WEBVTT - Hate meditating? Try these mindful hacks instead 🧘‍♂️ 0:00:02.240 --> 0:00:05.040 There's a magic number that so many people literally go 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:07.520 out of their way to reach every single day. Don't 0:00:07.560 --> 0:00:09.960 know what I'm talking about, You will in a moment. 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:12.799 I want to know if it's important to get ten 0:00:12.840 --> 0:00:15.200 thousand steps a day or if it's just a bit 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:16.200 of a useless goal. 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:17.720 The fitness apps make. 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:21.799 Us too, Yes, the ten thousand step rule. Are you 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:24.120 one of these people who tries to reach this number 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:27.240 every single day? We're going to dig deep into where 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:30.400 this rule around ten thousand steps started and answer this 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:34.160 question later on. This is the Wood Life. I'm Sam Wood. 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:37.360 We're making health and fitness simple by answering your questions 0:00:37.400 --> 0:00:42.000 to help you become healthier, fitter, and happier. First up, though, 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:44.720 we're going to talk about something that is relatively new 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:47.920 in my wellness routine, and that is mindfulness. In fact, 0:00:48.120 --> 0:00:50.000 we're going to talk to the person who first got 0:00:50.000 --> 0:00:53.000 me into mindfulness, and I'm so grateful she did. Let's 0:00:53.000 --> 0:01:14.479 get into it today. We are going to get into 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:18.960 mindfulness and I'm happy to admit that mindfulness is a 0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:23.440 relatively new part of my wellness routine. It's something that 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:26.399 I am working on and will continue to work on, 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.319 and rather than me tell you about it because it's 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:32.320 not my area of expertise necessarily. It's something that I'm 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:35.240 learning about as I go. I've brought in someone who 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:38.960 I have an amazing amount of admiration for. This is 0:01:39.080 --> 0:01:43.280 Jane Martino, who is the founder of Smiling Mind. Smiling 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:47.440 Mind is an incredible meditation wellness app. It is the 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:52.760 biggest wellness app in Australia. It has over six hundred 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:57.560 thousand monthly users and it's a complete not for profit 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:01.520 business that Jane founded nearly ten years ago. So welcome 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:02.760 Jan to the WODLFE. 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:04.360 Thanks Sam, great to be here. 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:09.040 What is mindfulness because there's probably some of our listeners saying, 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:12.120 are you just talking about meditation or does mindfulness go 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:12.600 beyond that? 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.440 Yeah, so I think you're right. It's a really important question. 0:02:16.680 --> 0:02:20.799 Mindfulness is really just acknowledging and being in the present moment, 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.200 so literally being really mindful of what we are doing. 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:30.800 So therefore that definition means that meditation is a mindful activity, 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:35.239 but it's not mindfulness as a definition. So meditation is 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:38.960 one very very good practice that we can do to 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.120 be mindful, but there's lots of other things that we 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.840 can do. In our every day to be mindful. We 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:47.040 can as I'm sitting here, I can really listen to 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:50.040 what you're saying when you ask me a question, and 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:53.519 basically use all of the senses, all of my senses 0:02:53.960 --> 0:02:56.359 to really make sure that I'm paying attention in. 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:57.160 The present moment. 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:01.920 So that's also why the practice of mindfulness and meditation helps, 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:06.560 almost like lifting weights build a muscle, that helps us 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:09.040 build a muscle in our mind and in our brain 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:13.799 to pay attention to the present moment. But actually it's 0:03:13.840 --> 0:03:16.360 a form of attention training. So what it does is 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:20.560 it helps us train our brain to bring our attention back. 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:24.320 So our minds wander because our minds think that's what 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.400 they're born to do. We're born to think. But to 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:30.639 be mindful and truly in the present moment, even if 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:33.280 our minds are wandering or we're distracted, we need to 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:35.200 bring it back to the present moment. And that's the 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:37.160 benefit and the power of meditation. 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:40.960 I actually love that you've used the analogy that it's 0:03:40.960 --> 0:03:44.440 similar to lifting weights or becoming a runner or whatever 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:47.280 it might be, because I have so many people say 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:49.960 to me, Sam, you tell me running is good for me, 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:53.280 But I just can't run around the block. And if 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:55.240 I said to them, we too bad, you just need 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:58.080 to run five kilometers tomorrow and deal with it, they'd 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:01.960 never do it. It would be a terrible, unenjoyable experience 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:04.320 and they'd give up. And it's the same with mindfulness. 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.480 You have to start small, you have to practice, and 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:10.160 the good news is with practice you get better at it, 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:13.760 like the physical stuff. And I think that's where I 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:19.320 came unstuck. I didn't have the capability, particularly as I 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.440 was younger, to concentrate for long enough without all these 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:26.279 other ideas coming into my head to be present for 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:28.400 long enough to think that it was actually doing anything. 