a quick tip – in just five minutes
Friday, June 11, 2010
i just wanted to take a minute to remind my readers that five minutes of movement is often better than no movement at all, and in many cases also better than an hour and a half of movement.
want me to explain?
for a long time i worked with an exceptional group of women who were in recovery from binge eating disorder. my job was to help support and encourage them as they cultivated balanced and pleasurable relationships with movement. we spent a good deal of time un-learning the “all or nothing” behavioral patterns some of them experienced when it came to exercise. they felt like if they didn’t put in 30 (or 60, or 90) minutes of sweat-inducing cardio at an actual health club or exercise facility, then it just didn’t matter or didn’t count. i was there to happily prove them wrong. 
stand up. start your watch. and spend five minutes moving through some luxurious stretching routine. it can be simple (forward fold, roll up slowly, gentle standing twists, reach for the sky, sit back down, cross your left ankle over your right knee…feel the hip stretch…switch…a few ankle rolls, gentle neck rolls, and back to work). now tell me this: do you feel, in any way, different than you felt five minutes ago?
we did this together when i worked with my girls (i miss them!) and they always remarked and how surprised they were to discover that a mere five minutes really does count! there are many reasons to exercise, and the benefits are by the dozen. find what feels good, seek out a few spare minutes, and change your whole mood/chemistry/outlook (and maybe relax that neck pain for a bit).
i’m reminded of this today, as i’m closing down a couple of solid weeks of family and friend filled fun: a whirlwind and exciting trip to munich, a party in honor of my daughter’s baptism, my parents in town for that event and a dear, dear old friend here for a decadent week of girly things. it’s been divine, and i haven’t done any yoga. and i miss it. so, in about two minutes i’m going to take the cookies out of the oven (yes, i’m still baking these) and go take five minutes in my bedroom to downward dog it out. i know five minutes is all i need to feel empowered, alive, and at peace.
ahhh.
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Learning to live in between the all or nothing is perhaps the most difficult part of all of this. And I’m constantly amazed with the seemingly similar string of behaviors that sometimes dictate how we (with eating disorders) manage our lives. When I slow down and give myself permission to feel comfortable with the in-between I breathe a little easier and enjoy life a little more. Thanks for the reminder… Now ape a few of those stretches!