#LiveWholeHealth

Physical activity, whether done sitting or standing, uses your energy to move the large muscles in your body. Different activities produce different benefits: increasing strength, flexibility, endurance or mobility. But the benefits aren't only physical. Movement can help energize us while also helping to reduce stress, too.

When our days feel overly busy or stressful it can be nice to slow down and find moments of stillness. There are many ways to do that throughout the day, even if just for a minute or two. Here are a few ideas.

Strengthening and protecting your lower back is one of the best things you can do for your body every day. Here's how the hip hinge can help.

Deep breathing in the moment can reduce and stabilize your heart rate. It can provide a focus point which allows you to feel more grounded and present. When we are grounded in the present moment, we are less likely to dwell on other thoughts.

Neck pain can interfere with many aspects of your daily life and disrupt activities you enjoy. Acupressure can help relieve neck pain.

Many things can affect the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Our sleep patterns can change as we age and not everybody requires the same amount of sleep. Some people may sleep through the night, but they do not feel refreshed when they wake up. Sometimes after several nights of poor sleep, people may begin to worry or feel anxious anticipating another night of struggle. Acupressure, along with your other medical care, may be useful to support your sleep.

Did you ever think that relaxation would take practice? When we were young it was easy to relax: We simply rested our bodies and minds when we were tired. How did our adult minds get so busy and filled with thoughts that make taking those important breaks so hard to do? This relaxation practice can help.

Many people are drawn to meditation to help manage those times when things seem down or out of our control. There are many different types of meditation, including visualization, compassion, gratitude, breath, mantra – and the list goes on. These meditations can improve your life by reducing stress and anxiety, and help you feel more grounded and at ease.

When you hear music playing do you automatically find yourself swaying, toe tapping, or feel like bursting out in dance? Well – you are not alone! Studies have shown that moving to the beat is built into our nervous systems.

If sitting meditation is not for you, yet you want the benefits that come from these practices, you may want to try a gentle movement practice such as “Brain Break.”

When we work towards improving our health and well-being, we often focus on making substantial lifestyle changes such as eating more fruits and vegetables, becoming more active, dedicating time to meditation or yoga, or building our social support system. While all of these are valuable, we can also improve our health through smaller actions. For example, by sitting down.

On this #LiveWholeHealth exercise, we talk about playing and moving our bodies for fun. Think back to when you were a kid and you spent your days bike riding, climbing trees, playing tag, and simply running around the neighborhood with friends. Try to imagine what it felt like to use your body in all these ways. Can you recall climbing into bed after a long day of swimming? Remember that feeling of pure exhaustion?

Why do we stop using our bodies for fun? When did we decide that moving our bodies was too much work, too painful, or a waste of time?