2020 has been INTENSE for all of us. We've all got a battle or two (or more) going on right now in our lives.

Even dentists are reporting increased numbers of cracked teeth and dental emergencies since the Spring.  Apparently, it's from all the jaw clenching and teeth grinding from stress.

Good news, I've got a go to breathing exercise for anxiety and stress...

THE COOLING BREATH

It’ll not only help you process strong emotions like The Ha Breath does, but help you calm and relax your nervous system.

It’s the perfect time to add it to your breath work toolbox.

OK let's test it out. 

Check in to see if you are feeling any anxiety or stress.  Rate it on a scale of 1 (none) to 10 (I’m freaking out).

Next do 5 reps of The Cooling Breath.

1. Fascial Body Work: Our favorite way to deal with inflammation or flare-ups is with fascial stretching and trigger point self-massage.   Sore muscles after workouts is common.  Soreness that lasts several days is a sign you over did it and might be pushing too hard without having a good recovery program in place.  HIP Camp™ shows you how to use bodywork recovery tools for flare-ups and chronic pain so you can get stronger and recover faster after workouts. Learn more here.
2. Lymph Care: we shared 4 tips to start a daily lymph care practice in the last FIT BLOG that’ll help decrease inflammation in your body.  You can find them here.
3. Sleep Care: 7-9 hours of consistent sleep that’s also good quality helps your body renew and heal itself.  Do you wake up feeling refreshed?  If you’re exercising and eating well but not getting enough or quality sleep, you’re actually aging yourself faster and lowering your immune system.  Here’s a 5 minute rest meditation to help you prep your body for sleep.
4. Clean Eating: eating an anti-inflammatory diet full of anti-oxidants and whole foods can help decrease inflammation in your body.  Aim to eliminate or avoid artificial foods, dyes, sweeteners and GMO’s as well as highly processed foods from your diet. Here are some simple recipes to help you get started.
5. Treatment strategies:  a physical therapist can show you how to use ice packs, compression garments, kinesiotape and/or cupping to help manage flare-ups and chronic pain.
6. Acupuncture: one form of traditional Chinese medicine where the practitioner inserts needles into specific points on the body to alleviate pain and to treat various physical, mental, and emotional conditions.  Studies suggest it can help relieve chronic low back pain, dental pain, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis.  It has also been used to treat addiction, anxiety, depression, digestive complaints, and neurological problems. 

THE MORE YOU:

• sit for your job (computer work) or sport (cycling)
• have adhesions from chronic injuries (neck/back/knee injuries)
• play a contact sport (running/tennis/basketball/football)
  

 
The more you'll benefit from supporting your body with daily practices to decrease inflammation.

Which one are you going to test out first?

It's never too late to feel, move, and perform better!  Here's to taking it one day or one step at a time.

Happy Healing!

Mollie

How's your summer going? It’s so easy to slide into the summer slump with your exercise routine. The heat, travel, changes in schedules, and now a pandemic can throw you off track before you know it. 

It’s the perfect time to bust out our favorite summer workout hack, The 1 Minute Workout*.

Fast. Powerful. Can be done anywhere. Even barefoot depending on what exercises you pick.

One minute of hard exercise gives you the benefits of 50 minutes of training! Woo hoo!

Moving your body is also one of the best ways to combat “brain fog”, if you happen to be one of the many who are experiencing it during the Rona Ride.  It’s even got a name, COVID Brain. 

This FIT BLOG explains the 1 Minute Workout* in detail.  You can do it with your cardio, body weight exercises, resistance bands, or a combo of them. 

It’s basically warm up 2-3 minutes, do a cardio or strength exercise as fast or as many reps as you can for 20 seconds (intensity of 10 or make it burn), do 2-3 minutes of gentle cardio, repeat 2 more times.  Cool down for a few minutes. Should be a total 10 minutes of actual exercise with 1 minute of hard exercise. 

These FIT BLOGS have 9 different full body movements you can use to design a combo strength/cardio interval 1 Minute Workout:

• 3 Strength Moves with Bands
• 3 Core Floor Exercises
• 3 Core Power Moves

You can do it!  Go hard for 1 minute (with good form).  Get creative.  Mix it up and have fun.  Always take a minimum of one day to rest between interval workouts so your body can fully recover.

