Recharge every now and then

Living the work or study life can be quite busy and challenging. Sometimes it feels like you don't have any time to do something just for yourself and you are racing against time. We do need the time to recharge ourselves every now and then to ensure us Fit Girls can keep running the world ;) So take the time now to have this moment for yourself and read 9 ways of how to recharge yourself.

1. TAKE DEEP BREATHS AND RELEASE
We all carry personal energy with us. Personally, I like it when my personal energy shines and sparkles, but sometimes it’s just not there. I didn’t lose it but it suffers from external (100 things-to-do-lists) or internal (stress) negativity. When you feel like your life is sucking your personal energy out of your strong and muscular body, STOP with what you are doing and BREATHE! Take a deep breath and release. You can literally breathe out the internal negativity you carry with you and exhale. Then inhale fresh oxygen to lift up your personal energy again. Repeat and you will experience your breathing will get into a easy pace and you clear your head if you focus on your breathing. “Inhale the good sh*t and exhale the bullsh*t!" ;)

2. TAKE A HOT SHOWER OR BATH
I think I can say taking a shower is one of my favourite activities of my day! Especially after a good work-out or when I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. If you feel stressed out, your mind is running over with all the things you have to do. A hot shower or bath can release the tension in your body. And while you are taking a shower or the time to have a bath try to clear your mind of your busy life. This doesn’t have to be a 30minute session (don’t spoil water) but a ritual you repeat every day. And it doesn’t even take extra time of your busy schedule! Win win! :)

3. TAKE A DANCE WITH YOURSELF
Dancing makes people happy. For me it’s the combination of a good music beat and my body willing to move. Dancing is a perfect way to release body stress and when you get into your groove it can also clear your mind. You don’t have to hit a club or have a dance partner, just use your living room (even when it’s not large) as your ballroom stage, put on your favourite music and release your inner moves. And the great thing about is, no one is watching so you can completely go crazy with diamonds on top, taking the stage and pretend to be a badass entertainer. So after a busy day at work or if studying didn’t go as planned. Turn on the volume of your radio and shake your booty :D

4. TAKE A WALK AROUND THE BLOCK
I can’t say it enough: you need to take your hot ass outside! The ultimate recharge is to take a walk around the block in between running your errands, during your lunch break or when you feel your energy is low. Since outside there is fresh oxygen, open space, sun (vitamine D), plants and trees and it gives you a break of your activity. When you return to the office you are refreshed and your busy mind was able to recharge and is able to rock again.

5. TAKE ON A BADASS WORK-OUT
When we work-out our body releases these mood-lifting chemicals like endorphins. And beside that, it also affects you energetically. Instead of a dropping energy flow it will rise and you will experience you’ll gain more energy. I know, it sound crazy and I didn’t believe it at first, but now I am hooked on to this feeling where my stress gets released and my mind has some time-off. So when you feel like your life force is declining, go to the gym and hit these kettle bells and do your push-ups. We all know the feeling after a work-out, right Fit Girls? ;) That alone is worth making time to release your inner badness, especially if you also get to wear fierce work-out gear.

6. TAKE THE TIME TO WATCH FUNNY MOVIES
Chilling out on your couch from time to time is always a good idea. And laughing is the best human emotion there is. Combine those two, the following setting presents itself: YOU in your unicorn pyjamas laying on your couch, can’t stop laughing watching a funny movie. Sounds great right? Especially since laughing has so many benefits besides having a great time. Laughing reduces stress hormone levels, improves cardiac health, is a great and FUN ab work-out, triggers the release of endorphins and produces a general sense of well-being. If you can’t make the time to watch the whole movie at once, you can always hit the pause button. Like me, on Monday I start watching the movie and Sunday night I finish it. Whahahaha. :D

