Re-Set Your Body, Mind & Soul – & Find Your “Why”

with Rachel Grunwell

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There are many pieces to the puzzle with feeling healthy and happy.

Most people who yearn to improve their wellbeing often turn to the gym first.

That’s a great start. Fitness is a prescription for wellness. If we incorporate movement, it fuels our wellness. It doesn’t matter what kind of fitness activity you prefer. Move your body in a way that interests you. That way you are more likely to turn up more often. Remember any action repeated often can eventually become a “lifestyle”. If you struggle with self-motivation, get good advice form a good personal trainer. They can provide you with support and knowledge to get started. There are also some cool ways they can share to help fitness stick.

There are other important aspects to improving your wellbeing. It’s not only movement – or what I call the “body work”… The “mind work” matters even more.

I co-lead the Mindful Moments Retreats at Rtoorua’s Polynesian Spa. Here, I share wellness wisdom to inspire a healthy and happy lifefstyle. I also help to guide yoga, mindfulness and meditation sessions. It’s a chance for Kiwis to switch off from their busy life for a weekend to rejuvenate. The aim is for each person is to bring their mind, body and spirit back into balance.

Below are some wellness tips that I share with retreat-goers. Choose one or two to focus on that resonates with you to help you kick off your own health journey now.

1. Ask yourself ‘why do I wish to improve my health?’ 

Connect to your strongest driver to help with motivation to change a habit. This is so when you have inevitable tough days – and want to give up – you can remember reason the behind “why” you do this. For example, you may choose to quit smoking. Your “why” might be so you are able to be healthier and live longer for the sake of your kids. So, thinking of your kids can be a powerful reminder when you want to abandon this health change. Realizing some days are going to be tough too is important. Pain is part of the process. So stick with the ups and downs. Remember to focus on the emotion behind the health change for your kids. Then this might overrule the emotional urge to regress.

2. Are you keen to cut back on your alcohol consumption? Then ask yourself: ‘Am I a mindful drinker?’ 

As a society, we are generally programmed to drink alcohol at all kinds of celebrations. We hear that it can help us de-stress. We can also drink to be social. Next time you are offered an alcoholic drink, ask yourself “why” you are saying yes. If it’s a “yes” because you want to drink it and enjoy it, then do that. Savour it. I believe in balance of all things by the way, not perfectionism. I too enjoy a glass of wine sometimes and eat chocolate.

But, if you are saying “yes” only because you are worried about offending someone, then have the courage to say “no thanks”. It’s your choice, always. There are lots of low-alcohol, or zero alcohol, options on the market these days. So opt for something else instead. Another trick is to drink a glass of water as your second drink – to help slow down alcohol consumption.

3. Consider planning healthy meals and making these ahead of time. If you are in a rush, then there’s more chance that you could eat something unhealthy on-the-run. Eat more leafy greens too at every meal to uplift your mood. You can even eat greens at breakfast in a smoothie or add some to scrambled eggs on toast. Check out my book Balance for 30 nourishing recipes. I recommend the ‘Oh Goodness Green Cleanse’ which is beautifully plant-powered.

4. Take time to unwind in a way that helps you to find that sense of “calm” in your life. We live in a hurried world which puts our bodies in fight-or-flight mode. We are stressed and anxious in this mode and it’s not ideal either for digesting food and keeping the weight off. So find your “pause button”. Read a book at night instead of looking at your mobile phone. I love to light a candle at night, drink medicinal grade tea that has calming powers like camomile. I often read some pages from a book before bed-time too to help me wind down. Lavender oil on my wrists at night is also a ritual I adore.

5. If you are an over-thinker or often get anxious, then re-learn how to manage your thoughts. Know that there are moments in every day that will be testing. This is normal. But the pressure you are under is likely almost entirely perceived. So choose to approach these tough moments with a renewed sense of calm. Know these thoughts will come, but that they too will pass. Be aware to make the distinction between what is true, and what you might be over-analysing. If there’s no firm evidence, then don’t let your mind progress to those unhealthy thoughts. I can recommend a great book around this topic called ‘Loving What Is’ by Byron Katie. This book can arm you with tools on how to alter your perspective to live a more positive and happy life.

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AD) Run fails shared by runners – We hope to save you from!

