10 Simple Ways to Take Care of Yourself Without Going to the Gym

10 Simple Ways to Take Care of Yourself Without Going to the Gym

April 25, 2023 Podcast Comments (0)

At the beginning of the year, I attended a local chapter of the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber Of commerce. We all had the opportunity to go around the room and introduce ourselves, say what we did, and share one goal for the upcoming year.

Maybe it’s because this meeting was in January, or because the room was full of women who are constantly pouring into others, or perhaps a combination of both of these, but the one recurring comment I heard was “this year I want to take better care of myself.”

I hear this often, from IRL friends, Facebook friends, and clients as a personal trainer. I applaud it and realize the need many of us have to increase this investment in ourselves.

My question is why. I think it’s worth asking ourselves why we want to take care of ourselves. This is a conversation I have with all of my new clients because it’s important to consider our mindset walking into new habit creation. If you haven’t identify the why, then chances are you’re going to quickly fizzle out.

Benefits of taking care of yourself

Let’s talk quickly about some of the benefits we can achieve by taking care of ourselves.

Physical health: Taking care of ourselves physically, by getting enough sleep, exercise, and eating a healthy diet, can help prevent illness, boost our immune system, and increase our energy levels.
Mental health: Practicing self-care can also help improve our mental health by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. It can also help us feel more relaxed and focused, which can lead to greater productivity and creativity.
Relationships: When we take care of ourselves, we are better able to take care of others. As Christians we are called to love and serve others. Yes. But we can’t do that if we are completely depleted. When I take the time to do a few, small things for myself, I’m a better wife, mother and friend.
Fulfillment: Taking care of ourselves can help us feel more fulfilled and satisfied with our lives. It allows us to pursue our passions and interests, and to be able to do what God is calling us to do – big or small.

If you’ve been with me a while, you know this is the heart of what I do. While I love to help women feel and be stronger through personal training, this is only a small portion of our day. In fact, even if you work out for an hour every single day, that’s only 4% of your day.

How do we take care of ourselves the rest of the 96% of our day? I have been compiling a list of small, easy, and actionable items to take care of our body, mind, and spirit. Many of these have been inspired by some of the incredible guests I have had here on the podcast and I’ve given credit where credit is due. Feel free to follow the rabbit trail and listen to those back episodes.

As with everything I offer, take what you need and leave the rest. Links provided take you to Podpage, which provide a link to the most common listening platforms.

Here are 10 ways to take care of yourself without going to the gym.

Light therapy (credit: Simple ways to increase your sleep quality and quantity with holistic sleep coach Morgan Adams, Season 15 Episode 1)

Are you one of the 46% of women who have a problem sleeping every night? If so, tune in as holistic health coach Morgan Adams and I discuss how to better your sleep quality and quantity with simple steps. Amy Connell | Graced Health Podcast

Want to sleep better? Who doesn’t? Protect your sleep at night by getting sunlight in the morning. When people are exposed to sunlight or very bright artificial light in the morning, their nocturnal melatonin production occurs sooner, and they enter into sleep more easily at night. Sleep coach Morgan Adams taught us it’s imperative to do this without sunglasses.

If you can’t get out in actual sunlight due to the time of day you wake up, time of year, or weather, try the Verilux Happy Light, which simulates the same rays (that are UV-free).

Shoulder retractions (learn more about the benefits of pulls on the episode Are you integrating enough of this one movement, Season 16 Episode 3)

This is a movement I recommend doing first thing in the morning when you sit down at your computer, and right after lunch. If that doesn’t fit into your day, find thirty seconds when you are waiting for your coffee to brew or when heating something up in the microwave.

Begin standing or seated with good posture. Bring one hand in front of you at shoulder height with your elbow slightly bent. Wrap your other arm around and grab your hands, so your arms make an oblong circle. With your shoulders pressed down, bring your shoulder blades back and squeeze your spine, then release. Don’t bend your elbows; this is all your back and shoulder blades.

If you’re a visual learner, you can follow along on this YouTube short.

If you want to do a little more, check out this YouTube video for three additional movements to help fix your posture and strengthen your back at your desk.

