I know myself how hard it was at times, particularly after my second baby was born, to do the exercises that I knew so well. It wasn’t until I was living the life as a mother that I knew the difficulties that the women coming to see me for help had in finding time to ‘fit in’ the exercises that are important. Time in the day can slip away, unless it is grasped with two hands and stated as “you are mine”, for this next 5 minutes. Five minutes? Some people take an hour of power and may get to the gym easily, but if that isn't you at the moment, you can start with five minutes at home. There are days that when you do this you will consider that you are doing well.
If you are pregnant and reading this, it may not yet make sense, but with a small baby or toddlers, interruptions are common. If you can take 5 minutes to revive, and do more than just survive the early days of motherhood, you will be able to then add 5 plus 5 plus 5 over time and add up the time spent ON you and your body. Stretching, breathing, relaxing, toning, strengthening and focusing are all parts of exercise and mindfulness that can be broken down into 5 minute parts and add the 6 together and you will have done 30 minutes. Do an extra 5 of strengthening or your favourite part and you will do 35 minutes.
A 5 minute outside break can be helpful to refocus, breathe and energise. Stand tall and breathe in the fresh, if not too cold, air. Stretch your arms up above your head, clasp together and reach up. Do the same reaching forwards in front of you and also behind so you can gently stretch your arms backwards. Roll your shoulders back four times and these four stretches and some deep breathing will be something easily done in 5 minutes. The beauty of taking this sort of 5 minute break can be easily applied during a working day break if you are pregnant at the moment.
Five minutes matter can also be applied to overwhelming tasks that you have been putting off. If something seems too big to get started, a 5 minute chunk can be like taking a small bite of a large piece of fruit. Get started on a small amount, chew and digest it, and then take the next. The 5 can turn into longer sometimes, but in 5 minutes if you apply a little bit of time pressure to see how much you can do in this time, can be thought of as productive time.
So think of 5 minutes as a valuable amount of time. Imagine the benefit of a 5 minute shoulder rub. Usually a quick shoulder massage lasts less than 5 minutes but can feel awesome and lighten the load. Think of the value of a face wash, a shower, stopping to smell and pick a flower, sit for 5 minutes, to stretch or to relax. Five minutes matters. Take 5 things to revive you this week and use one at a time. If you do this, those 5 minutes will be 35 minutes. If you have more, lift your pelvic floor.