nostrils, filling the diaphragm with oxygen, followed my a slow, full exhale through the mouth
This ‘time out’ is a gift that we can all give to ourselves for 15 minutes each day, no matter where we are or what we are doing.
IlI. Meditative Movement
Meditative movement utilizes the breath to bring harmony to mind and body. The practice of animal flow takes foundational breathing techniques and body-weight based resistance and translates them into a fluid routine. The beauty of this practice is that it can be tailored to varying wellness levels, and can be progressed or regressed as needed to meet each individual's specific needs. My two go-to forms are the static beast, and the static crab.
These introductory forms rely heavily on diaphragmatic breathing, in order to activate our core muscles, which in turn helps to support the spinal column and engage in neutral pastoral alignment. Execute these animal forms once every 2-3 days, and try to hold the positions for 30-40 seconds. Once you’ve gotten comfortable with that, charge your routine by activating the beast and crab and moving your opposing limbs. This is a great total body workout.
STATIC BEAST
Hands shoulder-width apart on the floor
Shoulder blades (scapula) retracted
Keep the spine neutral
Knees and feet hip-width apart
Lift knees 1” off the ground
STATIC CRAB
Place hands shoulder-width apart or slightly wider behind you
Rotate hands outward until fingers point behind
Pull the shoulders back and tuck the chin
Arch your back slightly
Knees and feet hip-width apart
Feet flat on the ground
Lift glutes 1” off the ground
You don't have to uproot your entire routine in order to live a more holistic lifestyle. All that is required is making one small change at a time. It is truly the journey of a lifetime and not a destination.
Anthony Heath
Fitness Certifications: Animal Flow, Viper, Pre/Post Natal, Kettlebell 1 + 2
heathfit@gmail.com @heathfit_