11 Jul On the Road to Nowhere
Roadworks, every which way you turn, stuck in a queue of traffic willing the red light to turn green, getting anxious about being late for your appointment, getting to work, or just wanting to get home and switch the engine off.
Don’t fret, make the most of your time by doing some simple exercises from the seat of your car.
Why?
- Stressing about the traffic or temporary traffic lights makes you uptight and anxious
- Being uptight and anxious makes you annoyed and angry
- Being annoyed and angry raises your blood pressure and affects concentration.
STOP!
Use the time productively by doing these simple stretches.
Big caveat coming – make sure your handbrake is on and the car is in neutral mode 😊
- Put both hands on the wheel at about ’10 to 2’. Lean towards the steering wheel in a slow measured motion to imitate a seated press up.
- Turn your head slowly from side to side
- With or without hands on the wheel do some shoulder rolls, backwards and forwards
- Shrug your shoulders, bringing them up towards your ears and make the downward action deliberate as if you want to throw your shoulders away
- (No-one can see you doing this one) squeeze your bum cheeks together and release, either one at a time or both together.
- Do a marching action with your legs
- Twirl your ankles and move your feet up and down
Repeat however many times as you wish or until the lights turn green and you are on the move again.
Two reasons to do these stretches; it will take your mind off the fact that you’ve been stuck in traffic for goodness knows how long and you’ll be giving your muscles a little mini-workout to stop you feeling so tense and achy.
(Check out a brilliant song by the way “Road to Nowhere” by Talking Heads!)
Happy driving!