18: How to Elevate Your Life Through Posture, Movement and Mindfulness with Aaron Alexander

01/19/20 • 77 min

Curious how posture affects your life? Ever wonder if there were steps you could take to cultivate better mindfulness throughout your day?

Cue Aaron Alexander, a pioneering manual therapist and movement coach with over sixteen years of professional experience whose clients range from A-list Hollywood celebrities to professional athletes and everyone in between. In his recent book The Align Method, Aaron Alexander shows readers how posture and body alignment are powerful tools for building strength, achieving peak performance, reducing pain, and approaching the world with a new sense of confidence.

In this episode, we discuss a wide range of topics from the importance of moving your body and being aware of your posture, to the effects of body language, to self-care.

In this episode you’ll learn:

About Aaron’s background and how we got into bodybuilding
How bodybuilding has changed his life
About the Align method and why all movement has meaning
About Albert Mehrabian UCLA professor and the 55-38-7% principal
Why body language is a huge part of communicating with others
About the importance of being aware of your postural carriage throughout your life
About what Aaron’s morning routine looks like
Why getting out in the sunlight at different times of the day is so important
Why Aaron advocates on sitting on the floor
Why it’s so important to move your body throughout the day
Aaron’s tips for good posture when you’re sitting down
Why grip strength alone isn’t the best indicator of your heart health
About the benefits of walking treadmill desks and standing desks
About why certain positions like the “superhero” pose may help you feel more confident
About his experience co-writing with Phil White
Why it’s so important to give your eyes a break from focusing on things close-up throughout the day
Why it’s so important to take breaks throughout the workday
About the Box breathing method for stress and how to use it
Aaron’s takeaway advice for your health journey

Connect with Aaron: The Align Method | The Align Podcast | Instagram

Curious how posture affects your life? Ever wonder if there were steps you could take to cultivate better mindfulness throughout your day?

In this episode, we discuss a wide range of topics from the importance of moving your body and being aware of your posture, to the effects of body language, to self-care.

In this episode you’ll learn:

About Aaron’s background and how we got into bodybuilding
How bodybuilding has changed his life
About the Align method and why all movement has meaning
About Albert Mehrabian UCLA professor and the 55-38-7% principal
Why body language is a huge part of communicating with others
About the importance of being aware of your postural carriage throughout your life
About what Aaron’s morning routine looks like
Why getting out in the sunlight at different times of the day is so important
Why Aaron advocates on sitting on the floor
Why it’s so important to move your body throughout the day
Aaron’s tips for good posture when you’re sitting down
Why grip strength alone isn’t the best indicator of your heart health
About the benefits of walking treadmill desks and standing desks
About why certain positions like the “superhero” pose may help you feel more confident
About his experience co-writing with Phil White
Why it’s so important to give your eyes a break from focusing on things close-up throughout the day
Why it’s so important to take breaks throughout the workday
About the Box breathing method for stress and how to use it
Aaron’s takeaway advice for your health journey

Connect with Aaron: The Align Method | The Align Podcast | Instagram

Previous Episode

17: Set Yourself Up for Success With a Morning Routine

Having a morning routine is a great way to start the day and set yourself up for success. In this episode, we discuss some of the many benefits of having a productive morning routine. We also dive into what our morning routines look like almost every day and share some other successful people’s morning routine

In this episode you’ll learn:

How having a morning routine can influence the rest of your day
Some tips for setting up your morning routine
Why it’s important to go to sleep and wake up at the same time everyday
How writing out lists at the beginning of the day can help you get closer to reaching your goals
Why it’s better to start the day with more intentional tasks before watching the news, sending emails, or going on social media
Why it’s important to prioritize your goals, tackle one at a time, and hold yourself accountable to them
About ideas that you can incorporate into your morning routine
How moving your body first thing in the morning can set you up for a great day
Why setting up your mindset for the day with things like mediation, positive affirmations, reading books, etc. is just as important as moving your body
How you can use affirmations to set yourself up for the day
About gratitude journaling and how you can use it to start your day on a positive note
That making your bed in the morning can help set you up for success later in the day
Why it’s important to start your day with a healthy breakfast
About the benefits of beginning the day with a sauna session
How self care like dry brushing can help set you up for a successful day
What Amanda’s morning routine consists of
About the benefits of oil pulling
What Chris incorporates into his morning routine
About Tyler Jean’s (aka @functional.foods) morning routine
What Tim Ferriss does to start his day

References from the episode: Tyler Jean aka @functional.foods & Tim Ferriss @timferriss

Next Episode

19: How to Set The Stage For Better Sleep

What’s sleep got to do with it? Everything! Getting a good night of quality sleep can make all the difference in your day. Similar to how a morning routine can help set you up for success, prioritizing your sleep with a nighttime routine is just as important. In this episode we break down everything from the effects of inadequate sleep, to the benefits of REM sleep, and even tips to help you achieve it.

In this episode you’ll learn:

Why getting a good night of sleep is so important
About the 4 stages of a REM sleep cycle and how one cycle takes
What REM sleep is
Why a 90 minute nap can be beneficial
About the possible connection between depression and sleep
How deep, REM sleep is different from other types of sleep
About how getting too little sleep has been linked to increased risk of death
How sleep deprivation has been linked to to insulin sensitivity
About the tie between obstructive sleep apnea and other health problems like type 2 diabetes and obesity
About the correlation between quality of sleep and appetite
About how sleep can affect memory retention
How getting inadequate/lack of sleep can cause inflammation in the body
About the link between sleep deprivation, child obesity and obesity later in life
About how lack of sleep has been linked to higher disease risk
What exactly obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is
Tips to set yourself up for a good night of sleep
How blue light can affect your sleep and how blue light blocking glasses can help
That drinking caffeine in the late afternoon can still affect your quality of sleep
Why working out earlier in the day may help you sleep better
About mouth taping and how it may help encourage more nasal breathing and REM sleep
About Amanda’s nighttime routine
About Chris’s nighttime routine
Tips for late night snacking

References from the episode:

Blackout curtain:

Noise machine:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076F2JKYC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Studies:

-This study concluded that people reporting consistently sleeping 5 hours or less per night should be regarded as a higher risk group for all-cause mortality. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2864873/

-This research demonstrates the importance of adequate sleep in maintaining blood sugar levels and reducing risk for metabolic diseases like obesity and diabetes. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151104134039.htm

-2018 study linked sleep deprivation with increased late-night junk food cravings & night snacking and was strongly correlated with obesity, diabetes & other health problems. https://uahs.arizona.edu/news/ua-study-finds-link-between-sleep-loss-nighttime-snacking-junk-food-cravings-and-obesity

-This study concluded that even relatively moderate sleep restriction can seriously impair waking neurobehavioral functions in healthy adults. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12683469

-This 2010 metaanalysis covering 1.3 million people over 25 years. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2864873/

-2014 study showed that children who slept less had increased risk for obesity and high BMI. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/133/6/1013.long