Are You Taking Care of You?
All It Takes Is 36 Minutes a Day!
We wish we had a magic wand that made being healthy easy. But instead, we have cheerleading skills to let you know that we believe being healthy is achievable when you start with the simple philosophy of “You…taking care of You.” No one else can do it for you so we wanted to share our 5 go-to tips that can take as little as 36 minutes in a day. As moms with 4 kids a piece, and a business, and husbands…well, you know, the list is endless what has to happen in a day :)!
Here are the ways we go about our days making sure to take care of ourselves so that we can be present, strong and healthy for others.
Two glasses of room temperature water immediately after brushing teeth (and if you’re really into alternative health ideas, tongue scraping :). Room temperature water is less shocking to your organs, and two tall glasses of water is the only way to effectively rehydrate all of the water that your cells lost during the night. When your cells are dehydrated, they do not function well in their jobs of regulating hormones, weight loss and brain activity. We add lemon to at least one glass a day, fresh herbs or cinnamon to a nightly cup of tea water, and most of our smoothies are made with filtered water or sugar free nut mylks. Think abundance when it comes to hydration! (This takes about 4 minutes a day)
Small doses of healthy fats calm your nervous system. Olive oil (organic, first-pressed) might be our favorite source as it easily tops salads, roasted vegetables, or we even just slurp a tablespoon. The vagus nerve runs from your gut to your brain, and when you satiate these nerve endings, you remind your nervous system that you are NOT in fight or flight mode; instead, you are calm, composed, and satiated. More ideas: avocados, handfuls of nuts and seeds, olives, and organic or wild salmon will do the nourishing job of calming your system (thus improving digestion and brain activity). Imagine next time someone in the house screams “Mommmmmm” how chill you will be after a tablespoon of olive oil to calm your nerves. (This takes about 1 minute a day)
It’s probably getting old to hear us speak about greens…but here we go again. There’s a reason that cold pressed juicing is such a massive part of our business model. We believe in the power of greens to alkalize (balance) your digestive juices and improve energy, therefore giving you the super human power to make good decisions all day long. When your nutrient load is high from all those chlorophyl-filled vegetables, your cells can repair themselves successfully, thus allowing you to function at your best. We eat sautéed mesclun and arugula with our breakfast eggs, sneak spinach and kale into smoothies, eat giant salads for lunch, afternoon cold pressed juices and always have a big side of veggies for dinner. If you think about it, disease and stress can’t live in an internal environment that is flooded with chlorophyl and oxygen, so get to it, and make greens a major component of taking care of yourself. (This takes about 1 minute a day)
Daily Movement that is separate from your daily tasks! This is a hard one to squeeze in for parents, but we find that 20 or 30 minutes of physical exercise doing something you love, is a critical way to take care of yourself. Last week, I jumped over ocean waves for 30 minutes with my nieces and nephews, and for the rest of the day I had more energy than if I had drank 3 cups of coffee. Everyday, Fran makes a conscious, almost impossible choice to do a fitness video or outdoor walk. The moms and dads we admire all around us, (the ones who come to Krush in their workout clothes) are very visible proof that something little every single day – biking, hiking, Peloton, pilates, yoga, dance – can create a sense of balance that once created is hard to disrupt. Not to mention, we owe it to our hearts! (This takes about 20 minutes a day)
We don’t know how we’d get through the hustle and bustle of the day without a morning that starts with quiet time. If you don’t already have this as part of your routine, try taking 10 minutes in a place where no one can find you, early in the day, and consider listening to one of our favorites: Dr Joe Dispenza, the Headspace APP, or just holding your hot cup of joe, closing your eyes, and breathing softly and slowly, counting to 10 and then starting over again. You can keep your phone on airplane mode and set a timer to do the 10 minute count for you that way all you have to do is breathe and let your mind wander. (This takes about 10 minutes a day)
36 minutes a day?! Yes! We so believe it is possible because we’ve done it, and while we are far from perfect with our routines, we always have these 5 happy tips to go back to if we feel things spiraling out of control.
As always we love hearing from you so let us know if you have any tips or if any of these ideas worked for you!
In Great Health
Fran and Michelle