Calm Action

The British government, during World War II, created a poster that read KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. It was intended to boost the morale of the British citizens and was widely distributed via newspapers back in the day. We still come across this saying today on throw pillows and memes, and often times, the traditional saying is altered a tad to things like, “Keep Calm and Buy the Bag” or “Keep Calm and Call Your Mother.”  It’s fun and sometimes funny, but there is something important to take note of here, and that’s the idea of calm action.

It makes perfect sense, right? I think most of us would agree – it’s advantageous to be calm while doing just about anything. 
Calm means awareness and presence and intentional. I’m the best driver when I’m calm. The dinner I’m cooking turns out delicious when I’m calm. My workout is way more effective when I’m calm. 

Calm isn’t sleepy, mellow, low energy or chilling out. It simply means not being in a state of fight or flight. Calm makes for “in the moment-ness” and actually feels energizing because it’s opposite, fight or flight, tightens our breath and body, blocking energy flow.

This is precisely why I was compelled to create Calm Cardio, a 30minute cardio class with minimal stress (now streaming on Let’s Move!). 

I think, unintentionally, many cardio classes, with their too fast tempo, their hyper energy that instills fear, or their lack of breathing and alignment focus, put us in fight or flight mode, by design. We mistakenly think fight or flight mode IS cardio! 😱 

Let’s face it, fight or flight mode is easy to achieve these days, and I think your workout should be a respite from it. Calm Cardio is a heart-pumping respite.

There’s a new saying for the throw pillows and the memes – “Keep calm and let’s move!”  (And enjoy your workout!)