6. 4 Tools to Add to Your Daily Wellness Routine
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Hello, everyone, and welcome to the body breaking free podcast. I am your host, Katie. And today's episode is all about clarity and action steps. So we will be reflecting on some of the previous episodes, and really be able to review on the wellness clarity that we gain from our guests. And then the actual action steps, the tools that we can take away. And that way, we can move forward and use these tools in our own daily practice. So I'm really excited about this episode, it is here to really support you and empower you and to help you learn some of these new wellness insights and also some action steps. So both of these aspects are really important. Sometimes just listening to the podcast and gaining some clarity, maybe a new perspective is what you need. Sometimes the actual tool and taking it into your own life and using it in an actionable way, is what you need. Both of these are really valuable, both of them are important. And that's why the podcast is a great outlet, because we can all get different takeaways from both aspects. And it's really personalized to you and your life and the routine that you want. So you can feel fully empowered by how you want to move forward. So in this episode, we are going to have four main takeaways. And the four main takeaways are centered around the four previous episodes, just reflect on some of the key messages that we talked about in each one. And then I will go into this specific tool in each episode we can take away so really awesome opportunity to reflect, get some clarity and then decide maybe there's a tool that you want to include in your own wellness plan. It's all there to help empower you to decide how can you feel better and your body and maybe try out some new things, new perspectives, new tools to implement in your life so you can feel better, and you can move forward. So let's dive in to number one. So the first tool that we're talking about is the Wim Hof breathwork technique. And this tool was brought up in Madeline Hackett's episode, where she shares her incredible journey with her eating disorder, what she went through and how it affected her life and her recovery process. So we really get into exploring that relationship to food and to our body. we dive into the practices of yoga and self care, and that really non negotiable discipline of having ways in your routine that you know is good for your mind and your body and peace in your soul. And using that as a way to motivate you to keep going to keep doing those practices. So the tool of the Wim Hof breathwork Mads talks about how she, with her eating disorder, she tried all of these different tools, she went to rehab, she went to therapy, she did CBT, DBT, ketamine therapy, all of these things, and none of it really worked for her. And she just felt like she was going to have to live the rest of her life with this eating disorder and just have to deal with it. And then unexpectedly, she found Wim Hof breathwork. And what it did is it really connected her to her emotions. So what connected her to this part inside of her that she had been disconnected from and it really Connected her with her body in a completely different way. And this is really really amazing to hear this because the Wim Hof. breathwork isn't specifically noticed as a way to help with eating disorders. Not yet anyway, it might change after this podcast comes out. But
it what it did for her is it found her a different way of approaching her food and her body and completely changed her life, which is amazing. And now she is opening up her own yoga studio and breathwork studio in Boston. So definitely listen to this episode, if you struggle with food, if you struggle with your relationship to eating, very powerful. So this tool of Wim Hof breathwork, I included in the episode guide, and the episode guides are really there. If you are that kind of learner, I'm a visual learner. So I like to have something printed out. And I can put in my journal or put up on my wall. But it's just there. To give you some of those resources. I listed the Wim Hof website, the Wim Hof app, and just different benefits that you can get from trying this breathwork technique. Number two, so the second tool that I want to focus on is the ability to say no, this was brought up in Kelly's episode. And she said it so perfectly learning to say no, to say yes to yourself. And I just I find this to be so powerful. And I've heard feedback from other people. And they also took away that this is a powerful tool. And it might seem simple. But I also feel like it's really common for us to care what other people think of us, and sometimes to a point of taking what others believe over what truly serves ourselves first, are really asking what we want. So having that ability to pause, and listen to your gut instinct. And if it doesn't feel right, having the empowerment to say no. And that really is a way to show up for yourself and show love to yourself. And really kind of showing love for others too. Because if you're saying yes to something that really isn't serving you something you don't really want, then it's really not going to be aligned for either one of you for them either. I deal with people pleasing and thinking outside of myself. And so having that ability really is empowering. And I've actually used it a few times since I listened to Kelly's episode. And it does feel very centering and a practice of love. But in Kelly's episode, we go into a lot of different topics. We focus on yoga and acceptance, acceptance of self and others, the ability to listen to our body and having that connection. So the title of the episode is Kelly and the power of connection. So what does that mean connecting to ourselves connecting to the community in a powerful way. And then we also talk about making movement enjoyable. So finding that joy and movement. If you need a centering, and calming episode, this is totally at Kelly makes us all feel more connected her energy and the way that she approaches herself and others. It's just a good way to reflect on how we can do that in our own lives.
