Turn exercise into a game

My favorite bandages are the designer tattoo ones that have a variety of pictures and cartoon characters on them. They serve more than one purpose: first, to cover a sore, and second, they are fun. Designer bandages are mini healing idioms.

An idiom is a saying that has two meanings. Three familiar idioms are "killing two birds with one stone," "kick the bucket" and "letting the cat out of the bag." William Shakespeare added hundreds of idioms used in everyday conversation, coloring and making our language more alive and fun to use. One of Shakespeare's idioms is, "wearing one's heart on their sleeve," meaning to display one's feelings openly rather than keeping them private.

Exercising can be like "killing two birds with one stone," which means to accomplish two objectives at the same time. I remember my Grandma Betty telling me the story about when she was a little girl walking several miles to school every day. She creatively turned what she had to do into a game. She would walk the distance from one electric pole to the next, and then run from that pole to the next one, alternating walking and running from pole to pole. She turned it into a game, which then turned into a lifetime healthy habit of going for walks.

A few of my exercise idioms are photography and hiking, gathering plants and hiking, fishing and hiking, Tai Chi and hiking, and biking and exploring. Geocaching is another exercise idiom; hunting for treasures inevitably sneaks exercise in the adventure. Do you have exercise idioms? Turn exercise into a game, adventure or exploration. Have fun and play!

Band-aid Talk tips

• This one's good for your mental health. Discuss or Google "idioms," find out their origins and meaning, and then use them.

• For health, when going up or down stairs, go back up or down - and then up or down again - just because.

• Emotional health: Watch a funny movie and laugh, releasing healthy chemicals in your body.

Wendy DeGraffenried is a registered nurse, tai chi instructor, creative designer of Alaska Transplant Clothing Co. and school nurse at Wasilla Middle School.