While last week’s book discussion looked at nourishing our bodies – through eating, relaxation and sleep – this week is all about moving. Since some of the symptoms of being Spent include being tired and achy, Dr. Lipman reminds us that moving soothes a sore and tired body.
Daily Beats 8 and 13 contain the most information about movement, including exercise and relaxation. In Daily Beat 8, we learn that having good posture can make you feel more energized. This idea makes a lot of sense when you think about how sometimes you ache after sitting at a desk for a long period of time. Dr. Lipman provides a posture checking exercise on pages 79 and 80, which we can use to test which parts of our bodies may be affected by inadequate posture.
In Daily Beat 13, we get some insight into the Spent approach to exercise. His main belief is that exercise should be done in spurts – bursts of energy followed by rest (he equates this to the way children play). This idea is in tune with our bodily rhythms, where our ancestors’ main source of movement was hunting and gathering. Rather than being a “fanatical exerciser” (pushing oneself to the limit) or a “marathon sitter” (not exercising at all), Dr. Lipman suggests that we exercise in this restorative way. As an added bonus, this should increase our metabolism. He recommends walking 1 minute at a high intensity and then 3-4 minutes at a low intensity, doing this program again and again for 30 minutes.
In addition to movement, this chapter contains several recommendations around eating and nutrition. First, the approach asks us to step down caffeine intake (see page 97 for a way to wean off caffeine with less withdrawal). He strongly advises that during the 6-week program, we remove gluten from our diet (see page 84 for a list of products that contain gluten), substituting it with gluten-free products such as brown rice, quinoa and Ezekiel bread (a grain bread that is flourless and sprouted). In Daily Beat 10, he suggests we include phytonutrients in our diet, including a variety of colors on our plate, greens powder and a multivitamin.
Finally, Daily Beat 14 has a message most people can appreciate – and particularly, those of us who feel Spent – “Don’t Should Yourself.” By constantly thinking about what we should be doing, we are adding more stress and more emotions for us to handle, thereby making us feel even more Spent.
This Thursday, Dr. Tony will share his thoughts on Move and next week we’ll learn about how to Adapt. Until then, happy reading – and I am off to taste some Ezekiel bread.