451 Dr. Andrea Perez ~ How to Balance Adventure and Recovery

Transcript

Holly:  Hello adventurers and welcome to the Into the Woods podcast, episode 451. This is your host Holly Worton, and I am back with another exciting guest. Today I am talking with Dr Andrea Perez about rest and recovery and how to balance that with adventure.

So I am super excited to introduce this week’s guest, Dr Andrea Perez. She is a family physician with a holistic approach and we had a fantastic chat about rest and sleep and recovery. Dr Andrea has some super practical tips into how to incorporate stillness and mindfulness into a busy life.

Now I know that I tend to focus a lot more on being active and moving my body and not so much on rest and recovery but that’s not sustainable and that’s why I loved Dr Andrea’s advice on how to let your next goals come from your body and not your head.

Who is Dr Andrea?

She is a board-certified family physician with 20 years of experience. Her desire to serve diverse families with equitable and high-quality healthcare led her to open Health Development & Restorative Medicine, PC in the Bronx, NY. where she and her staff passionately attend to the community’s physical, emotional, and mental health needs.

In response to a calling, Dr. Andrea also serves her clients, across the country on her virtual online platform The Spiritual Physician. The Spiritual Physician platform provides a space where clients can truly deep dive into their health and bring to light the origins of their “dis-ease”

Dr. Andrea is a sought-after bi-lingual speaker and influencer where she discusses her views on medicine, health, and the interconnectedness of spirituality and healing. She is an athlete, a salsera, and a lover of truth & knowledge. She resides in NYC with her family and doggie.

So what are you going to learn about in this episode? We talk about how to tell if you need more rest and sleep. We discuss sleep quantity versus sleep quality, how you can get better sleep and better quality sleep. We talk about the different ways we can recover from our adventures. How to find a balance between being active and recovering from our adventures. Why hearing, listening, and trusting your inner knowingness is the key to transformational health and how to get in touch with your inner knowingness. So I hope you find this episode interesting and useful, there is some super practical advice in here that I think you will love. So here is the episode.

HOLLY: Hello, how are you doing today?

DR ANDREA: Morning, I am doing fabulous, so happy to be here.

HOLLY: I am so excited to talk to you. So can you start out by telling us little bit about who you are and what you do?

DR ANDREA: Well, that’s always such an interesting question.

HOLLY: I know you can go anywhere with that!

DR ANDREA: I know, right?! Well my name is Dr Andrea Perez and I am a family medicine physician who works with patients from ages 5 and my oldest patient is 8[?] at this point and I really try to create this idea of health and healing for my patients throughout their lifespan. And one of the things that I have come to understand is that spirituality and energy really have a big impact on our health and I say come to understand, because I think I have always known that and have always tried to put myself in a silo, it is either medicine or it is spirituality, it is energy. I don’t want to be seen one or the other and the merging of those two are so important, so necessary for healing that I have created this platform, The Spiritual Physician, where I am really looking to integrate spirituality into the exam room and embolden physicians to bring spirituality into the exam room and, at the same time, encouraging and empowering patients to hear, listen and trust their own inner knowingness. So they can, and I say they, because we are all patients at one point in time, can really bring true health and healing through our lives. That’s what we are meant to have.

HOLLY: Yes, I really like that holistic approach and I think that is something that I personally haven’t seen a lot in English speaking countries. I lived in Latin America for about a third of my life, in various countries and I found that the medical doctors there were so much more open to alternative therapies and would combine them in their practice, which is something I haven’t seen in other parts of the world. 

DR ANDREA: Unfortunately I agree with you because I think here, especially in the States, there was a time, and it wasn’t really that long ago – we are talking about 100 years ago, which in the scheme of life is really not an eternity – where healers were physicians and physicians were healers, you know there was this intertwining: alternative medicine, spirituality, energy medicine, herbal medicine, all went hand-in-hand with the science of medicine. And it is really only recently, in modern times, that there has been this dichotomy, this clear split. And I think physicians are free, especially here in the States, to practice in a more holistic manner.

