Welcome to Living Well Daily, the newsletter serving up tips to help you live a joyful, healthier life.
In today’s edition:
😊Mental / Emotional Well-Being: Cognitive Flexibility: Loosening Rigid Thinking
💖Longevity & Wellness: Fitness Friday: 👻The Scariest Exercise
🌱Trauma Healing: Anger as Ally: Reclaiming Emotional Expression (Day 5/5)
☀️Journal & Joy Prompts
🧠 Inner Reps: Mental & Emotional Well-Being Interval Workout
👇 And more good stuff, like lots of love from Lola & Joshua, the LWD creators xo
Today’s Edition
This day is a special one because you are here! Yay! Any day you are around is special because you are you, and you are more than enough. ♥️
Cognitive Flexibility: Loosening Rigid Thinking
When we feel stressed, the mind tends to narrow. We can get rigid in our thinking and cling to right/wrong, always/never, all/nothing. This rigidity might feel safe because it often defaults to the familiar but it actually limits solutions and heightens anxiety. Cognitive flexibility helps you hold multiple truths, see new options, and adapt with more ease. Working to build cognitive flexibility is really key for when you’re making changes, trying new things, are feeling stuck, and want to break old patterns. It’s hard to expect new results when our mind gets stuck in the same rigid patterns. Here are some ways to start being more mentally flexible:
🌟 Ways to strengthen mental flexibility
🧠 Notice black-and-white thinking and ask: “What’s another perspective?”
🔄 Reframe challenges as learning opportunities instead of failures.
🌍 Expose yourself to differing opinions: curiosity builds flexibility.
🧘 Practice saying, “Both things can be true.”
💬 Replace “I can’t” with “I haven’t figured it out yet.”
😍Start asking “what else could be true?,” “what are ways I haven’t tried,” or if you notice you tend to get stuck in the negative ask “what’s a more balanced perspective?”
✅ Action Step: This week, catch one rigid thought and soften it: try adding “and” or “yet” to open a little more space.
Fitness Friday: 👻The Scariest Exercise
Since it is Halloween, it seems only fitting to talk about an exercise that my clients and I dread, not because it is dangerous (it is actually quite safe), but because, if done properly, it is one heck of a challenge. That exercise is.. Bulgarian split squats!
This is an exercise that strengthens your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core, plus challenges your mobility and stability. It’s a single-leg movement, so it also improves balance, can help correct muscle imbalances, and engages stabilizers from your ankle to your hips.
Stronger legs are linked to better brain health, metabolic function, and longer lifespan. This exercise mimics real-life movements like climbing stairs or rising from a chair, making it incredibly functional too!
How to Do Bulgarian Split Squats Right:
Sit on a bench and straighten one leg out in front. That is where you will put your forward leg.
Put your other foot on the bench with your toe pointed so the top of your foot is on the bench. Make sure your feet are about hip width apart.
Keep your core engaged.
Lower your back knee toward the floor until your front thigh is parallel to the ground.
Push through your front heel to return to standing.
Start with bodyweight, then add dumbbells as you get stronger.
✅ Action step: Try out Bulgarian split squats and see how they go. If you struggle with balance, make sure you have something to hold onto so you don’t fall over.
Anger as Ally: Reclaiming Emotional Expression
Trauma often teaches us to fear or suppress anger. But anger isn’t dangerous in itself, it’s sacred, protective energy that says, “Something unjust happened. I deserve better.” This week is about reclaiming anger as an ally, learning safe ways to express it, and recognizing its healing power.
Day 5: Embracing Anger as Sacred
Anger is part of your humanity and your wholeness. It can help you re-engage with purpose and can become a catalyst for healing when you learn to engage with it in healthy ways. This can be a difficult switch after trauma, so be gentle with yourself and take small baby steps to recreate your relationship with anger.
🌞 Affirm: “My anger is a sign I care about myself and my world.”
👣Instead of jumping into anger, think of dipping a toe in. This can be especially helpful if dissociation and suppression have been past coping mechanisms or if you’ve spent a lot of time around people who were unable to separate their emotion of anger from their actions of aggression. Baby steps can help you reconnect slowly.
🪴 Treat anger as a sacred protector, not a shameful flaw.
💃 When expressed safely, anger can bring relief, clarity, and strength. Use tips from earlier in the week to practice listening to anger and somatic release.
🫂 You deserve to carry your anger wisely: not as a burden, but as a gift of power and truth.
Darling, don’t give up on yourself, you’re so worth it. Sending love 💕
You can be unfinished and worthy at the same time. Wholeness and worthiness isn’t about being “done, complete, or finished”.
📖Journal Prompt:
Building a Caring Relationship with Yourself
What’s a coping mechanism that you’re growing out of (ie. not longer feels as healing or helpful) and what’s something more aligned you can bring in instead?
🌟Spark of Joy:
Let Little Things Move You
Treat simple to-dos like big wins… You brushed your teeth, yasss queen! You got out of bed, you go king! You drank a glass of water, slay your royal highness!
Today’s Mental and Emotional Workout:
This interval workout will increase your ability to:
Reinforce gratitude circuits in your brain to feel more fulfilled and less stressed
Notice your progress to boost motivation and deepen self-belief
Stay mindful to soothe stress and anxiety when they appear
In under 8 minutes, you’ll strengthen positive neural pathways for long-term well-being and end the workout feeling better than you started! (Click on the photo below to access the workout)
Thank you for being here!
Before you go, let us know what you thought of today’s edition and if there are any subjects you would like us to cover in the future reply to this email and let us know!
What did you think of today's edition?
If you find our newsletter helpful, we’d love for you to share it with a friend! If you’re that friend, you can subscribe here. Thanks for spreading the word! xo
With love and care,
Lola & Joshua | The Living Well Team
Living Well Daily is for educational purposes only and is in no way a substitute for professional medical and mental health advice and diagnosis. Please consult a qualified professional for care unique to your needs.
Remember: It’s okay to ask for help. Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (Canada & US).