And the way she looks at things, it just makes it so simple and easy. I also want to point out in Kelly's episode guide sheet, I also put some yoga references because that was a big topic Kelly and I discussed and so I put a few online references, some ways that you can look into studios around your location. And I wanted to put these ways that you can integrate yoga into your life in a simple way that works for you and your lifestyle and your body. Just to try it out, try something new and it might be doing 1015 minute online class from one of the resources I listed or it might not even Be the actual physical postures. It might be a different aspect of yoga and maybe the mindfulness being present in your body and in your life. There are just so many different things, mantras, connection, respect, respecting yourself, your body, others. And so look at that guy, Kai, if that resonates with you, especially if you're new to yoga and not really sure how that might fit into your life, if that feels good, and that resonates with you. Definitely go check that out. Number three. So the third tool is, again, the Wim Hof Method. But this time we dive in a little bit deeper. So Jeremy will stain on the episode number four, and he is an instructor of the Wim Hof Method. So it really worked with Mads coming on sharing her story and then Jeremy diving in deeper into what is Wim Hof all about? What is the science behind it? What are the actual techniques. And so we dive a little bit deeper into Wim Hof. And so the Wim Hof Method is a tool of the breathwork technique, the mindset and the cold exposure. So there's three components of it. The two physical practices are the breath work and the cold exposure. So the breathing exercise, bringing that into your life, maybe just trying it out, it takes about 12 to 15 minutes to do the full round of breath. So for about four rounds of breath, and then the cold exposure 15 second cold shower or an ice bath for a few minutes. These two techniques, looking at them as a new tool that might be helpful to connect to our body in a different way like Mads, she had a huge experience with it changing her life. But we won't know until we try it right. You might love it, you might hate it, you might be still unsure about it after you try it. But we just won't know. So taking a small step, if that aligns with something that you might want to fit into your wellness. Maybe today just downloading the app. Maybe you do just one round of the breathing exercise. Or maybe after you take your normal shower tomorrow at the end, turn it all the way too cold for 15 seconds and see how you feel after and Jeremy explain the cold exposure. So well. In the episode, he talks about it's 15 seconds of discomfort that could result in hours to days of positive results of feeling better in your body. And it's just so common that we live in comfort. Like we're trying to always be in comfort as a society. You know, it's too hot, we turn on the air conditioning, we have to get the right mattress to be comfy sleeping. And that's awesome. But what happens when we get uncomfortable when we push ourselves or stress comes up? And how do we practice to train our minds to really deal with that when it comes up? Well, it's the Wim Hof Wim Hof Method. So, it's a great tool to Yeah, get a little uncomfortable. But that's also a good way to push ourselves. And we could really see exponential results with you know, a short practice each day. So very powerful. So the last tool today, number four, we talked about an Emily's episode. It is the practice of IU VEDA, specifically Emily talks about the practice of oil massage. So in this episode, Emily shares her story of being an athlete of beach volleyball, and then after a career ending a knee injury, she had to rediscover her sense of self, and she struggled with an eating disorder. So it was a story of recovery and understanding her relationship to her body and to food and really powerful really, really interesting to hear how she really transformed and now teaching Yoga, sharing her heart sharing what she loves to do. But in this episode, we talk about letting go of control and how control showed up in her eating patterns her body. And then we talked about how yoga and Ayurveda following her heart has helped her with her recovery and led her to where she is today. So this tool of IU VEDA and the practice of oil massage, this is really a healing power of touching your body and sending gratitude to it. What a loving practice to change your relationship to your body and see your body different. Sometimes I am, like, I get out of the shower, and I look at myself in the mirror. And before I look at it, I think oh my gosh,
like, this is scary. Like, here it goes. Look at my body. And ever I was right. And I see all those lumps, I see that tummy roll, I see my thighs are touching. or other days. I'm like, Oh no, and I look at it. I'm like, Oh, alright, that looks kind of nice. I'm looking pretty good. My body didn't change as far as I looked. It's just how I saw myself that day. And reflecting back, it's like, who says that's the right way to see our body by looking in a mirror. And that's our mindset that we carry the rest of the day. So instead of looking in the mirror, and letting that mindset carry you, how about after a shower, rubbing blend of oils on my body, knowing that I'm nourishing myself, and sending that gratitude and acceptance while I'm doing it. So thanking my, my legs for carrying me through the day for letting me do what I love mountain bike yoga, sending some love to my tummy and squishy and knowing that it's nourishing and, and letting me live and digesting my foods like all of these different things that can bring more acceptance, like what a nourishing and loving way. But I also want to point out maybe touching your body, giving yourself an oil massage may just feel too uncomfortable for you. It could be triggering, it just you