Some lists take 45 years generate, ask questions, seek don't follow.

Asking questions and continual searching seems to be a life trait from aged 4 onwards . This particular  observation begins with a conversation from about 25 years ago. I was sitting with a group of students who were studying with the Open University's Master's programme in Mathematics and Maths Ed. I was next to an older gentleman and was happily chatting away(I always do yack on) sharing my observations when he started to speak. His voice had such a strong resonance 'I know that voice' I said to myself, 'where in my life did that voice come from'. It was as if the voice itself was placing me in another body it was that strong a sense and pull to a different time.

 I stared at the man for some time and I just couldn't place it. We left with no resolution.

The next session he came up to me and said 'I thought I knew that name, I looked back at my old school records and I was your primary school teacher in Y4, (which is 9 years old)' He smiled and then said 'You haven't changed, you've asked questions then and you have kept asking questions now'. It still makes me smile, asking questions, searching, never content, the Self-searching for the knowledge above and beyond books. Hence the list below(amplified in 2024) is not about some random list put together for FB. It has been on my mind for 45 years. Enjoy :)

 Ok folks that time of year when I review and tweak my 'life hacks' there are one or two additions and some changes, can you spot them? Can you add some of your life hacks at the bottom. 

•   The blend of a cardiovascular exercise with yoga/movement/other modalities is more than the sum of their parts. Do both if you can. If you can't run ,walk a lot. I was delighted to read about how in the book 'exercised' by Daniel Lieberman(2021), the Tarahumara Indians did NOT exercise for their amazing running feats but walked everyday, around 10-13 miles tending their farm. We are walking endurance machines, number 1. 
• squat, either supported via heel support or against a wall.   Tribes squat a lot (Hadza tribe for one), they do not want to use up their energy, it is their movement away from sitting that is the key. Squatting is the sitting, there are lots of good physiological responses that are activated through this motion. One of which is squeezing lymph glands, and activating some other body processes. I am convinced anyway:)  
• Eat more vegetables a LOT more, and no, there is no such thing as animal protein, it is protein. 
• I am a fan of time restricted eating, in other words I practice my final meal (food intake) around 6pm, the next meal might not be until 8.30 am if not later. We are not wired to eat all night and graze all day. A noticeable outcome were my energy levels ramping up, not down worth the share. 
• Read, find a  balance between fiction and non fiction. I spent too long reading non fiction, it simply did not stop. What was I looking for!  A good check for non-fiction are the dull thud of references either at the end of each chapter and/or at the end of the section. 
• Spend time outside, in different conditions, rain, wind, snow etc. Activate your senses, we evolved as part of this planet, not away from it. We are connected at a very subtle level to the shift in seasons and weather. Bath in nature on a regular basis. 
• Spend time with people who smile when you enter the room :) 
• Go to bed 10 minutes earlier, sit on the bed and focus on your breath then go to sleep. Here you can make friends with your breath, your first breath was an exhale your last will be exhaled, bring attention to your breath and meditate. Nothing flashy, sitting in a comfortable place and being attentive to your breath is the beginning of transformation. Erich Schiffman calls it 'Bed Med'. 
• Don't count the miles, just move, I reckon you could move more if you stopped counting. I once took a runner out for a session, I told her not to look at her watch, the session finished and we had ran about 8 miles, initially she was really angry, 'too far'. 'how do you feel' I asked, 'I feel Ok, actually'. We set limits on ourselves, way too easily. I do like data and feedback but consider 'time on feet' and make it quality time on feet as well. 
• Shoe matter but not as much as you, moving well and moving in balance, as a child first learning to walk and run. We develop this 'feeling touch' with our feet. Find a grassy area, beach, anywhere 'dog poo' and sharps safe. take your shoes off and be a child again, learning to run in 'beginners mind'.  Develop and focus on 'good feeling with the ground' 
• Follow your breath when running, find the rhythm with the breath, you might need to walk/run a lot to find the sweet spot but it works. Breath, rhythm and relaxation, the body loves it. Breathing is tricky, I think there is a strong emotional connection here that needs breaking with good training. The Oxygen advantage (Patrick McKeown) bypasses Yoga and Ayurvedic holistic approaches and gives a great programme to help develop your breathing. Breath by James Nestor is a great overview on all things breathing. Finding that breath, following that breath, gives you the tuning mechanism for good health and improved cardio vascular fitness. 
• Single leg balances are important. Practice balancing.  There is a rocky section on my local beach  I watch folk struggle as they lose balance, most of these folks are 40 plus, keeping our balance is an important point. As we get older and I mean much older we don't want to lose our balance and fall. 
• You don't need to do marathons or need the next challenge if these make you feel good....great; personally, I am a Mary Oliver fan, I've been tested thankyou and I know what it feels like so I go for the following 'you do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles repenting, you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves'. During my Yoga training and studies, there is the term Shanti, 'peace' a sense of peace and stillness should be an aim of our existence. Not everything has to be 'on', and 'full gas'. The best athletes are focused, still and at peace with themselves in that moment. Practice finding peace. 
• We all move differently, If I look back at the 2TB of the video there is NOT one runner who matches another. Amazing!
• I don't do dogma, I don't do tribes, I prefer being a searcher. You are the experiment, listen to yourself. 
• Create good habits when you are well, a yoga practice, a running practice means that  when you are injured or life hits you hard you have built resilience and mental strength and sense of who you are. I think we tend to wait until all the red lights are fully on before we do something. I did. Eluid Kipchoge has a great quote 'only the disciplined can be free'. In summary it is about lifestyle. 
  
• Change a word can change perception, try  changing  pleasure to fulfillment. It is a subtle change but makes a huge difference. Fulfilling means just that, filled up and complete, pleasure is a one hit sensory overload  we become addicted to and attached.
• Slow down in life. Busy for being busy sake is a habit of this society. Enjoy the time in the here and now. watch your mind tracking across the day before you have even woken up. Hence meditation in the morning sets up the tone of the day. Still the mind, move the body. Erich Schiffman stresses 'put a comma in your commentary so you are not energising your habitual response', relax and silent mind it. 
• Be kind to yourself. We do beat ourselves up. Positive affirmations are a good thing to state on a regular basis.