Do you feel reluctant to set fitness or health goals? Are you held back from attempts that did not end well in the past? Does depression, anxiety or both limit you?
I had to watch an Instagram reel twice recently. The woman described her "5-minute clean", a strategy of hers when she was in a depression episode to work on switching her mindset. She described the mindset switch of telling herself she needed to do this and "just get through" the 5 minutes. She also stated either from a comment or the knowledge of some people, it is hard enough to get out of bed. She wanted to encourage them to just complete the 5 minutes.
I found this to be amazing advice. In the end, you are spending 5 minutes with positive self-talk and getting something done that decreases your stress. I'm not sure anyone is like me on this, I find cleaning helps me relieve stress or anxiety.
I know many people feel like when someone tells them they "Should exercise 30-60 minutes a day". They might just shut down feeling that is more than they can do at the time. This advice about 5 minutes can be for exercise as well. Start with 5 minutes or 2-3 exercises. Then gradually build up. Everyone can find 5 minutes in their day. The woman with the 5-minute clean said she also set a timer. You could set a timer or reminder alarm to exercise for 5 minutes.
I read this quote by Barbara Shur, "You can learn new things at any time in your life if you are willing to be a beginner. If you learn to like being a beginner, the whole world opens up to you." Let me help you begin to celebrate movement, exercise, and taking steps to better health rather than seeing it as a punishment. I can individualize your program to start and give time between appointments or start more frequently and then give more space between appointments. If somewhere in the process you change your mind about what works best for you, I will work with you wherever you are in your process. Let's get started, if you are new to exercise, starting over, or stuck for any reason, I can help you.
#Live Inspired
Karen Baltz Gibbs, PT, DPT, CSCS, LMT, CMP
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