If your health has been flaring, the last thing you're likely to be able to face is the effort and mental stamina to start implementing changes to your daily routine and lifestyle. You know it'd probably be helpful, but pain or illness flares can take every piece of energy, mental and emotional space you can find, just to get you through the day. 

It's from this place that I came up with the idea of micro-action: small changes, micro small, that will still create big change, despite feeling so small that they're not a burden to you now.

In my last blog, I wrote about how micro actions work. Read that blog here.

I've had such an easy time over the last month or so implementing some great micro-actions into my life that I wanted to share the ones that really are producing real change in my health and mental/emotional well being.

Light exposure first thing in the morning

This was the first micro-action I implemented, because I identified that improving my sleep was really the first goal in getting my health back into balance. Exposing yourself to natural light as soon as you wake up helps set your circadium rhythm by triggering melatonin production patterns that will help your brain put you to sleep at bed time. 

So I began getting up (whenever felt good) and then sitting by a large window, where I would be flooded with natural light. I commited to sitting for ten minutes. 

That's the kind of activity I can handle - get out of bed and sit still. 

This felt like it began to affect my sleep after only 3-4 days. But more than improving sleep, it gave me a really still, peaceful start to the day, a focus for getting out of bed, and an easy first achievement for the day. 

I've also found that the act of watching the birds, the trees, the butterflies and the regular comings and goings of the neighbours to be really grounding and calming. I feel more connected to the nature that surrounds me and to life outside my house - which is really valuable during lock downs. 

Stretching, morning and night

The best micro-actions are always those that feel good in the body. And stretching always feels good to mine. I know not everyone's body can move as well as mine can, but after a year that's involved a lot of sitting in one place and a reduction in exercise and incidental movement, stretching is so important to ensure joint and muscle issues don't arise or worsen.

Because I'm a yoga lover, I've based my stretching on really simple yoga stretches. 

• I start by putting my arms straight up in the air, then circling them down and then up into prayer position. Then reverse back to holding them above my head. I do this several times to open my shoulders. 
• Next, I 'swan dive' down to a forward fold, as best I can. My hands reach the floor though my knees are bent, specially in the morning. I hold this position for some time, enjoying the back-of-leg stretch. 
• Next I go through a yoga high-to-low push up, but heading to all-fours and then gently lowering to the ground also works. From lying on my stomach, I push my shoulders up, stretching down the front of my body, (a cobra pose for the yoga people). This is also a back bend that helps spine flexibility. 
• Next, push back to child's pose - push yourself back till you're folded over your legs, with arms on the floor out in front of you, forehead on the floor. Take some deep breaths here. 
• Finally, I push from child's pose to down dog - an upside down V shape, with hands and feet on the floor. A breath or two here as well.
• Step forward, back to a forward fold. Then life your torso up to standing with a flat back, hands above head. Then circle your hands back down and into prayer position. 

That's my morning & evening stretching routine. I do that about three times.

This simple stretching routine leaves me feeling like blood and oxygen is moving through my body - energy is active and open. I have also combined it with a simple prayer or mantra process, which I talk about below. It helps me feel like I'm connecting in to my body to start and end the day, and to my spiritual side. And that's always a good idea - it's only when I'm conscious of my body that I can give it what it needs. 

Intermittent fasting

I know for many people, any kind of fasting is just too hard. I get it - dieting has never been something that I've been all that good at. But mostly, I think my diet-resistance has been because it's always been motivated by the desire to lose weight. And that motivation is largely one of self judgement and non-acceptance, which is bad for just about everything that's good for us.