Working IN Movement

With the coming and going of 3 kids’ birthdays and a weekend of crazy tummy illness, I’ve felt a decent dose of anxiety over the past week.  

What have you had going on that’s made your feel like life is out of control?

These days, it doesn’t take much, right?

If you are working out and doing any sort of involvement in life at what tends to be an accepted pace then you are likely asking questions about how to avoid burnout.  

Stress is a really big deal, and while excess cortisol is there to help us in many ways, we want to learn how to create outlets that let abundant cortisol drain away, so we can release the constant out-pouring and give our adrenals a rest.

Imagine an old fashioned bath tub with no drain collecting all of the stressors of your day: Financial concerns, relationship issues, deadlines at work, kids sick or screaming, feeling tight in your pants, piles of paperwork, pushing through fatigue to get stuff done, etc.

As you continue to fill the tub without the ability to release these stressors, your tub will overflow, and your body won’t be able to contain the stress.  Something will have to give, which usually leads to a crash and burn with acute or chronic illness or injury.  

Your body just can’t take the assault forever.

Here’s some suggestions for how to create release valves and allow the stressors to drain away:

1. Identify what is stressing you out.  Even too much of a good thing (like exercise, dare I say) can create detrimental stress in the body. 
2. Make a plan to deal with your stress.  This is the hardest part because it often means saying YES to more of our needs, and NO the needs of others.  That’s OK.  It also means changing our expectations from what we actually need vs. what we think is right.  For instance, your body might feel it’s best with only 3 dedicated work OUT’s per week, with the rest used for more working IN exercises.  

Working IN exercises include things that allow your parasympathetic system, or restoring hormones, to elevate.  And here’s the real secret,

Working IN exercises increase the amount of energy in the body rather than using energy up.  Typically these movements will be slow and include lots of breathing.

The best part?  You can do them on a full stomach and you don’t have to break a sweat!!

Here’s an example of an energizing Working IN exercise I recorded back in 2010 (notice I needed this even before kids!).  

If you are anything like me, you may find it hard to simply sit and meditate. Meditation is something that benefits us by helping us listen to our inner voice as we sit in stillness to focus on our breath or a positive thought.

And here’s your bonus tip.  Take the moments you are working IN to be thankful.  Spend time in prayer remembering, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest”- Exodus 33:14

Working IN movement will benefit you every day, and they don’t take long.  Let me know what you think, and if you want more examples of how to know when to work IN vs Work OUT or ways to create more energy with movement!

Health and love to you, 

Nicole