Besides burning calories and boosting your heart health, all these moves will improve your energy and strength.  Add them to your stretch care for longer lasting results in your mobility and posture. You can even squeeze this in during a work break if you have to. No excuses!

How To Modify Your Interval Training: If you’re coming off a long gap in exercising or a break due to injury, you can modify the interval training by doing interval walking.  

Research shows it improves blood sugar levels (glucose control) in those with Type 2 Diabetes better than just walking.  And studies have shown that 34 minutes of interval walking has shown to improve blood pressure.

1. Walk to warm up for 3 minutes at an intensity of 1 (i.e. extremely easy pace)**.  You’re just getting the blood flowing.
2. Increase your effort to intensity of 3 (i.e. breathing deeply but can still hold a conversation) for 3 minutes. Another way to figure out the brisk walking pace is hitting 100 steps in a minute.
3. Ease back down to intensity of 2 (i.e. very easy pace and ability to talk in complete sentences) for 3 minutes.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for 30 minutes. If that is too long at first, build up to 30 minutes over time (i.e. do 5-10 minutes your first workout and build from there or 1 cycle then 2 cycles to increase your workout time, etc.)

OK, get up & get your body moving!
Mollie & Ender

P.S. Want to get stronger with less effort?  Download this 3-minute Active Recovery Yoga Routine to help you train smarter, it's free!

*From the book: The One Minute Workout by Martin Gibala, Ph.D. 

**For intensity guidance, refer to the Modified Borg RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion) Scale from 1 (extremely easy) -10 (extremely hard or max effort).

It’s getting W-E-I-R-D in here. 

How are you doing now that we’re at the mask stage of the Rona Ride?

I’m used to them in the medical world, but it still feels strange to wear them in public.

This whole experience is pretty disorienting.  Isn’t it?

As we add covering up with the mask to social distancing, keep in mind you can still connect with others using your eyes and body language. 

Some of my stroke patients that I learned the most and felt closest too didn’t speak a word the entire time I worked with them because of their aphasia.  We used body language and eye contact to connect and understand each other.

When you’re wearing a mask in public, you can still crack jokes and use eye contact to connect with people especially those with essential service jobs.  The stress and fatigue are on the rise in the front lines.

Smile with your eyes.  They’re still the window to your soul.  Send them some love.

I know there’s confusion and mixed messages out there on masks, even when some communities require them. 

Part of the journey of this pandemic is we have to adapt as we learn more information.  Current research shows masks help decrease risk for all by at least 50% (3 ply surgical masks are better than home made).

Wearing a mask is another tool to protect ourselves and the most vulnerable in our community from the virus. 

Mask Care 101:  Make sure you cover both your mouth and nose with it.  And once it’s on don’t touch it with your hands.  If you do touch it, wash your hands.  Take it off by the ear loops and throw it away.

Yes the Rona Ride is getting repetitive but it’s simple:  Wash (your hands), Watch (your distance), and Wear (your mask).

Before you mask up, do the dog breath (in your house or car).  It’s another exercise to add to your breath work toolbox that’ll help boost your immune system.

DOG BREATH:

• Stick your tongue out all the way and breathe rapidly through your mouth the entire time (like a dog panting). 
• Practice for 3-5 minutes. 
• To finish the exercise, inhale and hold your breath for 15 seconds as you press your tongue hard against your upper palate.  Repeat closing breath 2 more times.

Peace & Love,
Mollie

P.S. Helpful Resources:
Download this daily planner to help you add 1-3 minute rest & relaxation breaks into your day.
Additional Rest Resources
Self-care basics during COVID-19
Surgical Masks: Austin Emergency Supply Foundation provides free masks to small business and those in need.  You can buy masks for just yourself or for you + help others get them too.

I don’t know about you but I’m ready for a REST stop on the Rona Ride. 

It’s starting to feel like a country song come to life…

Dad’s on lock down (at his assisted living). 

Youngest brother’s on the front lines (ER doc in Virginia that loves infectious disease).

I’m on a see saw balancing between two new worlds (the wellness “rest” world from my yoga nidra training and the upside down medical world on the verge of burn out). 

Ironically, my yoga nidra training started when the pandemic hit our area.

