Season 3, Episode 25 It’s not a habit - it’s intimacy Don’t create habits.  Create something positive that is missed in your routine when it’s absent.  Get intimate - with your connection to your own body, with your partner, and making connections with friends that feed your soul.    Welcome to Season Three on the Mama Says Namaste Podcast.  In this series, we will focus on how to clear the clutter not just from your home, but also your head and your heart to create that space for clarity and connection. Join me and dive in to "The Minimalist To-Do List!”   Tasks: They Are Taking Over My Life!   Life Is Messy, and Tasks are Always Present Just to reiterate, if I were to break life up into different components, it would go something like what follows.  Yet even in separating this out, you will see that life simply is.   In our unschooling world, we don’t split subjects up into math, English and science; we incorporate it all into life skills that blend them together. Think of this concept as we dive in – here are the areas of our lives again that I brought up last week: • Work • Finances • Family • Spiritual/Emotional • Personal Development • Physical • Social • Life Tasks Picking up where we left off… Physical So…in the midst of wrangling children, getting work done, and the endless to-do list, let me guess: working out is pushed to the back burner.  I completely feel you.  I have been there, and with my workaholic tendencies, I am guilty of sitting in one spot and realizing I haven’t eaten, much less worked out, all day.       What does exercise give us?  Many of us completely dread it.  But guess what – there are a gazillion and one ways to be physically active, and many have nothing to do with hitting the gym.  It’s not about doing a traditional workout.  When I say “physical” is important, it’s the fact that with TVs, computers, cars and more, we have the ability to set on our butts day in and day out – and what does it give us? • Weight Gain • Fatigue • Depression/Moodiness • Low Self-Esteem • Higher likelihood of injuries (unused muscles/bones mean more likely to get hurt) • I could go on and on with a list of negatives, but that’s not my style Instead, let’s get to the why and the how.  You know all the perks of being physical – getting more energy, feeling great about yourself, being healthier because you are aware of and taking care of your body, etc. Own this and make it fun This is not drudgery.  It isn’t something that you have to have animosity toward.  This is your body; your beautiful shell that holds all the magnificence inside.  It’s your piece of art that you can decorate any way you want.  Getting out and getting physical does so much for your own confidence and energy, plus it’s an excellent way to connect with others.  Here are some ideas on how to get physical outside of the traditional gym model.  Add these in to life.  You don’t have to carve out two hours for the gym.  Set a timer on your phone or calendar alerts to go off every hour or two, and add in the little energy boosts to get your heart rate up.  Do squats while you brush your teeth.  Pushups while the coffee brews.  Push yourself to not simply observe your kids playing tag, but to join them. Stop, drop, and give me twenty.  Nathan and I do 100 pushups a day.  Insane? Possibly.  But when you set breaks throughout the day to stop and do 15-20 at a time, you not only allow your brain a break and your body an energy boost, but you can accomplish something much bigger by the end of the day.   It is so important to allow for those breaks in your day.  A shift in focus from work – or kids – to something that makes you feel strong, energized and motivated can be what gets you over that midday hump. Shift your mindset - love your body and embrace the effort you put into it instead of beating yourself up.  Sex is as essential as exercise.  Sex and physical touch is just as critical to your intimate relationship as exercise is to your relationship with y