Take 3 deep breaths (credit: How exercise, movement and fascia care can help manage stress, trauma and overwhelm with LCSW Alexis Overstreet)

“Belly breathing,” or breathing through your diaphragm, helps lower your stress response. Alexis and I covered breathing in our episode, but what she offered as a doable solution was this: take three deep breaths. And if you won’t’ do it for yourself, do one for the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Spirit. I like to recommend to habit stack that with something else to help you remember. My suggestion: take those three breaths when you use the restroom. Hopefully it’s a time and space you have by yourself (unless you have littles or puppies underfoot). Take the few extra seconds to fill your belly with air three times before washing your hands and resuming your day.

Eat 3 new vegetables for gut health (credit: How to have a healthy gut and why it’s important with Dr. Richard Harris, Season 9 Episode 3)

I know you don’t need someone else to tell you to eat your vegetables. That’s why I suggest three new(ish) ones. I know I find myself in the rut of eating the same veggies over and over because I don’t have to think about it or they are already on hand.

Eating a variety of plants has been recommended on so many episodes of the Graced Health podcast I can’t name them all. You don’t have to adhere to a plant-based diet, but the more plants you consume, the better it is for your gut health. Gut health drives so many of our other functions, including helping control your immune system, mental health, and cognitive health.

Roll your ankles before getting out of bed

If you’re like most Americans, you probably wear shoes and houseshoes most of your waking hours. This constricts our toes and feet and prohibits them from moving in a full range of motion. When you roll your ankles and scrunch up your toes before getting out of bed, you help wake up your muscles and connective tissue. This can also help mild plantar fasciitis if that’s something you deal with.

alone bed bedroom blur — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Get fresh air outside mid day for 5 minutes

This of this as “light therapy version 2.” Recently my family shared our answers to the question, “what brings you joy.” Our responses were as varied as we are. My answer? Outside, in nature, moving with people I love. While we plenty of research validating fresh air, I speak better to my benefits. Even just a few minutes helps clear my head, reset my nervous system, and gives me an energy boost.

Getting outside also gives you those mid-day sun rays to help us wind down when the sun goes down.

a back view of a woman walking between grass field — Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels.com

Hold your phone up so your head doesn’t bend down

Have you ever watched middle schoolers get off a school bus? They lumber down those oversized steps then immediately drop their head down to scroll their phone. They look like a walking question mark. It’s easy for me to tsk tsk that, but what do I do when I’m checking my phone in the middle of dinner prep? The same.

When we allow our head to drop down to view our phone, the amount of force exerted on the neck increases as the angle of our head tilts forward. According to a study published in the Surgical Technology International journal, for every inch the heads tilts forward, an additional ten pounds of weight is added to the neck.

No wonder our neck and upper back feels so tight!

Try holding your phone up and using your eyes, rather than your head, to look at the screen. I try to keep my elbows, rather than forearms, at my side and hold the phone at chest level rather than at waist level. Additionally, use voice type whenever possible. Granted, it’s not always 100% accurate, but we’ve all learned to be pretty forgiving and read “Siri spelling.”

Buy someone’s coffee in the line behind you

Or tea. Or Chick-fil-a. The intent here is to do something spontaneously kind for someone else. I don’t know the science behind this one, but I do know it just feels good to do something for other people. And it’s a good reminder that we are not on this earth to self-serve everything. God designed us to be in community with others and to help others. Look for small ways to bless others that will feed your soul in return.

people inside bar — Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

Scrape your tongue

Scraping your tongue, also known as tongue cleaning or tongue scraping, is the practice of using a tool to remove the buildup of bacteria, dead cells, and debris from the surface of your tongue. This can lead to fresher breath and improved oral hygiene. Anecdotally, I notice my morning breath is not so offensive now that I’ve begun scraping my tongue every night.

Soften your knees when standing still (credit: Heal chronic pain in your knees, back, hips and more with Fixing You with Physical Therapist Rick Olderman)

Physical therapist Rick Olderman joined our show in season 16 to help us heal our chronic pain. He shared the importance of retraining our brain and muscles, and making small changes to help manage that pain.

One tip he provided was to change the way I stand when I’m standing still. Instead of standing with my knees locked and hips tilted forward (which in turn tilts the sacrum and lower back, causing back pain), I now stand with my knees slightly bent and weight more on my toes than my heels.

This is extremely helpful, but not natural. I have to be intentional about standing this way until my brain relearns it.

Hopefully those give you some ideas on how to take care of yourself in simple ways. Be sure to join the Graced Health Community Facebook Group to participate in the three-day challenge and to explore other ways of taking care of yourself!