7. TAKE A BREAK OF THE WORLD
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all the activity on social media, the news, interaction with fellow humans and giving my sparkle to the world. To stay on top of your game and running the world it is also good to take a break of the world. Just decide to boycott social media for a few days (or start with one day, if you are addicted like me…), shut down your Smartphone from time to time (since it’s sending out different signals and radiation influencing your energy), schedule a weekend for just yourself every two months (so that you can relax and don’t have any obligations) or just disconnect with the world for just a few hours a week by going to the gym, sauna, space or spot without WiFi or internet. ;)

8. TAKE A GOODNIGHT SLEEP
Sleeping is the second best work-out a Fit Girl can have. :) And I love it almost as much as doing burpees at the gym :D While we sleep, our mind reorganises and refreshes our thoughts and restores all consumed hormones and neurotransmitters. And for your body, our heart rate and blood pressure slows down, our muscles relax to allow our vascular system to get some rest, in other words our body is being recharged overnight. Insufficient sleep or lack of a good night sleep puts your body under stress and results in higher levels of stress hormones in the bloodstream. So when we sleep (between 6.5 hr. and 7.5hr. a night) it is also very important to have a goodnight sleep in order to fully recharge your body and mind.
Here are a few tips to do before you hit the sack:

• loosen up (stretch before going to bed especially after a work-out, your muscles will get into the relax-modus)
• empty your mental pocket (write down everything that is crossing your mind before going to bed, otherwise it will haunt you and you can’t sleep peaceful)
• schedule out your next day (if you have a busy next day ahead, it is good to go through it so your mind is clear when you go to sleep)
• make peace with the end of your day (you could do this by writing down something you're thankful for in your dairy or analyse your day to get it out of your system)
• take a shower (to release the tension in your body)

And if nothing of these tips work, you can always count your sheep! Or hot guys if you don’t like sheep! ;)

9. TAKE A DAY OFF =)
Taking a break from your busy live if by far the best idea to recharge yourself. But only if you can really take a break. This doesn’t mean YOU working and running the world while staying at home in your sweatpants or finally work your to-do-list. No, no, this is really taking a day off and have ME-TIME.

This day starts with you waking up when you are ready to wake up. No alarm clocks. Second you shut down your Smartphone and hide all electric devices who carry your mail account, social media or work / study guides. Then you make yourself a nice breakfast or even better you take yourself out for a good breakfast in town. And the best thing is, you don’t have to rush, you can fully enjoy every bite of your breakfast and the relax time you have :D . YEAH!  And then the options are endless for you to do that DAY OFF, like;

• taking a long romantic walks to your refrigerator;
• have a beauty day and turn your bathroom into a spa or swimming pool;
• work-out for example, opening a jar of peanut butter and lift the spoon towards your mouth;
• finally catch up reading your pile of magazines or practice your origami with it;
• lunch with a bottle of wine;
• go to the movies or transform your house into a cinema (with popcorn and chocolate ;) )
• spent time on your hobbies (collecting unicorns) or explore a new hobby (growing a pineapple);
• feed your rubber ducks;
• having a morning, afternoon and night sleep;
• prepare yourself a nine course dinner;
• try to beat the record of being a couch potato;
• and everything that makes you relax, and more!

Try to spend that DAY OFF alone, since only than you are able to do what you like and don’t have to entertain your company or take care of them. Seems a bit selfish or boring, but trust me if you come to a point that a day off is the only way to recharge yourself, you really need ME-time!

These are my 9 ways to recharge myself. And for the last four years it has seemed to work :) . Perhaps you have other (fun) ways and if you like to share your secret…most definitely SHARE them with us below in the comments. :D YEAH!

Note: Most important is that you learn to acknowledge when your body and mind need time off. Or even better that you take good care of your body and mind and you don’t even have to recharge yourself. Because when you feel like losing grip of your life, you already experience stress on a high level. A little stress is ok for a short period of time but if you experience stress for long period your body and mind will remind you that you need to take a step back.

So please love yourself enough to take care of your health of mind, body, and soul as a top priority, then you’ll be fit to face anything - Jay Woodman