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Segment 17 - Finding Your Flow

So the brain on exercise this is a picture of the brain sitting at a desk you're sitting over there sitting at a desk and then fired up after twenty minutes of walking. When our brain is engaged, it's fired upon moving it is mork creative it's primed tto learn it's happier it's more alert its prime to deal with stress and here's the great news for those of you that still not I'm not I'm just kind of new to exercise these benefits that the boosters happened most when you're first starting out, so if you've never really been engaged by movement and hopefully we're kind of hooking you in now on moving for mood and your creativity, you're going to feel the most benefits when you're new to moving, because exercise is kind of like a drug, your body adapts to it, so the more you use it, the more your body adapts, so when you're not used to moving, that brain is just like, oh my gosh, is this just so yummy that you're going to feel so good? If you're moving for the right reasons? If you're mov...

ing with an optimistic outlook on how this could help the rest of your life, not the hours spent in the gym not moving when your mood needs a boost is like not taking an aspirin when you have a headache. It's that simple or it's not that simple and again we said when we don't move it's like taking a depressant so again how could we frame up movements in away that makes it exciting for us to think about for all of us it's different I'd like to ask actually guys in the audience when you move, what kind of movements do you do? Is anything that you like to dio yeah, I'm I recently started biking because my knees of open time given up on me but er biking just makes me feel really at peace and I feel good and I don't feel depress that's the benefit I get out of here are you backing out doors? Yes, lovely and again the minute we take movement into nature that just elevates the whole endorphin boost and if you're doing exercise which is good for mood and you're in nature which is another great thing I love biking to I've got to get my had a really bad experience when I was out in california did I know you then? Denise yeah, just back I had my clips were too tight. I didn't know that because I was a newbie on my teachers should have helped me and I couldn't unclip fast enough little went into a taxicab it wasn't moving but it's what he embarrassed things I think my ego to form a bruising than my body you know, feel my fear again maybe I'll make that a goal. Okay, sorry backpack over the wall different one my goal I'm going to come out follow up with you guys a creative life my goal this summer is to get back on a bike outside is all inspired by unit so thank you on a roll back not on busy roads back roads but that's my movement backpack story so thank you for that I'm not sure I'll hunt you down so you know, we talked about this before all the goodness that comes from moving but all the good endorphins that are released helps our mood helps the focus, our attention, our perception of ourselves in the world and again it not just only left our brain it really helped almost heal our brain that's a little out there but the damage done as we get older our bring khun help heal itself not teo you know it's younger age but moving helps hell the brain. So most of us know this I just wanted to put it in for due diligence that these in the minimum requirements that we're talking about right now for health benefits this's not to lose weight this is just to be healthy and vital and live the life but you know you want to share with those you around you so we have thirty minutes off moderate activity, you know, five times a week basically looking at the total number of minutes right now like one hundred fifty minutes and then he could over have like twenty five minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, you know, three times a week for a total of seventy five minutes and how could tell the difference between moderate or vigorous often you're breathing like model activity? I could go for a walk with my friends and be able to hold a comfortable conversation vigorous not so easy to talk a little uncomfortable and vigorous activity is not appropriate for a lot of us we'll talk about that in a moment and then we could do a combination of the two there's no wrong or right whatever moves you whatever gets you up and moving on then strength training especiales we get older, we needto work those bones, keep them strong, keep those muscles strong so we can live a beautiful life, you know, and have a life of grace and do the things we love as we get older exercise and movement doesn't have to happen in the german I've become one of those people my movement actually happens outside of the gym most the time I goto lift weights twice a week under duress you know, it's something I know I have to do it all my should, you know I have to do list but it could be walking with a friend playing golf gardening is all getting the hands in earth is a really, really great thing to do taking your dog for a walk I tried taking the cat doesn't work so well but we're taking the dog for a walk and again get out into nature the minute we get in nature ah move just elevate with a sense of gratitude and maybe pause occasionally on those walks no roughened so busy walking for walking sake for the number's on my count how many calories I don't have the amount that we forget to look at what's around us so maybe I invite you to think about doing you know we walk maybe ten minutes for the physical ness of it and then what? Five minutes for the gratitude of it and kind of mix up the reasons through our walk you know things like instead of sounds so simple but it's so powerful like instead of sending someone email it work get up spend less time on facebook and more face to face time it's the little activities were see that I've done throughout the day there's little activity taking the stairs, parking further away from the grocery store walking to a friend's house those activities are showing to have great impact in our quality of life for us is having to go to the gym um so you can really think about why you move and I just thought this is cute you know, whatever works for you so which work out makes you happy the one that you're going todo you know, if it means manipulating your loved one into searching from the remote on the television go ahead you know whatever there's a willingness there's a way we just gotta find what works for us and our family now we've heard the word flow ah lot and I think for us in the fitness world, this might be what's missing flow is a concept coming out of positive college in the world of psychology. Martin sela gwyn is a big thought leader in this but you could find flow in life often means don't take I love photography I love photography, I'm inflow when I'm immersed in something I can be in flo what I haven't ah conversation over dinner flow is when you're engaged life and time just passes you by you're in the present moment and flow is where we can find meaning and purpose on the quality of