Professional volleyball player and model Gabby Reece mentioned that the fight or flight stance is hunched forward with your shoulders and head down. This is also the way we spend the majority of our day bent over our computers and phones. We are embodying the fight or flight stance which then morphs into our mindset and stress levels.
How can we spend more time sitting up, breathing in, walking outside and focusing on the moment at hand?
Many of us don’t even take one deep breath all day long.
Sam Harris, neuroscientist and creator of the Waking Up meditation app, talks about how breathing is like strengthening a muscle. You make a habit of focusing on it and then you get to a point where you can flex that breathing muscle on a dime and bring yourself back from the daily mayhem in a moment.
The way we sit. The way we breathe. The information we let into our minds. The words that come out of our mouths. The food we eat. The beverages we drink. All those factors combine to create the wellness or un-wellness we feel each day.
As strategic coach Dan Sullivan said, “Wherever you are, make sure you’re there.” Even if it is as simple as sitting up straight, breathing deep and stretching your limbs. Feel the moment. Live the moment. Embrace the moment.
Because as author Annie Dillard said, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” Spend wisely.