HOLLY:  I agree. So on this show we talk a lot about outdoor adventures and different ways to move our body. So what are your favourite adventures, I know you have done a marathon and a triathlon, how do you like to move?

DR ANDREA: Oh wow, we were talking a little bit before and I have come to the understanding that my body gets to move in different ways. There are times when, you mention I have done marathons – I do a lot of running, sometimes I need that more aerobic, pounding, get-aggressive type of exercise. And oftentimes I often get to just walk which is one of the best exercises that we can do and yoga, I love yoga. I think athletes tend to feel that if your heart rate is not at 150 and over that you are not exercising, that you are not getting the burn. But no, there are so many ways we can attain a different form of exercise, yoga is actually one of my favourite exercises also, because it really works not just the muscles but the tendons and ligaments and the flexibility that we really need as we move through life, that functional type of movement. Like you are in the aeroplane and you are lifting up your suitcase, you are bringing in your groceries, those are the types of movements that we do in our everyday life and weightlifting alone does not really work those types of very small muscles and tendons. So I tend to also enjoy yoga and stretching and I don’t really do too much Pilates…

HOLLY:  We all have our favourite activities! One thing that I don’t talk about as much as I would like to is rest and sleep and recovery. So can you talk to us about the importance of rest and sleep on our recovery in general.

DR ANDREA: Just from a recent research standpoint there have been many articles that have been done on professional athletes as far as when we are able to rest and recover, how our ability to output more energy is accomplished. Our muscles, our bodies, will grow at rest, it is not the actual movement that creates the growth, it is the actual pause or the rest in between that creates our biggest momentum for our bodies. I guess the growth of our bodies. So rest and relaxation and sleep is really the cornerstone of fitness and I guess sometimes we forget about that, we think: I have got to get the run in, I have got to get that hike in, I have got to do that… And not realising that when we take a moment to really tune into our bodies and give our bodies what it needs and give our bodies rest and recovery or that next run or that next hike becomes so much tougher because we have not really tuned in to hear what our body needs and honoured that.  

HOLLY:  Yeah yeah. I remember really struggling with my energy levels a few years ago and asking my kickboxing trainer, how I can recover better, what do I need to know. And he said, you know the cheapest for of recovery is sleep. And I thought that’s easy.

DR ANDREA: And, sometimes not so easy!

HOLLY: How can we tell if we need more rest and sleep, what are the signs?

DR ANDREA: Well the first sign is one of the things you mentioned, the fact that you feel that you are not improving, you feel like you are exhausted all the time. You are feeling that you woke up and half an hour later you could easily really go back to bed, that really is a sign that you are doing too much and I know that especially in our world, what do you mean doing too much, I need to do more? So I really encourage my patients, and when I say patients I also mean myself when I speak to you!, encourage myself to really sit in stillness and take the time to allow the answers to arise. So many times we say, I think I should be doing this, I think I should be doing that, and we are not really sitting with, what is the emotion that is arising in our bodies? And the only way that you could really hear that language and hear that signal is to sit still. So I really encourage everyone, if you feel you can only take 2 minutes, then take 2 minutes. Every day incorporate some type of stillness practice where you can really hear the language of your body and then you get a chance to incorporate that.

HOLLY:  So what time of the day is best to incorporate the stillness?

