It has to be said, though we already know... it is a trap. All the posts and the doom scrolling on social media, trying to find the one best exercise, best diet, new supplement... The fix for what you think ails you. The perfect body/life/habits image that is portrayed by so many health influencers... it's dizzying just to try and watch, let alone the thought of 'keeping up'.
I'll be honest, I have tons of saved posts in my account. I used to save all those 'great exercises' thinking that I'd do them as well. Now I am more picky, I save the ones that I want to show to my kids or the ones that have shown me something new that I'd like to do more research on.
So where is this post going? I want to tell you that there is not ONE BEST thing. Yes, we can work on building a better habits, but it is what we do overall with our movement, our diet, our lives that determines our health. And guess what... It is all individual. What works best for one person, may not for another. The movement that you love doing may be something that another person finds utterly boring. Prime example... As someone who taught yoga for 2 decades, the foundation of yoga (the mind/body connection) weaves into every program that I build. When I mention my background (even though what I teach isn't anything like the 'yoga' people have some to know) I'm met with the statement "I don't like yoga". I totally understand! Yoga isn't the answer for them, but it could be for someone else. Either way, we work together to build a program that gives them meaning.
One of the reasons that I love natural movement fitness is that I reached a point in my life where my yoga practice wasn't adding to my life, it felt like the practice of asana (the postures) had no meaning. Luckily I then found that meaning and awareness in natural movement. A different kind of moving meditation.
What I've learned over all of these years of moving through my life with daily back pain (it still comes and goes) is that it is the big picture that you need to look at. Building a well rounded movement practice, even at 15-30 min a day, makes the difference in your physical health and your mental health. I have so much more energy these days just by dropping the mental exhaustion of my pain. The worry, over-analysis, fear, avoidance, dread, anxiety, and doubt that I dealt with day after day, it drained me. Mentally and emotionally.
Back to the point, it wasn't one thing that got me back to life, it wasn't one best exercise/diet/supplement that I found on social media, it was a number of things. Like I've mentioned before... Life is like a puzzle. Some puzzles have 100 pieces, but some have 1000 with irregular edges (you know the ones). When you find one piece that fits another it feels so good, it motivates you to continue. But when you get stuck looking for that one piece, that one treatment, that one exercise, you lose sight, you get frustrated.
Gain some guidance, an extra set of experienced eyes on your puzzle. Let's build your path back to wellness together.
Oh, and stop doom scrolling social media. Call your friends, text them, tell them what you are up to. Let's get back to in person hang outs and sharing our lives, even if they are over Zoom. Social media isn't that healthy. Learn to use it effectively.
Tip: I am currently working on building a habit. Every time I pick up my phone mindlessly (still about 50x a day) I try to remember to ask myself "What am I avoiding?". Half the time I put it back down and get on with my day.