As I say in Prioritizing Self-Care in the New Year,
Physical care is about getting enough movement in your daily lifestyle. You don’t need to get a gym membership and run three to five miles per day, to have proper physical self-care. It’s important to remember that 30 Move Minutes five times per week is recommended by the American Heart Association.
In this week’s post, I hope to convince you to make moving an act of restorative, physical self-care, and outline some resources available, to make your physical wellness resolutions a reality in 2020.
Physical Self-Care, an Overview
Exercise is one form of self-care, but it’s not the type of self-care that I want to focus on. That’s not to say that if you’re a fitness enthusiast you’re doing anything wrong; you’re doing great and enjoy! But, don’t forget that recuperation for our body is also necessary and the most commonly overlooked aspect when it comes to physical self-care.
If exercise is not the primary form of physical self-care, what is? I argue that movement is by itself, in three forms: touch, moving around spaces, and flexibility.
Touch
One of the most satisfying forms of physical self-care is getting a massage, or self-massage. As humans, we are hardwired for experiencing the world through touch, such as with reiki, yet so often we can go days, weeks or even months sometimes without purposeful, mindful touch.
You may get up in the morning, shower and dress, and go about your days, yet you may not touch yourself with love and care. Now is the time to connect with yourself. It can be as simple as massaging your hands together. How have your hands changed over the past year, five years? Do you notice anything different about your skin? Recognize discomfort but don’t try to fix anything; just be with the sensations.
Of course, you can take touch to the next level by asking a spouse/partner or a trusted family member or friend to give you a hand or shoulder massage after a long day. You can offer to give each other massages regularly as a commitment to your physical self-care this year.
Finally, you can hire a licensed massage therapist for a wide variety of styles of massage. No matter how you decide to start, some form of touch is a great way to kick off your physical self-care in the new year.
Moving Around Spaces
Next, think about how you can get your organs that same level of love. This is usually through getting your heart rate up, but it doesn’t mean trips to the gym or even breaking a sweat. Your heart rate elevates when you walk briskly for just a few minutes at a time several times a day. According to the American Heart Association, they recommend 150 minutes of something like brisk walking per week.
Choose walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator at work. Park at the far end of the parking lot at the grocery store or mall and power (safely) walk to the front door. Take public transit the next time you want to explore the city. Every time you choose to increase your heart rate, your body will thank you with a healthy heart and that’s excellent physical self-care.
Flexibility
Physical self-care wouldn’t be complete if you didn’t feel the satisfaction of a good stretch. Endurance and stretch are equally measured in fitness by flexibility. And, you can’t function without being able to move your body comfortably the way you need and want it to.
Simple stretching exercises will do here. Nothing fancy is needed. Reach for the sky, reach for your toes. Do what you are comfortably able to do and then stretch to see if you can go a little further without hurting yourself.
If you want to really focus on your flexibility this year, you might consider taking a yoga class. Buy a yoga package at your local yoga studio and commit to showing up as you are to class once per week. With the right mindset, yoga can be not only a form of physical self-care but also mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually enriching.
Physical Self-Care Resources
You can look at fitness and exercise websites all day long. Much of it is going to talk about workouts and feeling the burn, but not many are going to speak to fitness as self-care. This is a listing of resources below that will get you moving in the direction of physical self-care and not just another exercise regimen:
Check out the Zeel or Soothe apps to schedule a local professional, at-home massage on your next personal, or telework, day.
In Daily Self Massage – How To Love Yourself after a day of work, dancer Alessia Lugoboni shows you how to do a lovely self-massage using some simple tools (Lush massage bar and a tennis ball!). Be creative with how you do self-massage and enjoy the experience.
You can learn more about how you’re moving by using apps on your phone to earn those Heart Points and motivate you to move more, including Google Fit, Apple Health, Exist, Gyroscope, and Instant. Once you start to see what you’re doing every day, you can make small behavior changes to your routine to incorporate more walking.
If you can’t get to yoga classes, check out the Down Dog app. But, if you are able, I highly recommend visiting your local yoga studios and find a yoga community that suits you.
These resources should get you started on your new year’s physical self-care practices.
Where to Start With Physical Self-Care
As always, if you need more physical self-care than you believe you can provide yourself, seek help. You can reach out to Four Directions Wellness for services and always talk through any serious issues with a medical professional.
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Is physical self-care the area of your life that you are focusing on this year, this month, or even this week? Let me know in the comments and how you plan to better your physical health in 2020.