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:29.839 And I've got a bit frustrated by it, and it 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:33.640 seemed to have it more of a negative impact on me, 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:35.520 and I just sort of gave up. And it wasn't 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:38.159 until you know, two or three years ago where I 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.559 really sort of stuck at it for more than three days. 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:42.320 I didn't really give it a good crack the first 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:44.520 time round, if I'm being honest, but you know, stuck 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:46.440 at it for a few weeks that I did start 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:49.440 to feel the benefits. And it's like you say, you know, 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:53.360 once you feel the power of that tool, and you 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:55.960 say to yourself, damn it, I wish I'd done this earlier. 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:58.240 Imagine what I could have achieved and conquered if I 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:00.920 had or would have been a part of my usual routine. 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:03.839 I think, I think that you know, that's all the 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:05.480 more reason to do it. And then you look at 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:07.880 the world that we live in, this crazy world, and 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:10.239 you know, whether it's our world or our teenagers world, 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:15.200 or our partner's world, or whatever it is, it's only 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:19.400 getting crazier. It's only getting busier, more frantic, more information, 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:23.680 more stress, more anxiety. It's not going anywhere. And I think, 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:26.159 if you know, if it was hard to be present 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:30.200 twenty years ago, it's fifty times harder now. So I 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:32.320 hear exactly what you're saying, and I think, if there 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:34.080 are tools out there to help us be present in 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:36.960 this crazy world, we should be taking advantage of those. 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:40.560 So I can I can understand why Smiling Mind is 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:44.760 as popular as it is and growing rapidly in popularity. 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:50.040 What did COVID do to that rise in awareness and 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:51.680 where do you see it going? 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:57.080 Well, COVID definitely had a huge impact. So we saw 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:01.279 literally within twenty four hours of the first lockdown, we 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:05.920 saw probably a five hundred percent increase in demand and 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:10.280 usage at that day. Yes, we would always have spikes, 0:06:10.640 --> 0:06:12.720 huge spikes when lockdowns were. 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:14.960 Announced, So that's an anxiety thing. 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:18.800 Correct, And I think the first lockdown, if we're all honest, 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:19.560 was where we. 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:21.320 Were all the fear of the unknown. 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:21.760 Correct. 0:06:21.800 --> 0:06:23.800 We didn't know what was happening, we didn't know how 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:26.240 long it was going to go for We're feeling, you know, 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:29.720 pretty frightened by it all and unsure. So that made 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:32.240 complete sense. So we saw that sort of move and 0:06:32.360 --> 0:06:36.719 change throughout the last few years, but overall and on average, 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:41.680 probably a two hundred and fifty percent annualized increase in demand. 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:44.880 We've got a couple of questions from our Woodlife listeners 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:48.560 that I think are really indicative Jane of perhaps people's 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:52.400 confusion or frustration around mindfulness. So we've got a question 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:56.760 from Page and here's what she wants to know. I'd 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.919 like to know whether meditation is something that I should 0:06:59.920 --> 0:07:02.839 be trying and has actual benefits or is it one 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:05.479 of those fads that will be gone in the next 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:09.479 few years. So you've probably heard that before or words 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:11.360 to that effect. What are your thoughts. 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:16.080 Yeah, so meditation is absolutely something you should try and 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:18.080 sam for the reasons you mentioned before. 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:19.840 It's definitely not a fad. 0:07:19.960 --> 0:07:23.640 It's been around for thousands of years in various forms 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:27.960 of practice. Actually, everything from prayer and contemplation to actual 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:32.480 formal mindfulness practices and smiling mind We designed to be 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:35.760 really agnostic and to actually just use the breath and 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:40.440 the body, simple practices to introduce people to meditation and 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:42.640 take away that sort of stigma and make it really 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:43.400 much easier. 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:46.680 Im bite sized, which I love because I think people 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:49.800 think you have to sit on a cliff, you know, 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:53.240 for thirty five minutes, and it's no, that's not what 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:55.680 it has to be exactly. So two minutes in your 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:57.640 car when you're pull into your driveway before you go 0:07:57.720 --> 0:07:59.720 in and your crazy families everywhere, you. 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:00.560 Know, exactly. 