know, might not sound good. And that's okay. I want to make this point very clear. That is also acceptance. Knowing that this tool, this practice is not what you need. In this moment, maybe in the future, maybe you will do it later. But knowing that it's really not good for you now. And that's why this podcast is so different. It's not up for me to tell you what to do, follow this formula, do this do that. All I can do is offer it. And then it's your choice, right? It's up to you. And that's the amazing way that you can start to build that trust with yourself and your body and really make it personalized to you and your wellness. And you'll wake up one day and you realize, you know, you had like you have all the tools that you need, because you decided that was good for you and your body. So I just want to make that very clear as I'm going through these tools, it might not feel right, and that is perfect as well. Thank you so much everyone for listening. Like I said, the episode guide sheets, they're free, if you want to download them if you think it might be helpful. The purpose for those is just if you need that action step that implementation and you want something to print out or look on online and have the resources. But maybe not maybe just listening to that episode is the way that you can still get those action steps and still move forward. And that is perfect for you. It just either way allows us an opportunity to use these new tools. It could be life changing, it could be not life changing and you can just throw it out the window. Either way, these really are manageable, practical tools that we can use to make those small steps happen. And very, very, very important. Last thing I will say I don't want you to go home and download all that Episode guides, I don't want you to go home and make a list of all of these tools, I can tell you right now you're setting yourself up for failure. Sometimes this large motivation, and our intention can be spot on, but it can really work against us. It's just, it's that one small step, that's the win. That's the big win. And it's that one takeaway to help you feel better and your body today, or tomorrow or this month, the thing is, is that the mind really wants us to stay comfortable, that's where it's most efficient, that's where it likes to live. And so when we put on like big goals, and all of these things, and print out all this sheets,
or have multiple things at once, it really won't allow us to do that. It's very similar to going to the gym, if we go to the gym, and we go and pick up the heaviest weight and start doing squats, that is not gonna work, right, we're just gonna be so sore, the next day, our motivation will be out the window. If we go to the gym, and we pick up some weights that we can actually start with, then we can start making those small improvements, three pounds to five pounds to seven pounds, whatever. Right? It's the same way with the mind. So if we can approach our wellness in this way, and have a little patience, have a little acceptance, that is really when true change happens. And that's when you start to see that improvement build on each other. It's like if you put one stick in a pile each day, that pile, you're going to look back, and it's going to be huge, right? It's the small steps. And I just want you from today's episode, just think of one small thing, like one thing that really resonated with you. You can think of you know, Katie, like, what, what was that thing from today that, you know, I can take into my life. And I can promise you, you're not going to forget about all the things, you know, your intuition really knows what is good and what it will bring up in the future when you need it. And that's part of the trusting yourself and trusting your body right? Knowing that you don't have to remember everything, you don't have to take it all in and it will be there for you when it's time. And when you're ready. And you can always come back to this episode, I am not going anywhere. I'm definitely not planning on deleting any of these. So you always have that chance to come back to the episode if you're looking to progress, or go to the next step. Like for me in this episode, just that message of control and reflecting back on Emily's episode and looking at how I control certain things in my life and letting that go bringing that practice of surrender. So that's just one thing. And it wasn't even a tool right, it was just clarity moment. And I have wanted to bring the Wim Hof breathing practice and 15 seconds Cold Shower into my daily practice. But I just I have this feeling right now. It's just not gonna happen right now I just I have so many things on my plate. It's just not something that's going to fit in. And that's totally fine. I think in the future, I definitely will bring that practice in. But right now just letting the flexibility of it is really going to serve me. So if it comes up if you know in the moment, at the end of my shower, I want to you know, turn it to a cold for 15 seconds like, cool, okay, that's going to happen in the moment. But allowing myself to have that flexibility with that tool right now is just what I know will serve me best. So reflect on that and that's perfect. And knowing that for yourself in different ways will really help serve you in the long run. So that is it. Thank you so much for listening. I would always love to hear from you and the takeaways and I'm on Instagram. So DM me, I will always respond back. If you would like to rate and review the podcast and put comments their suggestions, I will be checking up on those as well. Really, I just want to say thank you for being here having the courage to show up for yourself. And especially in this episode when reviewing, reflecting getting all the tools just allowing yourself to be patient. Take it all in and That is just amazing. Thank you, sending love to you and your body. I will see you all next week.
