Today at a Glance
- Fitness is a Living, Breathing, Everyday Practice
- Think Movement, Not “Workout.”
- The Mindful Mediterranean Plate
- Umbrella Breathing for Stress & Presence
Before Covid, I had what I thought was the perfect fitness routine.
Gym three to four times a week. Power walks… when I could. Healthy meals 95% of the time.
My nine-to-six (or let’s be honest—nine-to-nine) job meant I squeezed workouts in after work, exhausted and wired at the same time.
Or I went before work, packed with two bags, knowing one hour training meant easily two hours of my time (incl. commuting).
I was “doing everything right.” But nothing was changing.
Same body. Same fatigue. Same restless nights.
The truth that “felt normal”?
I was chasing fitness in fragments. That means, I was focusing on workouts but ignoring my whole life. I treated my health like a side hustle instead of my foundation.
A lot shifted when I stopped obsessing over gym time and started seeing fitness as a living, breathing, everyday practice.
Thanks to Markus, I moved instead of “worked out.”
I became more intentional and cooked real, self-made meals instead of living on canteen lunches and late-night takeout.
I built morning and evening rituals. And I treated stress management like oxygen instead of an optional extra.
That’s when my body leaned out.
My energy skyrocketed. And my identity shifted, from “gym-goer” to mover.
Maybe you’ve been there too: doing “all the things” and wondering why it’s not working.
Let me ask you this:
What’s the one part of your health you’ve been ignoring because it’s not in the spotlight?
And now… today’s issue.
Let’s go.
"The part can never be well unless the whole is well."
Think movement, not “workout.”
Here’s something that surprised me when Markus showed me his way of training:
You don’t need a gym to be strong, mobile, and pain-free.
In fact, most of our best clients either ditched their gym memberships or were glad they didn’t have to sign up to one when they realized they could get fit without a gym.
And even better save time, money, and stress in the process.
Take our client Mia. Startup founder. One boy. Zero “extra” hours in her day. She kept saying, “If I could just get back to the gym…”
But instead of adding another impossible to-do, we created a micro-movement plan she could do anywhere:
- 5 minutes of squats and push-ups on the terrace before coffee.
- Resistance band rows while waiting for pasta to boil.
- Stretching on the living room floor during her kids’ homework time.
No driving to the gym. No waiting for machines. Just movement woven into her life.
Within 8 weeks, her shoulders looked sculpted, her back pain vanished, and on a call she said something like, “I feel like I’ve stolen hours back from my week.”
The trick?
Think movement, not “workout.” Your body doesn’t care if it’s a boutique fitness class or your living room. It just wants to be used.
Now ask yourself:
Where could you sneak in 10 minutes of movement today without changing your schedule?
And now I show you…
Eat Well
Mediterranean Nutrition Made Simple
When people ask me how to be holistically fit, I tell them this:
If you want energy that lasts all day, start with your plate.
The Mindful Mediterranean Plate is my secret weapon.
Here’s how I build it:
- 50% Vegetables – seasonal, colorful, and cooked simply (think olive oil, lemon, herbs).
- 25% Lean Protein – fish, eggs, chicken, tofu, etc.
- 25% Quality Carbs – whole grains, potatoes, beans, legumes.
- + Healthy Fat – extra virgin olive oil, avocado, or a handful of nuts or seeds.
And then… we slow down.
No wolfing down lunch while scrolling emails. No distracted snacking. We actually taste our food.
When we got to food, Mia, confessed she was eating “healthy” but constantly bloated and tired.
What we did?
We kept her favorite foods, swapt a couple of things, and taught her to eat them with presence.
In other words, chewing fully, noticing flavors, and stopping when comfortably full (roughly 80%). Eight weeks later, she texted:
Food is nothing complicated. It’s the partner you want for your energy, your mood, and your body’s ability to repair.
Now you:
What’s one meal this week you could eat with full attention (no phone, no laptop, no rushing)?
That’s not all yet…
Umbrella Breathing for Stress & Presence
You can’t be holistically fit if your body is wired with stress 24/7.
Last month, we worked with a 42-year-old founder who was living a full life. Stressed. All. The. Time.
Every email felt urgent. Every pause felt like he’s falling behind. His cortisol levels were sky-high, and his sleep was wrecked. And that felt so… relatable. Because I’ve experienced this myself… I can’t even tell you how often.
So I knew exactly where to start.
We started with something so simple he laughed:
Three rounds of Umbrella Breathing twice a day.
Here’s how:
- Inhale through your nose for 4 counts.
- Expand your rip cage in all directions (like opening an umbrella)
- Exhale through your nose for 8 counts.
- Do that for 3 minutes.
We paired it with a daily “body scan” where he noticed sensations in his feet, legs, belly, chest, shoulders, arms, and jaw. The moment he anchored in his body, he left his spinning mind.
The double benefit?
Calming the body lowers cortisol, and when cortisol drops, fat loss and muscle recovery get easier.
And if you want to try out our EmBodIQ Reset Ritual, you can do that too. 3 fresh follow-along videos with simple somatic practices to release stress. Uploaded every week for less than 1 €/day. Self-paced. 20 minutes. Value packed.
→ Join here
When was the last time you truly felt your breath?
Theory is nice, but action is better…
This Week’s Tiny Experiments
A.C.T.I.V.E.™ = Awareness. Curiosity. Tiny Test. Integration. Variation. Evolution.
This is where we turn theory into action.
Your experiment this week is to use the A.C.T.I.V.E.™ Loop in three key areas:
movement, eating, and calm.
Awareness
→ Notice your current habits. Where do you sit most of the day? How do you eat? How does stress feel in your body?
Curiosity
→ Ask, “What tiny shift would make this better?”
Tiny Experiments
→ Try one of these:
- 10 air squats every time you make coffee.
- Build one Mediterranean-style plate today.
- Do 3 rounds of Umbrella breathing before bed.
Integration
→ Keep the ones that feel good.
Variation
→ Adapt them. Squats become lunges, a salad becomes roasted veggies, breathing becomes gentle yoga.
Evolution
→ Keep tweaking until it’s just “how you live.”
You don’t need a total life overhaul. Just one small experiment at a time. That’s the magic of holistic fitness – it grows with you.
Which one of these experiments will you try this week? Tell me.
Btw. I’m doing a push-up challenge currently. Wanna try it out?
That’s it for today.
Hope you enjoyed it (and learned something new).
As always, stay fit, stay active, and enjoy your life.
Ketty & Markus