A Friendly Nudge - Building Your Pause Muscle
...because we all could use a little encouragement!
I firmly believe that aging shouldn’t suck. That doesn’t mean that aging doesn’t have its unique set of challenges. Aging is literally a risk factor. A 30 year old and a 65 year old might have the identical heart condition, but the 65 year old is at greater risk simply because of their age. So aging isn’t all puppies and cute grandkids. But it shouldn’t suck. In fact it should be some of the best times of our lives because we’ve had all of these years of experience to figure stuff out.
My goal with the exercise snacks that I post on social media as well as the ones in each week’s A Friendly Nudge is to help people begin improving their strength, balance, and mobility. Those things help us better navigate some of the obstacles that are just part of everyday life and they also help make us more durable. Additionally, they help us become more resilient. And at the end of the day, I think resiliency may be the most important benefit.
Having my shoulder replaced has helped me gain a greater appreciation for the value of resiliency– the physical side of it, but also the mental part of resiliency.
Resiliency is what helps us recover and it’s also helpful when we need to put things into perspective.
I’ve had the Headspace app on my phone for years and I’d use it occasionally but it took shoulder replacement to nudge me into making it more of a habit.
I’m far from an expert on meditation or mindfulness, but over the past couple of months I’m beginning to better understand why so many people are committed to this discipline.
I’m beginning to think of it as an exercise snack to build my pause and observation muscles.
I used to think that meditation was about quieting the mind, but I’m beginning to appreciate the idea that maybe it just helps you become a more objective observer of what’s going on in your mind.
Being able to observe an idea or an emotion instead of automatically getting taken over by it is intriguing and compelling. I’m far from mastering this stuff, but I’ve already started enjoying some of the benefits.
For years I’ve been drawn to the idea of building agency around physical health with exercise and movement. It's interesting to think that we can also build better mental health by adding some stillness in there.
Just a little food for thought.
Now let’s have some food for fuel and enjoyment.
This soup will look a little familiar because I make variations of it quite a bit and it also reflects my approach to cooking. I frequently add peanut or almond butter to soup to add richness and depth of flavor. Using coconut milk in addition to chicken stock also boosts the flavor. The purple potatoes caught my eye at the store so I used those instead of sweet potatoes.
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
4-5 stalks celery, chopped
4-6 carrots, chopped
1 onion sliced
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2-3 bunches collards or other hearty greens, chopped
2” piece of dried salami, chopped
2 handfuls of potatoes, cut - purple, sweet or red potatoes will work
1 qt chicken stock
1 can full fat coconut milk
¼-½ cup almond or peanut butter
Paprika to taste, I used at least a tbsp
2 fat pinches of cracked pepper (I used smoked cracked pepper)
1 fat pinch of salt
1-2 tbsp olive or avocado oil
Heat a tbsp of avocado or olive oil in a large pot on medium high heat and then add the chicken thighs, a fat pinch of salt, then add the onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, sausage and ginger, paprika, pepper and chicken stock, stir well and bring to a boil.
Cover the pot and adjust the heat to keep it to a boil for about 10 minutes.
Add the collards and stir to combine.
Add the coconut milk and almond butter and stir to combine.
Simmer for another 7-10 minutes and taste for seasoning.
Enjoy!
Now let’s build some strength and resilience.
Our goal is to get you stronger and more resilient but that’s hard to do if you’re injured. It’s OK to push yourself a little but don’t be a hero. Skip any of these that don’t feel right for you and remember that we’re more interested in quality over quantity.