Recently I was asked for a list of 10 things that I do daily for my overall Health & Wellness. It was relatively easy to document, but as I thought about it, the main reason an “Every Day” series of actions is important is because of its compounding results. Think about it: we know we should spend about 20 minutes every day (Monday thru Friday) doing some form of heart rate raising exercise. This isn’t very much, and it usually won’t make you badly sore that you can’t do it again the next day (hopefully gaining a positive association to exercise). The 20 minutes you take also gives you some other daily benefits: you to drink a little more water that day, contemplate how the movement feels good for your body, get a short mental break, and might give you the awareness incentive to eat a little more consciously at the next meal.
At the end of a 5 day week, this equals about 100 minutes of exercise total. Doing this consistently over a 3 week period (adding up to fifteen 20 minute sessions = 300 minutes total), your body will adapt accordingly: increasing your cardio capacity, shedding some fat, building some lean muscle. You have also gained 15 days of those daily benefits: 15 times you drank a little more water, 15 times you got a mental break, 15 times you contemplated and were conscious of your food intake.
But let’s say you want to try and work this just by the numbers: Instead of breaking up your 100 minutes over 5 days, you elect to do all week’s exercise time on Friday— doing 100 minutes of exercise at one time (the so-called “Weekend Warrior” approach). The result at the end of 3 weeks? Muscle soreness over the weekend (possibly reinforcing a negative association to exercise), only three times of drinking more water, three mental breaks, three opportunities for contemplation, three points of awareness of food intake.
If we truly want to become well, more opportunities to be aware of our wellness choices need to be built into our lives. Daily Practice and Daily Awareness leads to Health & Wellness.
So here you go with my list of 10 Things I Do Every Day:
1. I do at least 1 push-up every day. Some believe they should shoot for a goal of 25, 50 or 100 pushups every day, but I like to focus on small victories and everyday practice. One pushup is easy to do, but that also means that it’s also easy not to do. It is always easier to rationalize out of doing 25 pushups (i.e. I’m not feeling it right now, I’ll get sweaty, etc.) but ONE pushup? I can always do just one…and suddenly I’m on the ground in plank position doing one…well, ok…now that I’m down here, I could probably do a few…and that’s how it starts…
2. I touch the higher pull-up bar in my hallway every time I walk by and do at least 2 pull-ups in a row every day. I have a doorway pull-up bar placed just outside the short hallway of my home office. I try to make a habit of touching the bar every time I walk under it—sometimes I just briefly touch the bar, sometimes I will jump up and hang, sometimes I’ll do a set of 2 pull-ups (or more), but I make a habit of using my arms/hands/fingers to support my weight in some way every day.
3. I pick up and hold my children (even as they get older & bigger, now ages 7 and 10), hugging them for 3 full breaths. This is “Function Stacking” as I get a resistance/weight bearing exercise, core/stability exercise, carrying-something-with-no-handles exercise, breathing/being-in-the-present awareness exercise, and an opportunity to be close and bond with my children on a daily basis.
4. I lower and raise myself (unassisted by hands) to sit on the floor at least 5-10 times per day. A big difference in humans who live in modern societies and humans who live in hunter gatherer groups as they age is the ability to sit on the floor and get up from sitting on the floor. This simple act, shows an adult’s capacity to use balance, proprioception, coordination, flexibility and strength.
5. I move at least 10k steps per day. Steps involve standing upright, and to do the minimum, I need to minimize the time spent sitting or lying down: GET UP AND MOVE!!
6. I practice one Protective Strategy per day. Whether it’s striking a heavy bag, practicing armed/unarmed techniques, practicing situational awareness in a public place, playing the “Observation Game” with my daughters, or checking the batteries in the smoke alarms, I train every day.
7. I consume additional fiber (chia seeds, flaxseed and/or psyllium husk) everyday. It is estimated that Hunter Gatherer groups consumed between 50g-100g of fiber per day (depending on whose research you ascribe to), unfortunately the average American gets 13g of fiber per day. Fiber is a necessary macronutrient that does not get enough attention!!
8. I drink at least 2 liters of simple, clean, water (not in coffee, tea or other liquids) per day. Water is another overlooked macronutrient that is fundamental and necessary for many of our basic body processes: respiration, blood volume, thermoregulation, digestion, brain function, etc.—just eight glasses is not enough for most adults!!
9. I meditate every day (could be 3 mins or 45 mins, but some kind of Stillness Practice everyday). It is difficult to see through the water when it is agitated and murky. Time needs to be taken to allow things to settle, to be able to see with clarity. A meditation practice helps me gain clarity, giving me a “reset” so I can approach life with a fresh perspective.
10. I actively think of 3 things to be grateful for every day. Usually, there is a “snowball effect”—as I think of 3 things to be grateful for, more things come to mind!! The more time I spend being grateful, the less time I am distracted with negativity, so I choose to be grateful every day!!