TFC Day 18 - Put it Together

To stay fit requires being able to monitor your daily needs. What is the right amount of activity on any given day? That depends on what you’ve done in the days previous and your energetic and physical state. Today, you design your own practice. Here are some guidelines to help you.

1. Start with your breath and energy.  Notice if your energy is up or down, if your breath is even or irregular. Spend 5 minutes with a breath practice; choose one from the previous days or another that you like, one that supports an energetic state that you’d like to have.

• If your energy is down, pick a breathing practice that will pick you up, one that focuses on the inhale such as the core breath video from day 12, the inhale practice from day 10, or the full breath from day 3.
• If your energy is uneven or you feel stressed, choose one of the practices that focus on the exhale such as bhramari from day 16, the exhale video from day 9, or extending your exhale to twice the length of your inhale as on day 8.
• If you are unsure, try a balanced breath practice such as the square breath from day 17 or the combination breath from day 13.

2. With the support of improved energy choose your physical practice. How long has it been since you’ve brought your heart rate up? If more than a day, be sure to include at least 15 minutes of an aerobic-type activity. Include some flexibility as well, either undulations, stretches, or yoga. If your balance was not satisfactory yesterday, spend a minute or two working on that as well. If you aren't feeling strong, practice the core exercise video. Take the available time you have and divide it between the activities you need, choosing each one that is the best combination of safe and challenging.

3. For a mental practice, choose your favorite meditation or spend 5 minutes writing affirmations (day 3), watching your thoughts (day 4), or smiling at yourself in the mirror (day 12). It doesn’t matter if it’s dorky. It's effective.