our life elevates like another like another level is that sweet spot and we go in and out of flow but I think fitness should be a place where we can find flow I think movement if we confined flow we're going to engage a lot more people to move now what where do we find flow it's a balance between the challenge you're offered or you put upon yourself and your level of skill we find floor where you are challenged enough to match your skill level so there's an element of challenge but I still feel successful at the end of that whatever it is I'm being challenged with if it's too easy I get bored amount of flow I'm thinking of walking at the clark I'm thing about what day it is something that women next meal's coming from if it's too hard I begin to a bit anxious like I'm not going to keep up I get anxiety and then I just basic I get told it into my stress zone and I'm no longer in flow I believe we confined flow in fitness where we control how we we couldn't have control over the activity we are warriors on our concerns disappear I think what happens for some of us when we go into a workout we're actually more stressed out during the work out because I'm not feeling successful I'm looking myself in the mirror and I don't look like everybody else's comparison that means that work that isn't the right one for you you when you find out what my sister it's salsa dancing urine flow right? Yeah she's in flow I I confined flow walking outside in nature I find flow I really find it inside the gym I had on that side and I'll go to the gym so we had a really rough winter right now on the west on the east coast and I just impossible for me to be outside, you know, without my snowshoes but I said I would do it I would go into my thirty minutes psychotics and my mood will be better, but I wasn't in flow I was doing it because I had to I mean flowing, I'm taking I'm taking a hike I mean flow that we went on the hike recent with a friend tolly inflow did notice the time was an hour and a half later on how is in flow I also get flow when I'm dancing when the music is going on I sometimes get flow in a yoga class until they start doing armed balances and then I'm out of flow because there's the challenges above my skill set and I start going into comparison modem like arc and I go if I get anxious everyone look at me, I'm holding the class that I'm no longer in flow do you guys love anyone in the audience of the creatives out there? What moves you to be inflow doesn't have the movement could be when you're taking photography? What is it in your life where you find below is that is a great place to either find your passion, purpose or just elevated meaning in parts of your life, I guarantee you're going to start hearing the word flow a lot more. Oprah winfrey is doing our into your last week, and she talked about flow. This is powerful. So what? Engaged in the moment present in the moment being challenged by the moment, but not to the level where we get into anxiety, they don't have anything like anyone out there in the audience. Yes, this I definitely get it with when I'm running at the beach. Yeah, free and where it could be a bike ride of beach, it could be in yoga class, and I like that the armed bounces because it's like that challenge and it's like, I can't even believe I'm doing so my mean little toy, your next todo holcomb parents know that, aside from fitness, um, recently I had a couple of experiences where I was I'm getting ideas for different things, and I'm writing them down or I'm I'm writing and it's like a visceral things like this energy like a real nervous energy, but a positive energy, and I just don't want to stop can't stop this sense that time in a note, no, no sense of time, no concept of how much time might be going by and it's for creative endeavors, you know, like I like, I'm I'm kind of considering certain ideas, you know, for the future and stephan, I love it, it's like I it's a high like a veal high and it's, but for fitness that it's like a different things more of endorphin code, I think, for me or just the feeling of being outside while I'm doing it and just taking it in, and the gratitude definitely comes into play, but I know and jackie's on those lucky ones that really loves toe workout, you do? I mean, it's kind of in your in your day, and I've been in and out of it when you're out of it, it takes months to get back in where's it only takes very quickly, you know, to get out of it. But, you know, once you're in like, yeah, I have to do it. I'm irritable and that's, not for everybody, not everyone has that that craving toh wanna work out? So how do we take that so might and my invitation to those your whole gonna walk, take it into nature before you go on the walk, ask what is my why? What is my goal cannot give yourself a question and then take that with you as you move, because when you're moving, your creative brain fires up. And when you're inflow amazing things can happen so kind of set that question don't focus on it just go for the water being nature whatever it is that you find so and you might be curious as to what comes up for you in a really positive way some of my breath best ideas come up when I'm walking someone little crazy like people to know I bought a million domain names after a pal I have two years left don't want was last way thinking that we'll think lillian to the times is created it's created when this creative grounded in reality so but yes don't get me started michael made it go daddy loves me okay? Jenny had obviously this thing that we met but the other one which is kind of interesting for mei is boxing ok? I used to do it that's part well but you said do sparring is part of karate and I loved it because you can't think about anything else you have to be in the moment or somebody's going to hit you in the hat on dh I don't have the ability to there's no way right instar anymore so now I had a heavy back I felt a bit strange when I first did in the gym because it was that that anxiety off what's my skill level but it definitely stands me into the moment and I just love doing it yeah yeah, come on, I don't want you to rock climbing because I did wall climbing for a few years and that's the same thing. The only thing you could think about is that next handhold foothold reach handhold foothold and you that's a recent, a passion of yours, it's amazing! You're so present on that! While I've said to you, I think it's like yoga on a wall you're just so present. Yeah, yeah, as those of your home, that still we look att workouts and exercising for nothing more than losing weight. I want to fight you to think about a workout or a type of movement where you confined follow you get lost and some things that might be asking yourself maybe being with the grandkids going for walk with the grandkids, you're in community, maybe it's walking with your friends don't underestimate the power of moving with community because community is one of the key ingredients to living a healthy, vibrant, vital life. So if you can walk and be with friends at the same time in nature, you're just building up that resilience one better that time.