Lisa LeBlancSelf-Care Week – Day 3
I used to try meditation and I highly recommend it if it works for you. As someone with ADHD, I found myself getting distracted and bored when I tried meditating. If you are looking to try something different then something I enjoy is Qi Gong. If you have never heard of it then you should check it out. Qi Gong is self-care. I practice it with an instructor, Cynthia Abbott, who describes it as “a branch of Chinese medicine which incorporates slow breathing, meditation, movement and mindfulness to promote wellness of one’s body, mind, and spirit.”
You can check out Cindy’s website here where she offers virtual classes and on-demand videos too.
Cindy Abbott Qi Gong in Uxbridge, Ontario
What Qi Gong is to me is a balance between meditating and yoga. There are simple movements during which you engage your muscles, but a large focus is on breathing throughout. I really enjoy doing it outside because it really helps me feel grounded.
How Qi Gong helps me…
Qi Gong practice allows me to really center myself, slow down and create a feeling of alignment and strength. It is also really good for the immune system and helps with sleep too. It may be more ‘Woo’ than you are after but I always recommend trying things before judging them too much. For me 2 years ago, it was especially great as a starting place for movement when intense exercise was not possible because I was overweight.
I always suggest that when looking for ways to incorporate movement or exercise into your day that you meet yourself where you are. Think about what you are hoping to get out of the exercise and go from there. Do you want to be able to run a marathon one day? Or do you want to be able to tie your own shoes without having to sit down? Whatever your goal is you can build from where you are to that place, one step at a time. Knowing this goal will also guide you to deciding the level of activity you want to do like Qi Gong or higher impact workouts.
Stopping the Insanity…
I’ll share a story with you about the time my husband once came home with a box of DVDs from Costco – the ‘Insanity Workout’. Keep in mind that at that time we used to sit on the couch and eat large bags of chips while watching The Biggest Loser on TV. We did not exercise at all. So, this insanity workout comes with a wall chart for you to track your progress based on a bunch of different exercises, like crunches and such. You start by creating a baseline of where you are at. The baseline exercises were so insane and at such an advanced level that we could barely even figure them out. We were most certainly NOT meeting ourselves where we were. And guess what? We gave up. We were so defeated that we couldn’t even do their initial test that we stopped altogether.
Qi Gong is self-care and I look forward to hearing if you’ve ever tried it.
If you think you want to set a goal to exercise or increase your movement but have doubts, that is very normal. Take a look at my article on doubt here and see if that is what has held you back.
