FINDING TEN MINUTES

So you say you don't have enough time for exercise and eating well. Your day and night is completely full and there is absolutely no time for anything at all right? There is always at least 10 minutes - ten extra minutes you can find in your day to add in habits to get you on the right track to a life style of wellness.

Top Ten Places to find your Ten Minutes

-The Car: Take ten minutes during your drive to practice deep breathing. Pull your belly button into your spine and let your head pull away from your tail bone. Lengthen as you breathe in through your nose down into the lower back of your lungs. Breathe out first by contracting your belly and allowing that movement to push the air out of your body.

-The Commute: Leave for work or appointments ten minutes earlier than intended and park down the block or take the long way to walk there. Choose the stairs or circle the block or building while walking before you enter.

-Commercials: Take the commercial time in between your favorite TV show to mute the noise and do something for yourself. Close your eyes and do some deep breathing. Get on the floor and get abdominal, leg or arm work in. Do a few jumping jacks then slow down and stretch your body.

-Before Bed: Go to bed ten minutes early and give your feet a massage with a relaxing lotion.

-Anytime: Get a hot water bottle or heating pad and place it on your abdomen and/or shoulders. If you are feeling tired, lonely or craving sweets, put the pad on your abdomen if you feel wired up, stressed or have a headache use it on your shoulders. Rub a little of your favorite essential oil into wrists, temples and behind your ears.

-At a Restaurant: Once your party is seated, go into the bathroom and wash your hands in warm soothing water. When at the table, order a hot water with lemon to clear the body of toxic buildup, stimulate digestive activity and prepare your self for a nourishing meal.

-In Line: Roll your shoulders up, back and down. Imagine a string through your spine pulling your head up and making space between the vertebrae. As you breathe in and your ribs and belly expand, visualize each side of your abdomen lined with buttons. When you exhale, imagine "buttoning down" from the diaphragm to just above the navel, to the navel, to below the navel. As you breathe in, fill your body with air from the bottom up and "unbutton". Use the core muscles in conjunction with your breath, then reverse the motion by "buttoning up" from below the navel.

-In the Morning: Don't hit the snooze, or if you like to snooze just set your clock for ten minutes earlier and make a warm, nourishing breakfast for your self. Sit down to eat and take your time to chew and enjoy your meal. Clear your mind of all the things you have to do today and allow this time to be a space of calm, quiet and clarity.

-At Work: Set an alarm like your beeper or cell phone to a certain time for the day and when the alarm goes off, make it a point to stop what you are doing and walk to a quiet spot. Drink some water, have a tea or even a nice sit-down coffee. Eat a wholesome snack or do some simple body stretches. Maybe bring a non greasy lotion and give your neck and shoulders a mini massage. If you work in a building get up and go downstairs and outside for a breath of fresh air or a walk around the block. Make it a habit to take these ten minutes everyday at work to break the work/stress cycle and renew.

-When you get Home: Before you dive straight into your "at home" activities after work, go straight to your bedroom, shed your clothes from the day and put on something comfortable. Go to the bathroom and wash your hands and face. Throw on some slippers or house shoes, stretch your body out and take a moment to thank yourself for another great day.

The great thing is that you can use one or all of these tips throughout the day. Try it out one at a time until you develop the habit. Let it slowly add into your schedule. Eventually, if you take advantage of all the tips listed here you will soon have close to two hours dedicated to your wellbeing everyday!

So give yourself a break and take ten!