What's your favorite summer Olympic sport to watch?
Mine is women's gymnastics. The sheer strength, grace, and precision always leave me in awe. I can still recall the feeling of chalk on my hands and the exhilaration of swinging on the uneven bars at the age of 7. I didn’t stick with this sport for very long. Jazz dancing stole my attention before I became a Pilates fanatic at 14.
Inspired by summer adventures and the Paris Olympics, August is our month to delve into the physical pillar of our well-being.
Recap of Well-Being Pillars:
Mental
Emotional
Play
This Month: Physical Well-Being
I define physical well-being as maintaining a "well-oiled machine." Our bodies are our life vehicles, and keeping them healthy, mobile, strong, flexible, nourished, hydrated, clean, and well-rested is essential. Physical well-being can fluctuate daily based on sleep, nourishment, exercise, and stress management.
Last week, my husband, a few friends, and I went canoe camping in the North Cascades for five days—my longest camping trip to date! Though camping is outside my comfort zone, once I settle in, I feel my body relax and enjoy the simplicity.
This trip was unique because it wasn't about pushing physical limits with strenuous hikes. Instead, we enjoyed gentle forest walks, swimming in a crystal-clear mountain lake, and sunbathing on a rock. This balanced approach of movement and stillness was exactly what my body needed.
While basking in the sun like a lizard, I reflected on how society conditions us to ignore our bodies. We often operate on autopilot, disregarding our body's signals. For example, we might overlook feeling "low on gas" or neglect tire maintenance until our "car" breaks down.
Engaging our senses can help us live more in tune with our bodies rather than our minds. Our "sense doors" (smell, sight, hearing, touch, and taste) offer powerful ways to connect with life inside and outside our bodies.
Benefits of Engaging with Each Sense:
Smell: Enhances memory, reduces stress, and improves mood. This week, try to pause and inhale the scents around you. Experiment by cooking without a recipe and only using smell to guide you. Take a walk, breathing in the fragrant summer smells. (even the unpleasant ones like the humid trash smell on the streets of NYC).
Sight: Boosts mental health, enhances focus and increases appreciation. Notice the colors and shapes in your environment, appreciate the colors of your food, and admire the summer light.
Hearing: Reduces stress, improves sleep, and enhances communication. Listen to sounds in your space throughout the day–what sounds feel pleasant, unpleasant or neutral in the body?
Touch: Increases comfort, enhances sensory awareness, and promotes healing. Notice what textures feel calming and cozy. Get your hands in dirt. What does that feel like?
Taste: Enhances enjoyment and improves nutrition. Savor each bite of your meals, notice how the flavors shift and change. Eat foods that taste nostalgic.
This month, I encourage you to focus on one sense each week and experience life through your physical body.
For instance, pause throughout your day to notice sounds in your environment. Notice sounds that your body makes throughout the day. The following week, shift to touch: feel the texture of your skin, the fabric of your clothes, and how your body feels in relation to your surroundings.
Have fun connecting with your physical body through your senses.