DR ANDREA: I would say that most experts would say at any time that you are able to do it, right! I can tell you what I do, I like to do that in the mornings. I like to get up in the morning and spend sometimes it is 2 minutes, sometimes it is half an hour and sometimes it is 30 seconds in that stillness to really sit with my body. I have noticed that as time is going on I feel a little creak here, I feel a little creak there, and it is like I thought I would go for a run today and maybe I need to do a bit more stretching. Or I thought I needed to stretch or do a yoga class, I am thinking of doing a yoga class, and then it is like, no, I feel really like I need to pound the pavement, go out there and exert a different type of energy. So I do this in the mornings and I have also found that it is extremely important to tap in throughout the day. Because, if you are like me, you may do this exercise in the morning of stillness, meditation and mindfulness, or maybe you do it at night, but by the time noon comes or the time you are driving to work it has all gone to hell, right? So a real tangible thing I do, that I do which has been extremely helpful is to put in reminders in my phone, to say: hey have you tapped in? What’s going on? So throughout the day I have alarms on my phone that remind me to come back in.

HOLLY:  And how often are those alarms?

DR ANDREA: For me, I do it, I am up around 5.30am/5.00am, so I do 9am, 1pm, 5pm, 9pm as well is the last one. No actually, 5pm, 7pm and 9pm, because 5pm is when I am trying to get out of work and usually I am not and so it is like, agh! So yes, the alarm has been really helpful, because just like anything else it is a practice and we get to practice staying in our bodies, vs staying in our minds. Many times you think, ok hey, I want to do a marathon and you think, it is time to do a marathon, I don’t know, it may be the right time for you or it may not, be we are making the decision from our mind, from our monkey mind, right? So you get into this: I have got to do it, I have got to do it, and so what I encourage clients and patients to do as we are able to sit still and let that thing arise of what your next adventure is going to be, is to let it arise from your body, because that is really the divinity, that is really the compass that gets to guide us, it is not our mind. Our mind what it does is the sacred masculine right, it gives us the structure and it is like, now that the diving feminine energy has come to the surface and said, okay, I am going to do a marathon, I have felt into it. Okay, now it has transferred to the mind, the masculine piece of putting in the structure: okay, what do I need to do now? The mind creates the structure for us to do what naturally arises in our body, if we are able to hear it.

HOLLY:  Yeah, that’s a massive shift from…we are so used to functioning in our minds, I know the value of sitting in stillness and I know the value of tuning in to my body, but how often do I do it? Maybe once a day, usually only if I am maybe not feeling well and I think: oh well it is in my calendar to go for a run or go to kickboxing or whatever, can I do it? I don’t have the regular practice of tuning in throughout the day, so I think the more you make it a habit, obviously the more it becomes a habit.

DR ANDREA: Right, they say as far as the mapping, the neurological mapping, in our brains goes if we do an activity for 21 days straight it becomes a habit, right. So this is why I mentioned that putting it into my phone to remind myself to do that has been really helpful. Maybe for you or someone else it could be stickies all over the place, you know?  Something to remind us of what our intention is and to come back to it.

HOLLY: So how does sleep play a role in our rest and recovery? And what’s more important quantity or quality?

DR ANDREA: Well heads down quality, quality is the most important piece. But I think it is very hard to get two hours of quality sleep every day and expect to function, right? So there is this balance that gets to occur. So your question was how does sleep play a role in our recovery and in our activity? And it kind of goes back to the rest, and sleep is where all our cells regenerate, the mitochondria where the neutrons and protons are, all of these things that are going on in our bodies, really get to regenerate and if we are unable to give our bodies the time to regenerate then it is just not going to occur and we are always going to be at a deficit and when we are operating at a deficit then it is only a matter of time when we hit rock bottom. And our body gives us enough clues if we are able to hear it, it gives us enough clues that we need to rest, we need more sleep. One of the great ways I was introduced to many years ago, is we really get to go to sleep at a regular time, whatever regular time that is. I think one of the difficult things is on the weekends or when your day offs are we tend to want to stay up later or sleep in, so to try to stick to a regular routine throughout the whole week is something that is helpful. Then in addition to that you get to see, what I would like to incorporate, let’s say the weekend, what time do you normally wake up without an alarm, so you can gather how many hours of sleep you need. The old adage of eight hours of sleep is not for everyone, some people operate great on five-six hours of sleep and some people need ten hours of sleep. There have been periods in my life where my natural rhythm was nine hours of sleep, I rarely got that but I noticed that it was nine hours that I needed to really rest and recover. And one of the great ways is to take a long weekend and go to bed at a regular time and see what time you get up naturally.   

