Winter 2020 Faulkner Lifestyle

Dear Future Self
Your Daily Movement
is Necessary Self-Care
BY ROBIN DAYER
Repeat after me “I am not being
selfish for making non-negotiable
time for my own movement
every single day.” Now that you’ve
taken the oath, let’s back up a bit. At
what point in our lives did we learn
that simple acts of self-care became
indulgent? When did it become a
guilty pleasure to do what it takes to
feel our best?
Life is full of stress and heavy responsibilities,
some days we carry the
weight of the world on our shoulders.
Research shows that exercise is the
key to managing stress. When we
move, the body releases endorphins
that elevate our mood and reduce the
cortisol stress hormone. Movement
is a form of medicine that offers
mental clarity and positive thinking.
Notice when you are fully immersed
in something active all your problems
and stress seem to disappear. Everything
becomes lighter.
I know what you’re thinking, sure
Robin, we know this is a fact…
easier said than done. But the truth is,
unless we take care of ourselves first,
we cannot live our full potential for
anyone else. Think of the oxygen mask
analogy you may have heard. On an
airplane, before takeoff, we always
hear the flight attendant reading the
safety instructions aloud, including if
the oxygen pressure in the cabin were
to change. In this case, oxygen masks
will drop down, and once they do,
the first step is to secure OUR own
oxygen mask before assisting others.
The oxygen depleting in the airplane is
our life, and my friends, we must make
sure WE are ok before being able to
make sure others around us are ok.
Tips for Making
Movement Your
Medicine
Schedule exact times and days on
your calendar that you will get in
your workout. This time doesn’t get
cancelled and its nonnegotiable. I
highly recommend a group fitness
class or a personal trainer that can hold
you accountable to these times. When
someone else is involved in your
scheduled workouts, you will be less
likely to cancel on yourself.
Get up earlier to get your movement in.
No one is going to schedule an unexpected
staff meeting at 5am. It is tough
when that alarm goes off, to be honest
it never gets easier to get up, but it’s an
untouchable time slot for you and a
total win for your day that sets the right
tone. You won’t always be motivated
to wake up and put movement first,
motivation can and will fade. What
keeps your habit is the way you feel if
you don’t move for the day.
Be realistic. Any movement is a win.
Even 10-15 minutes of walking is
better than zero and is an instant mood
booster. It is amazing what a few
minutes of any movement can do.
There will be days that will be over
scheduled. It will seem that everything
is pulling at you and trying to make
itself priority. When this happens, stop
and ask yourself if you’ve taken care of
YOU yet today. Then, repeat the oath,
and get moving!
Robin Dayer
“
At what point in our
lives did we learn that
simple acts of self-care
became indulgent? When
did it become a guilty
pleasure to do what it
takes to feel our best?
”
—Robin Dayer
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