I'll be honest my Rona Ride stalled out at the end of April when my body screamed "time out" due to poor sleep from stress and the crazy pace of all the almost daily changes happening in the medical world. 

I was exhausted mentally and physically. 

So what did I do? 

I busted open my rest-care tool box which helped me bounce back energy wise.

There has never been a better time to listen to your body and give it what it needs.

Right now besides your basic hygiene, social distancing and using the latest CDC safety precautions, I recommend using as much rest, laughter, and nature as medicine as possible. 

I saw a post where someone mentioned they were making turns onto aisles at the grocery store like they were in a haunted house.  I couldn’t help from LOL thinking of that even though it’s also sad.  Hopefully we won’t feel like that forever.

Find the humor whenever you can right now.  It's OK to laugh while you're anxious or sad.  It's a #1 coping strategy in the healthcare world. Don’t feel guilty. 
 
Focus on what you can control in your immediate environment.  Your self-care comes first then everyone else.  The wellness rules are the same as before, but we need to ramp up the calming strategies. 
 
Remember to take advantage of the health benefits of movement and meditation each day.  You don't have to go hard core.  A little bit helps a lot.
 
Did you know doing something synchronized like singing with another person is right up there health wise?  Our bodies intuitively know this.  Think of all the TikTok videos or the clapping each day in NYC and Italy for health care workers. 

Go ahead and bust out the karaoke or your favorite dance moves a few minutes a day.  Sing and shake your body to keep the energy and emotions flowing.

I know you’ve got cabin fever. Go for a drive.  Go outside and soak up some sun.  Get near water or trees.  Move your body.  But then I still want you to REST, REST, REST. 

This is a marathon not a sprint.  Our bodies heal and get stronger at rest.

Here are some free rest and relaxation tools to help calm your body & brain:

Download this free 5 minute rest meditation for better sleep.  Use it to take a quick break, prep for a nap or to relax your body before sleep.

Free Meditation Apps:  Calm, Head Space

Tapping (EFT) is a combination of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology that sends calming signals to the brain.  Here are some free resources:

The Tapping Solution free coronavirus stress and anxiety meditations: go here

The Tapping Solution has 6 months free membership for health care workers and first responders: learn more here

Tapping with Brad Yates on YouTube: Coronavirus

Rest is medicine!
Mollie

P.S. Working from home for the first time?  Don’t forget to take mini movement breaks for better focus & less stiff muscles. Download the Mini Moves Planner to help your body feel more energy, ease, and flow each day.

Need some immune boosting tips?  Here’s the Healthy Traveler Packing List from an oldie but goldie blog post on nutrition and exercise resources to add to your self-care practices.  They're good year-round not just for travel.

Find COVID-19 self-care basics & resources here.

It’s been a little over a month of the Rona (COVID-19) roller coaster ride in the Austin area.   I’ve been experiencing waves of emotions almost like different stages of grief.  It has been intense and I’m doing my best to let it flow.

The initial panic that turned into what felt like a collective grief has left a lot of us exhausted and others with cabin fever.  A reminder of how connected we all are yet we are all in different cars on the Rona Ride. 

Since we’re all on different tracks of this coronavirus pandemic depending on where you are in the world, here are the initial resources I pulled together for our community back in early March to help manage the anxiety that happens when your routines and plans get flipped upside down.

It's a balancing act of staying on top of the latest public health recommendations vs staying calm through daily self-care practices. 

Unfortunately, communities may be in and out of sheltering in place and social distancing until we get a better way to treat the virus, faster testing and tracing, or a vaccine. 

Remember when we’re asked to slow things down and not stress the healthcare system all at once, our job is to control what we can. 

Everything we do is going to help those around us be more safe including using basic hygiene and staying calm as much as possible. 

Let's get real for a second.  We are barely at the beginning of the Rona Ride in the US and the medical community is on the verge of burn out.  They've been working non-stop to keep everyone as safe as possible.  Everything changes almost daily on how we have to approach things as we learn in real time about this virus.

I help coordinate teams of therapists to go safely into a brain injury survivors homes for rehab.  My youngest brother is an ER physician on the front lines in VA.  He's at the entry point of the medical system and I'm helping patients as they re-enter their home and community. The whole system is upside down right now.