0:08:00.640 --> 0:08:03.680 So there's also the length of practice that you can 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:06.560 start with and work up. But also one of the 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:10.960 misconceptions is that your mind needs to be still, and 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:15.720 the whole purpose of mindfulness really is acceptance and just 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:20.360 being okay with anything that is happening and letting go 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:23.560 of the need to strive, you know where so and 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:26.800 particularly when things are busy, and we're also geared up 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:30.360 to be fairly competitive. We tend to strive for this 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:35.040 nirvana experience in meditation. But what meditation is a form 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:38.720 of attention training that's training our mind to be able 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:41.520 to be in the present moment, which is better for 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.640 our body. So to answer the question, yes, you should 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:47.880 absolutely give it a go. You can start small, but 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:51.640 don't put an expectation on yourself that you won't have thoughts. 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:54.520 Thoughts are okay, they come and go, and the training 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:57.480 will help you be aware of those thoughts and be 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:00.920 able to move back to the practice. And in conjunction 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:04.480 with that, the by products of the practice that you do, 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:07.199 even if you have a really noisy meditation, which by 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:10.080 the way, been doing it for more than a decade 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:15.000 and still do have noisy meditations most days, practice helps 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:17.960 your brain recognize when it's noisy and move it back 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.520 to the present moment. It doesn't take it away, so 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:22.840 I think that's really important. 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:24.120 But also the by. 0:09:24.040 --> 0:09:28.240 Products are not just you know, stress relief and feeling 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:31.439 better in your body, which you definitely do, but also 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:34.640 things like you're able to regulate your emotions more so, 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:38.360 putting space in between feeling an emotion and reacting to 0:09:38.400 --> 0:09:41.840 that emotion, which helps you in all aspects of your life. 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:45.319 You're able to focus more and be more productive at work, 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:49.320 so you actually can have a much more efficient day 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:53.880 and feel inflow and really feel effective. It also helps 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:57.439 build empathy, which is great for you know, the connections 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.720 you have with other people, and particularly in a work 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:03.720 space or at home from a leadership perspective, or connecting 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:06.520 with your partner or your young people around you. So 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:09.160 you know, that's why you should give it a go 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:12.280 as well, because it's not just a stress relief. 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:15.040 I was sold, but now I'm really sold. Now I've 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:17.400 got a little question from Missy. We'll go to Missy's question. 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:21.640 I've done some meditation in the past. It just seems 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.440 a little bit overwhelming for me. So how can I 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:28.240 just include a little bit of mindfulness in every day? 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:31.560 So this is interesting because this was me and as 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:35.240 you answered Page's question, you spoke about it's okay to 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:37.800 not be still, that was me having the realization that 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:39.320 that's why I never made it. 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:39.839 Well. 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:42.440 I think if you step back, that's just such a 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:45.000 common way, and I do this all the time. It's 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:49.439 about expectation. When you put this expectation on yourself or 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:53.480 activities you're doing, or things that you're engaging in, you 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:57.040 set yourself up exactly for something that you just don't 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:01.120 need to do. And so as much as possible, I 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:06.240 always say, like, start small and go slowly, you know, 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:09.160 and give yourself a break. And by the way, if 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:10.920 you like people say to me all the time, oh, 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.720 you must meditate every day, it's like hell no. Like 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:16.840 just like with exercise, some days I hit the snooze 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:19.280 button and I just don't get there. But guess what, 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:21.400 the next day, I get back on and I'm there. 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:24.600 Just like cut yourself some slack. So that's the first thing. 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:25.720 The second thing is. 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:27.760 There's actually really. 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:29.720 Simple things you can do to bring mindfulness into you 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:32.680 every day. So yes, a two minute practice or three 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.800 minute bite size practice, which are definitely on our platform, 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:38.800 good place to start. It's over before you know it, 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:40.840 and you wish that it had gone longer, and so 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:43.960 then you can move up in your time frames. But 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:48.760 also brushing your teeth, having a shower, like feel the 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:52.440 bristles on your gums, feel the water wash over you, 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:57.840 what kind of temperature is it? So just find little things. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.040 If you're making a cake, like look at all the 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:05.160 ingredients mixing together. Taste the mixture. How does it actually taste? 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:08.160 Is it smooth when you taste it? You know, have 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:13.559 that sense of curiosity to things and start to notice more, 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:15.560 and that is being mindful. 