While the winter is still very much upon us in the UK, let's think about getting fit and healthy and ready for Spring. Have you gone through your wardrobes lately? Do you still fit in all your old summer clothes? I think I'm writing this for me and not you!! If I write this down, maybe I will get busy. Cleaning out our wardrobes is GREAT EXERCISE.
How high are your cupboards?
How low are your shoes?
Let's start by standing in front of the cupboards. Take a deep breathe. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Lengthen your spine. Pull your tummy in to notch 3 of your belt. Breath wide and full into your ribcage. Close your eyes for a moment and focus on your core strength. (that way you don't have to look at the bomb site you are about to approach inside your cupboards). Now, you are ready for exercise.
Open the cupboard doors with your shoulders down and neutral spine. Eyes up at eye level. Let's start from the bottom of the cupboard up. Bend the knees as you breath out and lower yourself down to the floor. As you lengthen your arms into the cupboard, ensure you continue to hold your tummy in and keep your shoulders in their pockets at the back. Now, Take your shoes out of the cupboard and as you twist your torso to the right or left, make sure you are twisting from the middle back. Place your shoes on the floor. Stand up tall. Lengthen the spine all the way to eye level. Circle your shoulders 3 times and bend the knees and down you go again.
Now - let's start on the shelves. Lengthen your arms. Shoulders down. Breathe out to reach into the jumpers and bring them out. Turn the body to place the jumpers on the floor, ready to sort out. Turn back to face the cupboard and then come up to standing. Pushing through the heel as you stand up tall. Tummy still in and shoulders down. Circle the shoulders 3 times.
Ok, we now have a pile of shoes and a pile of jumpers sitting on the floor. Probably best to sort them out first before we end up with too many heaps of clothes and total dispair!
So.. Roll down to the floor, to mobilise the spine and take yourself onto all 4s with your tummy still in at notch 3. Sit back onto your heels in a childs pose for a moment. Then sit yourself down with your legs out in front and a straight, flat back. OK, if your hamstrings are tight, then bend your knees. If you have a wall behind you, I will allow you to lean against it, but don't sink. Now then - have the legs open and the pile of clothes between your legs and now with a long spine, sort through the clothes you want and fold them neatly. As you lengthen the spine, like a spine stretch forward, ensure you keep your pelvis still. Imagine that you are sitting on 2 cheques underneath your sitting bones. Both cheques are worth a million pounds to spend on new clothes. (wouldn't that be worth it?) Now you can continue stretching the spine forward to sort the clothes and stack your spine up bone by bone ready to fold or throw out.
When you have finished this pile of clothes sorting, roll onto one side and on to all 4s. Now tuck your toes underneath you. Send your bottom up to the ceiling to stretch your legs. Soften your knees and roll up through your spine. Again, mobilising your spine on the way up to standing tall.
Continue this process until you have gone through all your cupboards and by the time you have finished your workout, you will feel you have achieved SO MUCH.
I'm off to start my clothes sorting exercise now.
I will see you in a year's time!!!!
Oh.. maybe once you've taken all the charity clothes out of the house for a bit of weight lifting, or sold them all on ebay, you might end up running down to your nearest Sweaty Betty store and buying some new lovely spring clothes ready for the sun to come out again.
Enjoy your day.