Please do your part to support all the essential workers (not just medical ones) by making the COVID-19 basics part of your daily life.  For the best outcomes, it'll take a village team effort from all of us.

Let's review the basics and some resources to help you make the safest decisions for you and your family.

HAND WASHING
It seems so simple but it’s true, the #1 thing you can do is thorough hand washing for at least 20 seconds throughout the day especially when you’ve been out of your home.  Be extra mindful of anything you touch and not touching your face. Avoid shaking hands right now. Don’t wear a lot of jewelry that can attract germs.

Pretend you’re a health professional.  We never truly know what germs we are being exposed to in a health care environment, so we treat everyone universally the same.  It’s our number one defense against all the foreign germs we are exposed to on a regular basis.  It works even when we don't have gloves.

SELF-CARE PRACTICES
Now more than ever is the time to bust out or get in place some immune boosting and stress reducing DAILY practices. 

Remember your body heals itself and gets stronger at rest and when it’s calm.

It’s time to be proactive at turning on your parasympathetic nervous system (“rest and digest”) to boost your immune system every day.

Never been a better time to add some breath work to your daily self-care tool box.  I’ve been using The Ha Breath has become one of my personal favorites since this all started.

SLEEP HYGIENE
At the top of your self-care practices should be getting enough sleep.  At least 7 hours a night.  If you aren’t waking up well rested, then add in naps during the day.  Rest, rest, rest and more rest.  It helps your body heal and stay healthy.

Download this free 5 minute rest meditation for better sleep.  Use it to take a quick break, prep for a nap or to relax your body before sleep.

As I watch air pollution going down around the world, it’s hard not to think Mother Earth is telling us to slow down.  Actually, she’s yelling at us to do that AND to get more rest.  It's time for us to listen.

GUT HEALTH
Next you can improve your gut health to boost your immune fighting power.  Superfoods.  Probiotics.  Clean Eating.  Check out this blog post for more tips and recipes to support your gut health.

HEALTHY TRAVELER TIPS
Some of us will be able to slowly get back out into our communities soon.  Before you do, check out an oldie but goldie blog post we did on being a Healthy Traveler.  All the recommendations on the Healthy Traveler Packing List are appropriate for right now to boost your immune system and help decrease stress.  You’ll want to add social distancing and wearing a mask when in the community as well.

Besides the CDC website, here are some COVID-19 resources that you might find useful:

COVID exit strategy- how ready is your state to re-open?

Dr. Aviva Romm - An Integrated MD's Commonsense Approach

Marie Forleo has pulled together a bunch of resources in one spot

Pet Information

How to Keep Your Pets Safe

Government resources

Follow Andy Slavitt on twitter (@ASlavitt) or on his podcast (In The Bubble)

Having a hard time finding your fruits and veggies lately?  Here are two delivery services to check out:

Daily Harvest*

Imperfect Foods*

Can’t find toilet paper?  Try this tree free, 100% bamboo toilet paper delivery service:
Reel Paper 

COVID dashboard

Austin Resources in one spot

Surgical Masks: Austin Emergency Supply Foundation provides free masks to small business and those in need.  You can buy masks for just yourself or for you + help others get them too.

Hand Sanitizer:  Banner Distilling Company makes hand sanitizer in addition to their Vodka and Whiskey products.

Bored or tired of your own cooking? Our friend’s Austin catering company now has curbside meals for families and alcohol:  Pink Avocado Catering
 
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I imagine by now that we all know at least one person who has had a battle with the virus and many whose jobs have been impacted.  We’re sending love and peace to everyone and a gentle reminder to take it one day at a time. You are strong and will get through this.
 
I truly believe Anything Is Possible.  
 
There are glimmers of hope and light, but you’ve got to stay away from the news to catch them. Are you searching for them?

We WILL get through this.  We’ll do our best with what we know and have access to right now.  We’ll keep adapting.  Things will look different on the other side of it but just like a diamond under pressure we’ll shine brighter.

All is Well!
Mollie

P.S. Working from home for the first time?  Don’t forget to take mini movement breaks for less stress & stiff muscles. Download the Mini Moves Planner to help your body feel more energy, ease, and flow each day.

*denotes affiliate link

One of the things I love about Pilates, Yoga, and Qi Gong is the emphasis on the breath work. 