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:19.400 I'm sure all of our listeners who were a little 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:23.000 bit dubious or skeptical or scared about mindfulness and are 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:26.080 more educated and more likely to give it a try, 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.199 which is what it's all about, taking that first step 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:30.679 into the unknown and seeing how it can change your life. 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:33.480 I encourage all of them to do it. And thank 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:35.760 you so so much for your time today. It's been wonderful. 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:37.600 Thanks Sam, been great to be here. 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:39.400 Make sure you stick around to the end of the 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:43.160 episode because we have a bite sized mindfulness exercise just 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:46.560 for you. Next we're uncovering where the magic number of 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:53.600 ten thousand steps really comes from. So there was a 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:56.520 comment made about a celebrity Australia celebrity recently and it 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:58.760 spread like wildfire, as these things tend to do in 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:03.319 the media, of articles getting published claiming that the miracle 0:13:03.360 --> 0:13:07.360 drug for weight loss has been found and drum roll, 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:11.000 the miracle weight loss. A drug was this new thing 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.000 called walking, and we all know walking's not new. And 0:13:15.040 --> 0:13:18.520 the celebrity I'm talking about was none other than Rebel Wilson, 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:21.360 who's an absolute legend, a big fan, and she had 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:23.920 lost thirty kilos or has lost thirty kilos. Now I 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:27.920 know for a fact that Rebel actually started training properly 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:30.920 in the gym, resistance training with a good maide of mine, 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:35.120 johnno up there in Sydney, and changed her nutrition as well. 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:37.800 And I'm sure the walking was the icing on the 0:13:37.840 --> 0:13:40.240 cake rather than being the cake. But it's interesting how 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:43.680 everyone thinks there has to be one thing, there has 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:47.120 to be one magic thing that is the thing that 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:49.720 you have to do in the moment. So the interesting 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:52.720 thing here is, you know, you can't just read the 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:55.079 headlines and think that you're getting the full picture, because 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:58.160 if you just read those headlines, you would be thinking 0:13:58.200 --> 0:14:01.280 that all Rebel did was walk, and by the sense 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.480 of things, she was walking halfway across Australia and back 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:05.520 every single morning to get her in morning coffee. So 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:08.320 when you read on a bit further, you see that 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:12.960 Rebel started doing resistance training, changed in nutrition and she 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:16.679 really enjoyed walking complimenting those things, and in fact, it 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:19.840 was the walking that she enjoyed the most from an 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:24.160 exercise perspective. And I love that because for me, walking 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:27.280 with my dog Hendrix every single morning, or walking with 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:29.520 my babies when they were babies, you know, either in 0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:33.840 the little baby carrier in the pram was a meditation 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:35.880 for me. It was the most beautiful way to start 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:38.480 every single morning, rain, hail, shine, no matter how hot 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:41.720 or cold it was, and it was a great way 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:44.160 to clear my head, great way to get my thoughts 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:46.160 together for the day that was about to come. And 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.240 you do get your steps up. And we don't move 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:51.760 very much in today's world, you know, we sit down 0:14:51.880 --> 0:14:55.000 for hours and hours and hours in the car, in 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:57.920 the office, working from home, whatever it might be. And 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:00.480 it's good for us to get up and move out body. 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:03.480 Now that's where this whole ten thousand steps thing has 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:07.200 come from, giving ourselves a target to hit day in, 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.240 day out. So interestingly, and this is where I was 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:12.880 going to head anyway, a lease from the Woodlife community 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:14.400 has a question about walking. 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:17.680 I want to know if it's important to get ten 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.040 thousand steps a day or if it's just a bit 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:22.760 of a useless goal the fitness apps makers do. 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:27.160 I wouldn't say it's a useless goal. We tend to 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:30.520 think of it as a new number, or a new phenomenon, 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:34.120 or a new goal. It's been around since the nineteen sixties. 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:38.880 It was originally created by a Japanese pedometer company where 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:42.480 they did some research and discovered that right back then 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:45.840 and it's probably worse now, but right back then in 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:48.520 the sixties, the average sort of steps being achieved by 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:50.840 most people per day was around the four thousand mark. 