Remember when you were young and would stay outside in the street, or at the park, or in the forest, until the sun tucked itself over the horizon? Remember when the only reason you knew to come indoors and slam the screen door behind you was your mother calling loud from the front porch?

These were the good days. These were the days of constant, fluid, natural movement. No one told you to “go outside and exercise.” The exercise was your life, and you enjoyed it. Now, we make it such a chore to find the joy in movement.

What happened to this childlike ability to immerse ourselves in natural exercise every day, and love every minute of it?

Movement is what keeps our bodies flowing and it’s also the most effective way to boost our mental state and replenish our souls.

During your program, I would love for you to immerse yourself in joyful movement at least three days a week (ideally, every day).

What qualifies as movement? Dancing, swimming, walking around your corporate track, taking a slow walk during your lunch break, sprinting for 30 seconds in the morning, swinging around a kettle bell, swinging around something else that’s heavy, lifting weights, doing cross fit, playing tag with your kids, playing tag with your co-workers, holding a headstand, stretching, playing…simply moving.

Life isn’t meant to be stagnant. We are animals—active, lively animals! So, embrace this! Get back outside, kick off your shoes, and walk around on the soil. Create an active community. Go for a walk with a loved one. Just get moving.

We humans breathe 26,000 times a day. And for most of that time, we give our breath no thought and no effort. Our breaths are shallow, rushed, and take place mostly in the upper lungs. The more stress we’re under, the more rapid and shallow we breathe.

In the upper section of your lungs, you have stress receptors. When you gasp or inhale quick, fragile breaths, your lungs will tell the rest of your body that it’s time to panic because you are under attack. Your body will immediately enter a fat-storing, disease-producing, congested-lymphatic-system state.

Yet in the lower lobes of your lungs, there are receptors that calm you down. These help you to become still, silent and relaxed.

Your nose has the ability to propel air down to the very bottom of your lungs while your mouth is primarily good for reaching the upper lungs only.

So for a minute each day (at least, but ideally ten times for one minute each throughout the day), close your eyes and breathe in deeply through your nose. Feel your lungs expand and blossom in your ribs. Allow yourself to exhale through your mouth completely. Then, inhale again through the nose. And exhale. In, and out. In, and out. Hear the sound of your breath in your throat, feel your lungs expanding and take some time to simply...breathe.

When you breathe this way, your thoughts will cease. You will relax. You will feel spacious. It will reset the nervous system.

Can you commit to doing this ten times a day?

Positive self-talk in the form of daily affirmations is extremely advantageous to one’s mental health. Affirmations are powerful words you say to yourself in the mirror. They are a huge part of my life. I recommend starting and ending the day with affirmations. “Affirmations are like screaming that you’re okay in order to overcome this whisper that you’re not. That’s a big contrast to actually uncovering the whisper, realizing that it’s a passing memory, and moving closer to all those fears and all those edgy feelings that maybe you’re not okay. Well, no big deal. None of us is okay and all of us are fine. It’s not just one way.

HERE ARE A LIST OF AFFIRMATIONS, BUT YOU CAN MAKE UP YOUR OWN AS WELL:

• "I love myself, therefore, I behave in a loving way to all people for I know that that which I give out returns to me multiplied.”

• "I only attract loving people in my world for they are a mirror of what I am.”

• "I am open and receptive to all the good and abundance in the Universe.”

• "Today is a delightful day. Money comes to me in expected and unexpected ways.”

• "I lovingly do everything I can to assist my body in maintaining perfect health.”

• "When your interpretation changes, so does your reality.”

• “May my mind and heart be pure and true, and may I not deviate from the things of goodness.”

• “I consciously commit to flexibility and detachment.”

• “I allow myself and those around me the freedom to be themselves, without imposing rigid ideas of right and wrong.”

• “I release the need to judge or criticize.”

Love and appreciate yourself!

Take at least five minutes per day to live in the moment, release negativity, and jumpstart your positive mood. Dance, draw in your kid’s drawing book, create a vision board that inspires you, or light a candle. My favorite release rituals involve dancing in my office and singing in my car.

What will your release ritual be? Write it down in your journal.