It’s only since I’ve become a father that I’ve realized just how unstoppably active children are. From the moment they first learn to crawl, it’s as if they can’t keep themselves still. Kids take such a simple, delightful pleasure in moving their limbs, interacting with balls and toys and tearing around as fast as they can on bikes and sleds and their own two feet. As we get older, for whatever reason, we seem to lose touch with this. Moving our bodies in any significant way comes to feel like a chore.
But this pleasure in movement and wearing ourselves out isn’t the only thing we lose. Part of the primal joy in watching happy children at play is in seeing how they become utterly lost in what they’re doing. Kids get so absorbed in the worlds of movement and fun they’re creating that the rest of the world seems to just disappear. What this tells me is that the state we call being “mindful” and often work so hard to achieve is actually completely natural and normal. Before the pressures and responsibilities of adulthood kick in, we’re able to access mindful states incredibly easily through play.
The following snack items involve reconnecting to this childhood state. I want you to throw off some of the self-importance and self-consciousness that tend to come with adulthood and just have some simple, silly, energetic fun.
JUST PLAY!
Do some fun movements that make you feel like a child.
This is one of my favorite Play health snacks because it makes me feel so free and joyful. It’s simple and unstructured and involves you just horsing around in constant motion.
Here are some of my favorite “Just Play!” movements:
•Play tag with your kids, grandkids, or friends in the backyard or around the house.
•Play basketball in the park or with a net in your backyard.
•Kick a ball around.
•Stand on a balance board in the living room.
Remember, these are simply some of my suggestions. Use them as a guide but feel free to come up with your very own Just Play! activities.
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You can listen to a fun conversation on my Feel Better, Live More podcast about the importance of play at drchatterjee.com/darryledwards |
DANCING
Dance to a tune that makes you feel good.
Dancing is one of the most underrated ways to work out and get your heart pumping. You don’t need to go to a class or wait until your next big night out with your mates. It’s free and available to each and every one of us on a daily basis. Gym and Zumba instructors know all too well that music helps to motivate and keep people going, but you don’t need to pay professionals to exploit this ancient and joyful activity.
I’d like you to simply choose an upbeat tune that inspires you and makes you feel good and just dance along, in whatever way you wish, for five minutes. Either set the song to repeat or choose a couple of high-tempo tracks and play them back to back. After five minutes of letting yourself leap about, your mood will have lifted, your energy levels will have risen and you’ll feel much more motivated to do whatever else you have planned for the day.
JUMPING ROPE
Dig out your rope and jump!
Jumping rope is one of the best ways to work out in a short period of time and helps with agility, balance, and coordination as well as cardiorespiratory fitness. It’s best to start simple and then, as you become fitter and more confident, add in some more complex movements, such as:
•Criss-crossing arms
•Double hops
•Double unders
•High knees
•Jumping jacks
•Single legs
There are plenty of videos to watch on YouTube to give you more ideas as you become more skilled.
If you enjoy jumping rope, you can always incorporate it into the Simple Sweat workout. For example, thirty seconds of jumping followed by thirty seconds of rest five times will give you a brilliant five-minute workout that will be fun and leave you energized.
You can even do a mixture of all the Play health snacks mentioned in this section. For example, you could do one minute of jumping rope, one minute on a balance board and three minutes of dance. There are no rules—this is simply about five minutes of fun!
If you want to make any new behavior stick in the long term, it’s really important to set up your environment so that engaging in your chosen behavior is as easy as possible.
Here are some tips that you may find helpful:
•Set up a playlist on your phone with your favorite feel-good tunes so you always have music ready to go to when it’s time to dance.
•Make sure your jump rope is out somewhere visible. If you leave it in a cupboard, it is much less likely that you will use it.
•Keep your balance board out in the living room, bedroom, or kitchen, so that you are constantly being reminded that it is there.
•Keep the soccer ball in the middle of the backyard so that you see it every time you look out.
As you know by now, it is extremely helpful to stick your Play health snack on to an existing part of your daily routine. Why not do your 5 minutes of dancing every single evening right before you eat dinner? Or, what about leaving your jump rope by the front door and every day when you come in from work, it will act as a reminder to do your 5 minutes of jumping rope as soon as you get in?
CASE STUDY
It was the height of the scorching summer of 2018 and I could see how uncomfortable the heat was making Letitia. She was a forty-eight-year-old single mother who’d always struggled with her weight. She’d tried the gym and various workout classes but was concerned that people would stare at her because of her size. That day, Letitia had come in with her daughter, who was also overweight, and who she was worried about. Sixteen-year-old Namono seemed quite low and moody. At one point, she snapped at her mom, saying, “Well, you never go out either. You're just in the kitchen all day, listening to music.” I got the strong impression that there were difficulties in their relationship.
But that wasn’t what Letitia had come to see me about. I wondered if music might be the key to begin solving their worries around weight. Letitia always seemed to be wearing a Lady Gaga T-shirt and her daughter had a pair of headphones hanging off her neck. I mentioned that they both appeared to be music fans and that dancing can be a great way of exercising. I asked them to both choose one song of their choice, up tempo, and dance to it.
When they first started doing it, neither of them could get to the end of the five or six minutes of the song without stopping for breath. But after two weeks Namono could, and her mom, feeling competitive, soon caught her up. They were both thrilled to experience themselves becoming fitter in such a short time. It was a classic small victory.
But it’s also had a brilliant Ripple Effect (page 25). It gave Letitia the confidence to start the “Couch to 5K” running program and motivated her to begin to change her diet. Not only are they both now losing weight, Namono has recently decided to join her mom on her running journey. They’re fitter and healthier than they have been for years, and their tricky relationship has been transformed. And it all started with just five minutes of dancing.