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:53.560 So they came up with this magic number of ten 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:56.040 thousand as this goal for us all to strive from. Now, 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:58.120 I did a bit of digging, a bit of research 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:01.040 to find out why ten thousand, what's the why is 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:04.760 it such a magic number? And it really wasn't anything 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:06.960 other than we chose ten thousand, and we sort of 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:09.080 stuck to it, and here we are sixty years later, 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:13.200 still going for ten thousand. But I like it. I 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:15.320 mean a lot of people go, oh, that sounds ridiculous, 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:17.760 But if you're getting your ten thousand steps or close 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:20.480 to every single day, on top of some form of 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:22.760 resistance training and eating well, you can have a pretty 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:25.800 good balance, and you're going to be burning some good calories, 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:27.720 you're going to be getting outside, getting some fresh air, 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:31.360 getting some vitamin D. And I'm all four people trying 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:33.880 to build their way up to ten thousand steps. It 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:35.560 is a really good number to try and aim for. 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:39.280 And the apps actually can be a really good tool 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:41.840 to see how close you're getting, both on a day in, 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:43.920 day out basis and a week in, week out basis, 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:45.920 because you can not only see your daily steps, so 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:48.480 you can see the average of your steps, So anyone 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:50.840 can find out how many steps that they're doing at 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:54.560 any time. It's just there's a little health part of 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:56.400 your iPhone. You just tap on the little heart and 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:58.040 it opens up and it not only tells you how 0:16:58.080 --> 0:17:00.480 many steps you've done today, but how many averages this 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.960 month or even throughout the whole year. So why don't 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.399 I put myself on the spot. Now, I do walk Hendrix, 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:09.679 my labrador a lot, so I should have a relatively 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:12.159 good number here. But let's look it up something a 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:18.120 little health heart part. Now I've done fifteen hundred a day. 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:24.520 I haven't done much today, but my average steps is 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:28.080 nine two hundred a day, and in twenty twenty. That's 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:30.280 for the year so far, and in twenty twenty one 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:33.879 I averaged over ten thousand a day. So check that 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:37.200 out if you're wondering where you're at from a step perspective, 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:40.520 because it's often a really good little wake up call, 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:42.240 or it can be a really good little pat on 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:44.439 the back because you're getting close to that number. As 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:47.040 it might be, But like anything, you build up slowly. 0:17:47.119 --> 0:17:49.560 You might be at four thousand steps and your goal 0:17:49.640 --> 0:17:51.920 for this month is to get to five thousand steps 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:53.719 to six thousand steps, and you build it up gradually 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:56.240 until before you know it, it's become a really, really 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.879 nice addition to your workout routine. And with walking, I 0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:04.919 would say use it as complementary, use it as a 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:07.359 great way to get some fresh air and some vitamin D, 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.680 but don't have it as your only exercise component because 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:14.439 you do want to get some form of resistance training 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.400 in there. So if you are doing two or three 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:20.240 resistance workouts a week and lots of walking, then you're 0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:22.879 going to have a pretty good balance. I'd love to 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:24.920 know how many steps our listeners are doing and if 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:28.480 they are achieving increasing those daily steps, so make sure 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:30.040 you send that in. There's always a link in the 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:32.280 show notes, and I'd love to hear from you and 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:34.479 make sure you stick around because we've got a small 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:36.440 meditation from smiling mind. 0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:49.200 Welcome to this short practice designed to help you pause, 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:54.040 check in with yourself, and then proceed mindfully. We are 0:18:54.080 --> 0:19:00.639 going to work through the stop acronym together. The S 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:05.200 is for stop, literally putting things down for a moment 0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:10.280 and pausing. If you haven't already, I invite you to 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:19.720 do that now. T take a few long, slow breaths 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:26.439 gently in through your nose, expanding your chest and belly, 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:34.320 and then exhale slowly. Extending the outbreaths slightly can help 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:51.560 calm the nervous system. Now, oh, try observing what thoughts, emotions, 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:56.040 and physical sensations are showing up for you in this moment. 0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:05.600 Try to notice what's showing up with openness and curiosity 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:15.040 rather than judgment. There's no need to try to change anything, 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:20.400 simply noticing and trying to make room for whatever is arising, 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:31.639 and finally, p proceed with something that will support you. 0:20:33.080 --> 0:20:40.800 Ask yourself, what do I need at this moment? A break, 0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:43.400 a chat. 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:45.640 To move. 0:20:48.640 --> 0:20:57.119 What would be a helpful response in this situation and 0:20:57.160 --> 0:20:59.960 as we come to the end of this practice, can 0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:03.879 missing to going gently and taking it one step at 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:04.320 a time.