fitness · holiday fitness · holidays · rest · self care

Making Space 2023: Day 22

Christine Hennebury

Ever heard that proverb/saying/quote “You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day but if you don’t have time, sit in meditation for an hour”?

Well, don’t worry! I am not about to suggest that you exercise and meditate for an hour each and I would never start throwing the word should around like that.

But…

BUT…

I’m wondering if you will accept a challenge on this 22nd day of December…

I DARE you to take twice as long as you think you can spare and do something that helps you feel most like yourself today.

Yes, this *may* mean that you run out of time to do something on your to do list but it’s more likely that you’ll fit in your fun AND get the most important stuff done.

(To do lists are tricky that way, They try to take over your whole brain and make you feel like you don’t have time for anything else. Please don’t let the list win!)

In the spirit of taking twice as much time on this 22 day, I have two exercise videos and two meditation videos for you.

For today’s first exercise video, let’s get everything moving with this Total Body Circuit from Silver Sneakers

Still image – the left side of the image is blue with the video title in white text, the right side of the image shows a person in exercise clothes in a room with green walls. Their arms are raised to shoulder height as of they are in the middle of a movement.

Our second video is a great Full Body Stretch from Yoga with Bird.

Still image shows the instructor in exercise clothes on a yoga mat. She is doing the ‘thread the needle’ stretch where you start in your hands and knees, then extend one arm forward on the mat while ‘threading’ the other arm underneath it and out to the opposite side.

If you’re feeling a bit frazzled today OR if you feel pretty good and would like to feel even better, give this Centering Meditation from Generation Calm a try.

Still image features the video title on the left, in the centre is a picture of a person wearing headphones and that picture dissolves into a pattern of different shades of light.

Our second video is an exercise called ‘take a deep breath’ from Calm

Still image is a picture of a rippling mountain lake with trees and mountains at the edge. I’m the centre of the image is a blue circle that expands and contracts in the video to help guide the breath.

About Making Space 2023:
In December 2020, Fit is a Feminist Issue blogger Martha created a tradition – a series of reminder posts to take good care of ourselves during this last month of the year when it is far too easy to get swept up in your to do list, no matter what you are celebrating or not celebrating. 


In 2021, I started doing daily December reminders with a post called Give Yourself Some Space,  and that’s how the ‘Making Space‘ December tradition began. Throughout December 2021 and 2022, I wrote a short post that included two videos – one for exercise and one for meditation – and a bit of encouragement for you to make space for yourself at this busy time of year. 


These posts are not about cramming more things into your month, they reminding you that there IS a *YOU* who is doing all of the things and that you are worth taking good care of.


Perhaps the things I suggest aren’t what you need at the moment. That’s totally ok. Perhaps you can use something else to create some space, something that will help you feel more relaxed or more in charge of your day. Just do whatever you can to give yourself a little more breathing room.


Personally, I am trying to Finish 2023 Soft so I am putting conscious effort into resting whenever I can. My overjangled nervous system needs a chance to unjangle and that process may look different every day. 


So, some of these posts may be long and some may be short but please know that every single one of them is written with the hope that you can find a little ease in your day, whatever that looks like for you.

Published by Christine Hennebury

I'm a writer/storyteller/director/creativity & lifestory coach with a black belt in ITF Taekwon-do. I read voraciously and I write like my fingers are on fire. I'm the founder and Chair of the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl and I'm a former president of the St. John's Storytelling Festival. I bake a mean chocolate chip cookie.