HOLLY:  And I think the important thing to differentiate also is that time in bed does not necessarily equal time asleep which I didn’t really realise until I started wearing sleep tech, like a Fitbit or an Oura ring or one of those things, because I always used to think I needed nine hours of sleep but it wasn’t I needed to be in bed for nine hours so I could get eight hours of sleep, because I wasn’t sleeping efficiently.

DR ANDREA: That’s a really good point about using the tools around us to track how much actual REM sleep we are getting because that’s where we are recovering.

HOLLY:  That I have found super useful to have that data because it has helped me to realise how important sleep is and how much I need.

DR ANDREA: Absolutely and it can change right? It really can change so to not be so tied to the number, because it is really not about the number it is about how is it that you are feeling? How is it that you are experiencing life? We want to experience life full of vitality and full of energy and that is really the most important marker versus sometimes what the Fitbit is saying.

HOLLY: But I think also it has been useful to have that data and think, does how I feel coincide with the data or does it not? Because sometimes my Oura ring will say: optimal sleep and I will think mmm, I am not feeling that great this morning! So maybe I got a good night’s sleep but something else is happening. So it has really helped me to question that and actually tune into what my body is actually feeling.

DR ANDREA: It’s a tool right? But our biggest tool is our body.

HOLLY: Yeah exactly, the tech is not gospel.

DR ANDREA: Yes!

HOLLY: Aside from sleep and stillness, what are some other ways that we can recover from our adventures?

DR ANDREA: Well, you know nutrition is definitely an extremely important piece of recovery, right? What we put into our bodies really impacts how we feel and I think there is really not a one-style-fits-all, because some people need more carbs, I am not necessarily a macro-micro counter at all for myself, I watch my carbohydrates but I am not married to a keto diet, or a low carb diet, or anything along those lines and I have found that it just works better for me and also with protein, what type of protein does your body assimilate better? Whether you choose to be a vegetarian or a vegan or you are carnivorous it is really just trial and error. So it is really getting to the right mix for you. I think taking a good multi vitamin is always essential because even if you are eating 100% organic, the soil is just not what is was, right, when our grandparents or great grandparents were alive. So there is the deficiency in the soil so I think getting good multi vitamins and there are certain things that I think are very helpful for stress, things like the B12s and the Bs. I think that also the antioxidants are extremely important because as the word explains, it reduces the stress on the cellular level so things along those lines are extremely, I think, important. And I also feel that another aspect of really aiding in our fitness and our recovery is really being out in nature, right? Just going out for a walk or into the woods (laughing) just for the sake of being out in nature. Everything that is out there, from oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, ever element that is in nature is in our bodies and so when we are sitting at the side of the ocean and when we are at the top of a mountain the expansiveness that many of us experience when we are out there, it is not because of what is out there, but it is because of what is inside of us is really connecting with what is called the universe, God, spirit, whatever it maybe, that is the expansiveness that we are feeling. And when we are in tune with the world around us, it really helps us to centre and ground and gives us a sense of gratitude which cannot really trump any medicine.

HOLLY: Yeah, I agree.

DR ANDREA: So nature is there.

HOLLY: It is so helpful. So how else can we find a balance between being active and recovering from our adventures? I think finding that balance is so hard sometimes.

DR ANDREA: Yeah, you know I think that it is really about being mindful and being really present to what it is that is going on in that particular moment. So many times we get distracted, we are distracted with our phones, with our smart tablets, the car, the radio, there is so much distraction around us and with life in general and I think finding the balance is about being in the present moment as much as possible and if we are able to do that then that balance will be found. I really just feel that putting in markers throughout our days to remind us to come back to present is one of the more powerful things we can do to remind ourselves to be here in this moment.  

