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For some, the best time to meditate is a sunrise session, while others make room for mindfulness before bed. No matter when you do it, meditation is one of the healthiest things you can do for your mind and body. It may help decrease depression, anxiety, stress and pain, reduce inflammation, improve the immune response and promote healthier aging. There's no magical hour when meditating is most beneficial. Yep, the best time to meditate is whenever you ​actually​ do it. Everyone's schedules, preferences and needs are different, so, logically, the best time of day to meditate will differ depending on you. The key is finding a time that does work and then sticking to it. In other words, while timing isn't terribly important, consistency is. Keeping a consistent time for meditation makes it more likely it will become part of your daily routine. Find the right time to Meditate, you might need to explore meditating at different hours to see which time slot feels best for you. 1. Meditating in the Morning Meditating first thing sets the groundwork for the day. "For many people, it is easier to create time in the morning before the day gets going and different activities, distractions and possibilities arise that were not expected, but if you're not a morning person, or your child wakes up super early crying and demanding your attention, then maybe this is not the best time for you. 2. Meditating at Midday Midday might be the perfect time to practice being present and push the pause button for a few minutes of mindful meditation. This provides an opportunity to clear the stress from the morning and create a clear space for the rest of the day. However, this largely depends on your work environment. "Unexpected lunch meetings, for example, may disrupt this plan, or you may find yourself answering one more email, one more phone call, and find the lunch hour has quickly vanished, along with your meditation time. 3. Meditating at Night Meditating at night can be a great way to clear the mind and body of the stress of the day for a better night's sleep. Meditating lying down for at least a few minutes every night before falling asleep by simply tuning into your body, thoughts and emotions, and noticing and acknowledging what is there until you drift off to sleep. But, once again, unexpected situations may pop up and nix your nighttime meditation plans. You might find yourself too tired to meditate after staying up late to finish a project, hanging out with friends or tending to a child. 4. Meditating When You're Stressed or Anxious What about meditating when you feel stressed, anxious or frustrated? Because, let's be honest, we all encounter moments like this each day. "Often people will use meditation to deal with a stressful trigger or issue that arises, which is, of course, totally fine. However, "if you do not create time on a regular basis for meditation, it will become one of the many intentions most of us set that never actually materialize — right up there with exercising every day," she says. What's more, meditating to mellow a bad mood misses the point of practicing mindfulness. The goal of meditation is not to get rid of emotions and thoughts, but rather to be curious about them. Using meditation to vanquish uncomfortable emotions is just another form of resistance to the experience and will often lead to increased tenseness and frustration, making us think, 'It's not working. All this to say, meditating to manage in-the-moment stressors should not be a substitute for a regular practice. Always aim to sit for a daily session (no matter your mood) and use those impromptu mood-motivated meditations to complement your regular mindfulness routine. How to Make Meditation a Daily Practice, no matter what time of day you dedicate to meditating, here are some tips to help you make it a habit and stick to your daily practice: 1. Set a Realistic Goal; If you can only commit to a few minutes of mindfulness, that's OK. 2. Take Small (but Consistent) Steps

Your body naturally loses muscle as you age, but training with weights can help you gain it back and boost your metabolism. As the years add up, so do the pounds, it seems. Even if you maintain the same diet and the same physical activity level, you may still see the number on the scale creep up as you age. Adults gain an average of 1 pound per year, and while that doesn't sound like much, it can add up over the decades, increasing your risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. Why We Gain Weight as We Age 1. Slower Metabolism With age, our bodies tend to burn calories at a slower rate, in fact, the speed at which we break down food decreases by about 10% for each decade after age 20. Most people tend to blame a slowed-down metabolism for age-related weight gain. But that's not the whole story. 2. Loss of Muscle Mass "The problem is, we naturally lose muscle mass as we age" indeed, people generally start to lose lean tissue and gain fat after age 30. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, this means that if there are two people both at rest, the person with more muscle mass will be burning off more calories. Older people may have about one-third more body fat compared to when they were younger, and this fat tends to accumulate around the belly. 