One Week to Wellness: How Fitness, Meditation and Fun Can Contribute to Your Beauty and Self-Esteem in 7 Days

Posted May 18, 2017 in Beauty, Fitness and Wellness

I wasn’t always a fitness and wellness buff. I am a very busy mom, wife, plastic surgeon, and community activist. I always used “I don’t have enough time” as my excuse. A little while ago, a 60-year-old patient of mine, also a mother and successful businesswoman, blew me away with her beauty, poise, and youthful energy. She told me about how fitness and wellness were a priority in her life, and I got inspired. Since then, I started working out with my daughter. It’s great to have a partner, because we motivate each other. No excuses. I also work on my focus by taking a few minutes a day to meditate or do some breathing exercises. This is usually done best in a quiet place; I can shut my office door and take 10 minutes and feel so much better after doing so. Finally, let’s not forget what our teens and twenties were all about—fun! Who’s to say that the fun stops after 40? Definitely not me.

It is incredible to me how quickly one can see results from exercise, meditation or breathing routines, and laughter. Doing even one of these things per day can really change your outlook, make you feel better, or just turn your mood up a bit to keep you going. I truly believe that if you took seven days, and tried to pick two of these three activities to do each of the seven days, you’d see amazing results, inside out.

Take Just Twenty Minutes to Boost Your Heart Rate

First off, exercising can do terrific things for the mind, body and soul. If you rode on a stationary bike for 20 minutes and got your heart pumping, the following results will occur:

• You will be more productive. Cardiovascular exercise has been studied and proven to help distribute attentional and memory resources so that you are more efficient and productive.
• You will be more positive. When endorphins kick in, thanks to that 20 minutes of moderate exercise, your mood is boosted. It’s science! Add your favorite music to your workout, and you’ll have an even swifter kick in your step, so to speak!
• Your skin will glow. When you work out and your heart rate increases, your body temperature increases as well. As your body works to regulate that heat, your skin benefits from a healthy glow.

Just Breathe…

Next, I recommend introducing some breathing exercises or even meditation into your routine. By practicing some deep breathing exercises or meditation, you will help manage your stress level and take control of your emotions. Deep breathing contributes to the following to help you feel better:

• Your muscles relax. When your muscles relax, that feeling of tension dissipates. Physical tension can cause pain. If that tension is released, the pain is as well.
• Oxygen pours into your body with deep breathing, which keeps you relaxed, refreshed, and focused. An increase in oxygen literally improves functionality of every system in your body.
• You release endorphins. Even without exercise you can still release endorphins, to improve feelings of happiness and even pain relief.
• You can lower your blood pressure. When the muscles let go of tension, your blood vessels open up and therefore let more blood through your body, so your blood pressure can decrease.  

Get The Party Started!

Finally, go have some fun! Having a great time can actually take the place of both exercise and breathing routines, should you find yourself laughing heartily for a good 20 minutes. Your wellness will thank you when you give yourself time for fun, because:

• Laughing reduces your levels of stress hormones. Studies have proven that mood is elevated from the release of serotonin, which occurs when you are laughing.
• Here come the endorphins again! Laughing and having fun will release endorphins as well, which boosts your mood and extends that boost.
• You will boost your immune system! Again, it’s science! Medical studies found that when people watch funny movies or a comedy show, they released infection-fighting proteins to help keep bacteria out and illness away!

To verify, if you choose to do two of these three things a day for a week, I promise you will feel so much better. You’ll look better, you’ll be more confident, and you’ll get more done. Believe me – I didn’t always focus on myself.  It was all about everything around me. But when I jumped into fitness and wellness habits full-force, my mood helped others, and my wellness kept me going, and my happiness spread. It feels good to be able to share positivity! Be good to yourself, because you deserve it!