Physical TherapybyNorah Whitten

A theme I’ve noticed recently in my patients is busyness. It seems like everyone has a busy schedule and a long to-do list at the moment. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s January, vacations are over, and the kids are back in school, but I feel like we’re all in a rush right now.

And I can’t even claim an exception. With the new year in full swing, I do feel a certain pressure to meal prep all organic vegetable dishes, exercise at least 5x per week, do an hour of yoga per day, meditate each morning & night, swear off scrolling & mindless tv, and call every family member & close friend I have for at least one hour (each) of meaningful conversation per week.

Writing this all out, I know it seems ridiculous to have so many time-consuming aspirations! But I’d also be lying if I said it weren’t true. There’s definitely a lot of external pressure to optimize all things regarding your health & wellbeing. But ironically, trying to do so can end up stressing you out to the point that it has a negative effect on your health & wellbeing! So what can we do?!?

For both myself and my patients, what I’ve found works best is first taking a step back, a deep breath, and recognizing that trying to do everything will likely backfire on you. We all have a limited amount of time & energy to put towards our health so it’s impossible to try to do it all.

So having accepted that reality, what do we prioritize? What I’ve found as the best return on investment in health is committing 5-10 minutes per day to do some slow, gentle movements.

Here is an example routine (exercises are linked with videos!):

This usually works well for a few reasons. The first being that even when we’re pressed for time, most people can usually carve out 5 minutes. I like to tell patients to try this routine either at bedtime or while watching tv. I prefer bedtime because I’ve found that this routine can help relax you, which is ideal to prepare for a restful nights’ sleep. Doing this at bedtime can also help you combine movement with mindfulness (which is a 2-for-1 deal in my book!).

Mindfulness is simply bringing your attention to the present moment, and has been shown to have a myriad of benefits, including stress reduction, improved sleep, improved mental clarity, and more. Which brings me to my most important point of this blog post: when things become overwhelmingly busy, give yourself the gift of a moment’s peace (or as they say, the present of presence).

There will always be busy seasons in life. There will always be times you fall off your routine. But remember that during those times, when you think there’s no way you have time to take a minute to yourself, those are when your body likely needs it the most. So give yourself grace. And give yourself a moment of silence.

A theme I’ve noticed recently in my patients is busyness. It seems like everyone has a busy schedule and a long to-do list at the moment. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s January, vacations are over, and the kids are back in school, but I feel like we’re all in a rush right now. And I can’t even claim an exception. With the new year in full swing, I do feel a certain pressure to meal prep all organic vegetable dishes, exercise at least 5x per week, do an hour of yoga per day, meditate each morning & night, swear off scrolling & mindless tv, and call every family member & close friend I have for at least one hour (each) of meaningful conversation per week.  Writing this all out, I know it seems ridiculous to have so many time-consuming aspirations! But I’d also be lying if I said it weren’t true. There’s definitely a lot of external pressure to optimize all things regarding your health & wellbeing. But ironically, trying to do so can end up stressing you out to the point that it has a negative effect on your health & wellbeing! So what can we do?!? For both myself and my patients, what I’ve found works best is first taking a step back, a deep breath, and recognizing that trying to do everything will likely backfire on you. We all have a limited amount of time & energy to put towards our health so it’s impossible to try to do it all.  So having accepted that reality, what do we prioritize? What I’ve found as the best return on investment in health is committing 5-10 minutes per day to do some slow, gentle movements.  Here is an example routine (exercises are linked with videos!):  Cat/cows All fours rocking Child’s pose Deep breathing  Trunk rotations This usually works well for a few reasons. The first being that even when we’re pressed for time, most people can usually carve out 5 minutes. I like to tell patients to try this routine either at bedtime or while watching tv. I prefer bedtime because I’ve found that this routine can help relax you, which is ideal to prepare for a restful nights’ sleep. Doing this at bedtime can also help you combine movement with mindfulness (which is a 2-for-1 deal in my book!). Mindfulness is simply bringing your attention to the present moment, and has been shown to have a myriad of benefits, including stress reduction, improved sleep, improved mental clarity, and more. Which brings me to my most important point of this blog post: when things become overwhelmingly busy, give yourself the gift of a moment’s peace (or as they say, the present of presence).  There will always be busy seasons in life. There will always be times you fall off your routine. But remember that during those times, when you think there’s no way you have time to take a minute to yourself, those are when your body likely needs it the most. So give yourself grace. And give yourself a moment of silence.

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