Simon Cochrane, shares some fails he has experienced. Based in the Bay of Plenty, Simon is an elite endurance athlete who is an official pacer for the 3-hour group racing this year’s event. He is using this year’s event to pace as a training run in the lead up to an ultra-marathon in Wellington in July. He reckons there might only be about five people racing at this hot pace and so he hopes to help them all through. Simon is a top NZ athlete. He came 3^rd in the Tarawera 100km Ultra in February. He has had 5 international podium placings over the Ironman distance in his careers and has raced the World Champs in Hawaii. At the Rotorua Marathon event previously, he has placed 2^nd in a half marathon (1hr 13 mins) and won the 10km event (34 mins). He is a coach too through his business, Athletic Peak Coaching. Here are four of his all time run fails below:  

1. Getting lost on a training run and running 20km further than planned in the middle of Summer with no water or phone reception. Ps this gaffe is unlikely to happen to anyone at the Rotorua Marathon event as there are lots of signs and experienced marshals on the official race day.
2. Biting off more than he could chew. “I ran the 84km Timber Trail at night (a night run)… despite never having trained at night prior. “So I’ve learnt to train for the conditions”.
3. “During the Ironman Wisconsin in 2013 I tried some different nutrition on the race and I needed to go to the bathroom way too many times! So I learnt to take my own fuel for future races because you can’t always trust what will be offered out on the course. It was lucky it wasn’t a city event and I was running through trails!”
4. Ironman Taiwan was 42 degrees and I didn’t put any sunscreen on. “I think I’ve still got some scars from that. I was burnt anywhere that wasn’t covered by a tri-suit”.

Mikki Williden, PhD, registered nutritionist and seasoned runner. Mikki is the 2005 Rotorua champion. She has an impressive personal best marathon time of 2hr 55 mins at Auckland where she nabbed a 4th placing in 2010. Check out a Mikkipedia podcast where she interviewed Kathrine Switzer.

1. “Don’t try something new on race morning! I made this fatal mistake in 2010 Christchurch marathon, leading to a DNF at 40k because my digestive tract had other ideas. That confirmed for me that dried apricots were not a goer for me pre-race. A mistake that, as a registered nutritionist, I probably shouldn’t have made, but we all live and learn!”
2. Different Christchurch race (2003) – “I turned up on the day before to wear tights but the weather report was 30-degrees so I had to run to Rebel and buy a pair of shorts and got the worst chafing: Try to remember to be prepared for all conditions! You just never know.”

James Crosswell, age 71, plumber from Opotiki who is part of the Rotorua Marathon Survivors’ Club (this club includes runners who have done more than 15 Rotorua Marathon events to be an official member). He will run his 44th Rotorua Marathon this year (among almost 100 marathons in total). His fastest marathon is 2hr 52 mins at Rotorua previously. Last year he ran this event in 5hr 20 mins (he now walks and runs so he doesn’t put too much pressure on his heart, he says). He loves the Rotorua Marathon event for the “camaraderie” and all the “like minds who run it”. Here are his run fail shares:

1. Getting too carried away at the start. “You feel fresh and excited and you can go like the clappers to Ngongotaha… but then you pay for it later on!”
2. Forgetting to do the water stops early on in marathons. “The first 2-3 water stops are vital to get water on board and not get dehydrated later on. If you don’t have enough water…. you can lose your mental ability a little!”
3. Not taking enough care at work leading up to race day “which saw me injured for a marathon and I felt the impact of running that event with every step”.

Rachel Grunwell, Rotorua Marathon ambassador and 25 x marathoner, who has conquered 4 x Rotorua Marathons including guiding disabled athletes through three of these races. Rachel is a qualified run coach who helps mums who want to learn how to be on-the-run. She’s just a “real-girl kind of runner” with a fastest marathon time of 4hr 06 minutes. Rachel is the author of the book Balance: Food, Health + Happiness. 

1. Going out too fast too soon on my first marathon – the Auckland Marathon event. “I learnt that hitting the wall feels like hell and when this happens at 32km it hurts the body (and ego) HARD. I did this once and thankfully learnt my lesson. Please trust me that this mistake is worth avoiding.” 
2. Having race bib magnets (instead of pins) that decided to spontaneously clump together seconds before the start gun of the Villa Maria 10km race this year. My cold paws couldn’t unbunch them quick enough and so I asked my mate Tess who was beside me at the time to chuck me one of her pins so I could secure my bib somehow. This left me trying to run at the start while pinning on a bib at the same time. Tess ended up beating me in that race by about a minute- possibly the time I took to sort my *hit out with that gaffe?. She has bragging rights now for beating me and it’s my own stupid fault!” ?
3. Wearing yoga socks which had pressure pads under my socks in a Rotorua Marathon 42km distance one year. This hurt with every step. I ended up running like I was on hot coals. So trial your race gear prior!
4. Not applying Vaseline in a few half-marathons. The chaffing has brought me to tears every time when I go to shower…. for days afterwards. Ouch. You’d think I would have learnt that lesson once, but nope… I’ve repeated it!”