HOLLY: Because we are so often either worrying about the future or thinking about the past or thinking about all the stuff we have to do. It can be really challenging to focus on the present.

DR ANDREA: Absolutely, if something comes to mind when you were mentioning being in the past or the future, that is really the premise of depression and anxiety when we are living in the past so we are depressed, we are living in the future so we are anxious of something that may or may not occur. So if we are able to stay here, just right here, and handle what is occurring with us at this present moment then feeling of gratitude, that knowingness of gratitude, it really just permeates all of our lives and hence helps to ground us and to have a better experience here on this earth, because that is really what we all want right?, to have the best experience that we can have here in this body.

HOLLY: So do you believe that hearing and listening and trusting your inner knowingness is the key to transformational health. So what does that actually look like on a day-to-day basis? Is this the being present, the sitting in stillness, having alarms to remind us to do these things? Is there something else that we need to do to get in touch with that inner knowingness?

DR ANDREA: Well, what I do with my clients and with my patients, we all have the ability to do this and it can take you whatever time it takes you to get that point and if you have a team supporting you, supporting you in order to add more tools to create more awareness, the different exercises, the different tapping into our energetic bodies these are things that will support you in being more mindful, being able to take action in order to put that knowingness of what is correct for your own body. So I think I have answered your question.

HOLLY: You totally did yes! So do you have any other tips? Is there anything I haven’t asked you that people need to know? Any last suggestions that you would like to give?

DR ANDREA: Well thanks for that, I think that really the piece here is to create a practice, one of the things that is most important, one of the most impactful things in helping to create that connection with my body was being out in nature but f extended periods of time. I remember I would try to go out for a 15 minute walk or 15 minutes out there and what I have found is that when I took, and this may sound a little far off and difficult for some folk, but if you can really do this on a consistent basis I think that it really shifts how you see life, if you spend a minimum of three hours outside. Bring your snacks, be safe, bring your phone and whatever you feel you need to bring, right, your water and all of that, and just be out there because the connection that you will have journeying into nature is unequivocal to anything that I have ever really experienced.

HOLLY: Yeah absolutely.

DR ANDREA: So I would encourage large chunks of time. Maybe it is just once a quarter that can happen but that has really been a game changer for me.

HOLLY: Yeah me too. Late last year just kind of the stress from all the last two years got difficult last year and I started going on these monthly camping trips where I would kind of make a long weekend, take off Friday and Monday and I was alone just by myself. I would bring a stack of books and go for a run every day, but it was being outdoors every day for four days, and I know not everyone can do that, it was so helpful to me. I hadn’t been able to go on vacation, or do the proper holiday thing, but just having the four days completely changed my stress levels, it was really restoring.

DR ANDREA: Yeah, I can imagine how powerful that must have been and continues to be. Just balancing all those chemicals and forces you just need that. Not just because of our current position but in everyday life, because even when this thing is over which I don’t know if it will ever be over, over, but when it becomes whatever it becomes, another challenge will arise and we will need to deal with that so this is a great time to use whatever time you can afford. This is the thing we really can afford more time than we think.

HOLLY: I agree.

DR ANDREA: If we are able to really cultivate that now it is really going to serve us as we move forward in life and in our years as we move up in age, it is a real strong tool.

HOLLY: Yeah, absolutely. Well thank you so much for joining us today, you have fantastic tips and I really look forward to implementing them in my life. So where can people find you online and learn more about what you do?

DR ANDREA: I can be found at: https://www.thespiritualphysician.com/ that is the online platform that we utilise. I also am on Facebook at: https://www.thespiritualphysician.com/ and Instagram, the social media is not easy for me so we are working on that and that’s coming.

HOLLY: Good, good, good. You have fantastic advice and hopefully some of our listeners will take this on and start prioritising rest.

DR ANDREA: Thank you I really hope that they do because it is really a game changer. Thank you for this opportunity.

HOLLY: Thank you.