They all teach you how the breath is where it all starts.  It controls everything.  How you heal.  How you feel.  How you move. 

And there are so many breathing exercises out there that can give you different results. 

You can change the way you breathe so that it calms your nervous system, to turn on your nervous system before or during activity, to boost your energy, to loosen muscle tension, and/or to decrease anxiety and overwhelm. 

It’s fascinating how something so simple can make such a difference in your body and mind. 

Try this.

Put your hand over your heart and close your eyes.  Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.  Repeat a few more deep breaths. 

Did that release some tension in your neck?  Do you feel a less overwhelmed?  How about more grounded or centered?

You can use this breathing exercise anytime you feel like life is spiraling out of control.  It reminds you that you DO have control. 

One breath can change everything.  Your mood.  Your energy level. 

And as they say you've gotta feel it to heal it.  Breath work will help you do that.

Having a variety of breathing exercises in your self-care tool box will help you manage stress, fatigue, and pain to perform and feel your best each day. 

Here is another breathing exercise for you to try that will help you release STRONG emotions: The Ha Breath*.

Some of us were taught that it's not OK to express strong or negative emotions (i.e. anger, sadness) and they get trapped in our body. This technique will help you release them. 

Not to get too woo woo on you, but it'll also help you center yourself by combining both your masculine and feminine energy so you’re in a more peaceful place. 

If you’re worn out, burned out or in need of a time out, here’s my favorite tool to help you get re-energized. 

I've used it daily for the past 2 years.  It's been my #1 self-care practice as I continue to ride the emotional roller coaster of providing elder care for my dad.

I learned about it on a podcast that led me to a book that started me on a 40 day challenge with a simple rest tool called Yoga Nidra.

I was completely worn out from helping my dad through his 3rd cancer surgery in a year when the podcast caught my attention.

I'd heard the name many times from my Yoga Therapist colleagues, but didn’t really "hear" it until my body needed it the most.

My body was like “Yes, THAT is what you need to do when you get home.”  Deep rest was exactly what my body was craving and I was the perfect candidate to test out the power of it.

I'll never forget my first yoga nidra nap and the way it refreshed and energized my worn-out body (and soul). 

It’s the most relaxed I’ve gotten on my own without going to acupuncture or massage.  I would even say it’s a deeper relaxation experience that energizes you versus having that post bodywork fog where you can barely drive home.

What is Yoga Nidra?

It’s basically meditation while you rest. 

You lie down, listen to a guided meditation, and rest. It’s called “yogic sleep” and involves intense relaxation.

Doesn’t it sound fascinating and fun?

It’s my favorite rest tool for managing fatigue and stress. 

If you’re a caregiver for little ones, old ones, even furry ones... it'll help you re-charge each day.

If you're in a healing profession... it's your burnout prevention tool.

If you’ve got a job that requires you to perform (athlete, speaker)… it’s your pre-game “find your flow” mindset tool.

A 15 minute yoga nidra nap will help you calm your nervous system so your body can repair and heal itself.

It has been such a powerful healing & recovery tool in my life.  I know it can be in yours as well.

Getting Started With Yoga Nidra

BOOK AND CHALLENGE:

• "Daring to Rest- 40 Day Program for Women" by Karen Brody (she was sharing about her book on the podcast I heard 2 years ago). The book will guide you through a 40 day program to heal 3 types of fatigue: physical, emotional, and life-purpose exhaustion (like I've done the past few years) or you can join her live program.  The next live round starts on January 28, 2020: Women Dream.

FREE APPS/RESOURCES:

• Yoga Nidra –free App (Madhav is the narrator) has a very easy to use app with a 10 minutes yoga nidra. 
• Insight Timer is a free app with thousands of meditations- search for yoga nidra. Recommend searching for these teachers: Jennifer Piercy and Madhav.
• An Americanized version of Yoga Nidra is called iRest developed by Dr. Richard Miller. His iRest program is a popular treatment of PTSD, military, anxiety, etc.  He has a lot of books, recordings, and trainings available on his site.

Rest Well!
Mollie

P.S. Check out your brain on Yoga Nidra. The research on brain scans during Yoga Nidra is remarkable.  Your brain is asleep and awake at the same time. After you wake up, you're primed and ready to act: Brain scans