Do you want to stay active over Christmas? Here are some ideas for exercises and activities you can do quickly and easily.
(Make sure you warm up before and cool down after exercising.)

​1. Walk around as much as you can.
​2. Practise the plank. Use your core muscles to help.
3. Run up and down the stairs a few times throughout the day.
​4. Stand up when you're on the phone.
​5. Make up a short dance to your favourite song and practise it every day over Christmas. A performance on New Year's Eve is optional!
​6. Stand on the edge of a step and do some calf raises. This really helps strengthen your toes and ankles too.
​7. Sit cross-legged and lift yourself off the floor using just your hands.
​8. Grab a couple of tins of beans/tomatoes and do some bicep curls.
​9. Keep your back supple with some cat/cow stretches.
10. Try some tricep dips using a chair (make sure it's secure).
​11. Keep your stomach muscles strong by pulling in your belly button while you sit, walk or run around.
​12. Laugh! It releases tension and works many muscles in the body.

​There is no blog next week as I'll be too busy making up my New Year's Eve dance routine! I'll be back on 4th January.

This week's blog is about listening - specifically, listening to your body. It seems to be really common for people to ignore the messages their bodies are giving: exercising through pain, driving when really tired, working despite being ill... Ignoring your body and what it is trying to tell you is a bit 'lunch-is-for-wimps' and is actually a really outdated idea. I know lots of people who think it is a sign of professionalism and dedication to go without breakfast or lunch, to last as long as possible without going to the toilet ("Work is far more important than bodily functions") and to go to work with an illness - to then spread it to others. This isn't dedication: it might be insecurity, or even arrogance. Ask yourself: will the world stop turning if you respond to what your body is saying? Probably not... Your body is giving you a loud-and-clear message. Take some time to listen to it!

Have you ever said to yourself, "I can't do that"? No doubt we all have at some point in our lives. And of course, it's true for some things... But it is also a falsehood for others, bringing with it limiting behaviour and messages. This week's blog is about filtering out those limiting messages and harnessing the power of 'yet'.

​Think of an exercise or dance move, an activity or another physically-based task that you aren't able to do. This might be a press-up, a plank or a complicated step. What do you think to yourself as you are trying to do it? "I won't do this one as I can't" is very often the pattern we fall into. How would it be if instead we said "I can't do that one yet, so I will keep trying in order to get nearer each time I try"? (A bit of a cumbersome sentence, I know, but you get the drift!)

​Behind much of our limiting behaviour and messages is a fear of failure, so if we remove this fear (overlook it, choose to ignore it), we can get so much closer to what we want to achieve. Just by adding the word ​yet ​into your vocabulary can make a huge difference. It's about having a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. Try out 'yet' and see how you get on. I hope it makes a big difference for you.