Balanced Life

We have heard it all before but what better time to talk about a balanced life and share our thoughts, than now. And to add to that we just got a dog, so balance is really being tested! I am writing this having got up at 4.30am with him this morning.

Why is balance so important to us and is it really achievable?

I have asked this often, being someone who is all to guilty of not having balance and working through, be that academic work or physical work.

However, the nature of being human is to have balance. We have emotions that drive us needing balance and a human frame that supports us that needs balance too. So, let us explore these and see how we can do something to help us find the balance we are looking after.

When it comes to emotions, we have a few polar opposites that keep us rounded as individuals. But I thought it better to start by simply looking at our world and the balance that is out there. Day and night are a great example, the balance here is necessary for all life to exist, so too are the seasons.

Since the dawn of time evil has existed but this is a necessary balance to love, as we would not know love, we would have nothing to compare it to if there is no evil.

The same is true with health, how can we really know what health is to us if we have never been sick?

So, with emotions, we need a balance as they keep us rounded. The two most obvious polar opposites being stress and calmness. We live in a stressful world, but I am sure you can see that some stress is good for us. It moves us away from danger or motivates us into action, to get something done or completed, stress is essential. But being stressed all the time will make us ill, it damages and reduces our ability to work and function, therefore balance needs to be found with calmness.

Stress is guaranteed but calm is not, so what can you do?

Tip 1. Take 5 or 10 minutes each day to sit in quiet, undisturbed and breathe. Yes, breathe.
Try box breathing to really calm your body. This involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding your breath for 4 seconds and then out for 4 seconds and hold again, so there are four distinct patterns of 4 seconds during your breathing cycle.

The next area of balance is in the human frame. This is where chiropractic can really help, however in this blog I want to give you three areas to work on for yourself. When it comes to the human frame and fitness the areas that are key are: Flexibility, Strength and Cardiovascular fitness.

Very often we fall into just one of these categories as it is what we prefer to do. For example, the majority of the time for me it is ‘strength’ but sometimes I get the running bug and all my gym work goes out the window in replacement of running. Unfortunately, flexibility seldom appears.

Being good at just one of these areas, while it may benefit your health, it does not balance the human frame and can lead you to injury.

Tip 2. Be sure to do a session of Flexibility, Strength and Cardiovascular exercise each week.

Flexibility – touch your toes and reach over your head, stretch your shoulder and your chest every day. Only takes 5 minutes and there are many simple routines to be found online.

Strength – do some body squat and pushups. This can be done in the living room, no weight needed, you can even do a standing push up against the wall if you are just starting out.

Cardiovascular – this one is simple, go walk. Only needs be 15 minutes a day, but just move.

And there you have it, balance. Try these simple exercises each day and find a better health for you this week.

With love

Tom