Healthy Holidays
The fun continues!
After the last of the West Virginia family Christmas festivities yesterday (the in-laws get together was delayed so everyone could be there), Tate and I arrived home to greet two very special house-guests.
My sister stopped off on her way from Maryland to West Virginia and my childhood friend (we met when I was 45 minutes old and she was four 🙂 ) Sadie stopped for the night on her way from North Carolina to D.C. I love that this week is sort of a holiday in and of itself!
Sadie is the In-House Yogi at the Cliff Bar headquarters in California. She is also a kettlebell instructor (she’s all about balancing the yin with the yang), you may recall when she taught me a thing or two last summer! Oh yeah, and she’s writing a book on holistic fitness. Needless to say, this women has been influencing and inspiring me for many, many years!
I love having house-guests that have similar taste in food and a big appetite for activity! On my lunch break we are going to practice yoga together in my studio then go for a little hike on the Monticello Trail.
Speaking of activity, I saw an article on Monday titled The Laziest Week of the Year. Once I got past the headline I realized that the article was actually about the laziest work week of the year but it got me thinking about this week and exercise. There is a cultural and social trend of accepting physical laziness from Thanksgiving-New Year’s Eve then “resolving” to get back on the exercise wagon come January 1st.
What’s up with that?!
January is hard enough without the struggle to get moving again!
While I can appreciate that life is busy around the holidays and the weather can make being active outside tricky I also know that the best way for me to start the New Year feeling healthy, happy, and renewed is to move a little-or a lot-everyday.
How do we stay inspired to be active during the holidays?
Here are a few past posts on moving.
Move it or Lose it-reasons why we should move our bodies MORE
Tips for Fitting Exercise into Your Busy Day
Simple Ways to Include More Movement in Everyday
Ideas for Do Anywhere Workouts
My Top 3 Ways to Move Without “Exercising”
- Power clean. Set an alarm and move fast from one job to the next. By the end of the allotted time (which may just be 5 minutes) you will have squatted, stair-climbed, and stretched your way clean.
- Dance like nobody is watching. Blast your favorite song and shake it. This is a very under-utilized form of therapy, seriously, dance it out! Walk and talk. Call a friend and have a moving gab session, either in person or over the phone. Cheaper than drinks.
- Just move. Lay your mat down on the living room floor and just start wiggling, stretching, pushing, and pulling without a plan or goal.
How do you get moving without “exercising”? Do you give yourself a free pass to be “lazy” over the holidays or do you, like me, need your activity more than ever during this time?
