As we take some enforced time away from our normal routines, take time to remember, reflect and reset.

I am a regular listener to Desert Island Discs on Radio 4. I love to treat myself to a really good cup of coffee and 30 minutes sitting down listening to someone else’s life story, I guess it is one of my guilty pleasures.

The concept is very simple, the presenter Kirsty Young prepares to cast away the interviewee with only a few creature comforts. You are given the King James Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare and one book of your choice along with a luxury item and your number one choice from a selection of 8 pieces of music that capture your life. Then that is you on a desert island for all eternity! But do we really need anything more? There is much to be said for a simple life, we are surrounded by ‘things’ that we think we need but we could probably all get by with less than we do.

However, it isn’t just about simplicity it is about reflection and looking at what has really made a difference to you in your life. We live at such a pace in the modern world it is often hard to find time to reflect and think about what we are proud of, happy with or unhappy with. Until we know the answers to this we cannot live a full and happy life.

I have always been an avid reader so my choice of book has to be something large and varied; my choice would be the complete works of Dickens. Here I can read new books I haven’t found time for yet and rediscover old favourites such as the heroic Nicholas Nickleby.

Music becomes more difficult to select as it has played such a large part in my life and certain songs carry memories or can change my mood all of a sudden. Then of course my choices change very often when I listen to the program and hear other peoples’!
So here goes with my current selection:

Book – Complete works of Charles Dickens
Luxury item – coffee machine

My 8 discs
Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
I Want You – Bon Jovi
Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana – Mascagni
Fly me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra
Mazurka from Copellia – Delibes
Jump –Van Halen
Xanadu – Olivia Newton John
Can’t’ Help Falling in Love – Elvis Presley (the one I would cling to most).

It is a thoughtful and satisfying thing to do and focuses you on what you like about your life. Why not give a go and decide on your own Desert Island choices?

Or look on line and see what your heroes have picked, there are certainly some surprises and a real insight into the meaning of a life.

As we are all now spending more time in our living rooms it is a good time to remember the mantra ‘the chair can kill so don’t sit still.’

There was a really interesting episode of Horizon on the BBC exposing ‘The Truth About Exercise’. It raised some excellent and thought provoking points, not least that a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to exercise is not the way forward, we need less generic fitness manuals. As we all respond to and like different things so it will be with our chosen form of exercise.

However, for me the most striking point was raised by Dr. James Levine (Mayo Clinic) who claimed with a touch of hyperbole that “the chair is a killer”. He is advocating a ‘get moving stay active’ approach to health.

In the episode presenter Michael Mosley tested the theory for 24 hours. He admitted to a sedentary job and similar lifestyle so for the 24 hours he moved about as much as possible, standing when talking on the telephone, taking stairs instead of lifts, walking whenever possible.

Just everyday activities we can all take advantage of if we put our minds (and bodies) to it. In the one day he burned an extra 500 calories – no sweat, no cost, no extra time, very little effort but a great result.

By simply moving more in our daily lives we could see real health benefits, more so if we are currently stuck in a sedentary way of life.

I accept that this is a limited form of exercise but it is an excellent starting point for anyone new to exercise and a way to increase for those of us already convinced of the benefits of staying fit and active.

So my challenge to us all echoes Dr. Levine – my new mantra is ‘the chair can kill so don’t sit still’. I invite you to join me.

*If you have any medical condition or are unused to physical exercise it is advisable to consult your physician before beginning any exercise programme.