3. Less Physical Activity Nearly a third of adults older than 50 are physically inactive. When we move less, we burn less calories. The recommendation for all adults is to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, walking, biking each week. 4. Hormone Changes Changing hormones also play a role in age-related weight gain. For people assigned male at birth, the years come with a drop in testosterone, which causes the body to lose muscle and gain fat. Estrogen in those assigned female at birth also decreases with age. This lack of estrogen causes the body to hold on to fat in the least desirable place the midsection. With all that said, age-related weight gain isn't totally inevitable. How to Stop Weight Gain With Age 1. Get More Sleep A good night's rest does wonders, including improving your metabolism and hunger levels. About 1 in 3 adults don't get enough sleep. Such sleep deprivation is linked to reduced insulin sensitivity, which causes insulin resistant hunger and leads to overeating and weight gain. The National Sleep Foundation recommends sticking to a sleep schedule, exercising regularly, turning off electronics before bed and avoiding caffeine at night to help you catch better shut-eye. 2. Count Those Calories We need to take a step back and assess our eating habits. Are we still snacking on processed foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt? Do we eat whatever we want whenever we want? As we age, it's more important than ever to make every calorie count. That means making nutritious choices as often as possible and staying away from empty-calorie foods like chips, soda and sweets. Balancing the number of calories you consume and the number of calories you burn will help keep your weight stable despite the effects of age. 3. Snack Sensibly Nuts are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber to keep you feeling full between meals. Despite the fact that nuts are also high in fat and calorie-dense, they are excellent little snacks for weight control. In other words, snacking on a handful of nutrient-dense nuts as opposed to chips and other processed and refined snacks may help curb the scale creep associated with aging. As a bonus, eating raw nuts twice a week is associated with a 17 percent lower risk of death from heart disease. 4. Release the Stress With age comes a little wisdom and a lot of stress. Our bodies have a harder time recovering from stress as we age. This makes it harder to maintain a healthy weight for a variety of reasons. "Not only can stress cause you to have poor sleep quality or make poor dietary choices, it can also increase levels of a hormone called cortisol, High cortisol levels are linked to increased abdominal fat, reduced insulin sensitivity, inflammation, indigestion and more — all of which can contribute to weight gain. 5. Start Strength Training When you mention weight loss, most people drop the weights and dash over to the closest cardio machine. However, resistance training is one of the best ways to combat age-related weight gain. Build more muscle by adopting a resistance training regimen. Working out different muscle groups, with sets of 8 to 12 repetitions, at least twice a week. Use anything that resists your movement, like resistance bands, dumbbells or even your own body weight. Squats, burpees, push-ups and pull-ups using the body's own resistance are some of the most effective weight training exercises for weight loss. ONE ON ONE TRAINING https://www.wix.app/stores/35b4a1b5-779e-4265-aa27-83c3d808b427/catalog/52b0658f-3b3d-796e-9532-87cd79468363?d=https://www.shakeitoffstudio.com//product-page/one-on-one-training So, while you can't control aging, you can adjust your physical activity to help control how your body responds to it.

A tight neck and back is one of the worst kinds of wake-up calls after a restless night, especially if they're accompanied by a loud alarm. Fortunately, even after a horrible night of sleep, there are a few stretches you can do right in bed to relieve sore muscles. Do Right in Bed After a Restless Night 1. Figure Four Windshield Wiper; Lie on your back with your arms stretched out to the sides, place your feet flat on the bed, knees pointing up. Cross your right ankle over your left knee. Keeping your upper body in place, let your left knee drop over to your left side. Hold here for 15 seconds, then switch sides. 2. Side-Lying Twist; Lie on your back with your arms out to the sides in a T shape, bring your feet flat on the bed about a foot away from your butt, knees pointing up. Keeping your upper body flat against the bed, drop both knees over to the right and turn your gaze to the left, hold here for 15 seconds, then repeat on the opposite side 3. Knees to Chest; 1. Begin lying on your back. 2. Keeping your shoulder blades against the bed, hug both knees into your chest, wrapping your arms around your knees. 3. As your body loosens up, hug the knees closer into your body. 4. Prone Press Up; 1. Begin lying on your stomach, palms under your shoulders. 2. Slowly, on an exhale, press into your palms and begin to straighten your arms. 3. Bring the shoulders back and open the chest. Hold here.