Five steps to achieving mental wellness, from a former Olympian

As the games begin, some of us may be wondering how we can channel our inner Olympian to strive toward our own goals. CBC News talked to basketball superstar and three-time Olympian Miranda Ayim, who is now a wellness and performance coach.

The Londoner shared her top five tips to mental fitness. Or as she likes to say, some tips to achieving our goals with more purpose and peace: 

"I'm not talking about high-intensity interval training or going to run 20 miles. I don't do that either. It can be a walk, or a dance session in your living room. Just moving in a way that feels good has positive impacts physically — releasing those feel good hormones like serotonin and dopamine that directly impacts our mood, our sleep, our happiness — but also mentally. 

"In this day and age, we have so many inputs ... constantly listening to news, and (using) social media and there is so much information, so there's a lot of chaos in our mind that makes us more irritable and more distracted, depressed and anxious.  We're able to turn that noise down with some sort of mindfulness or meditative practice, whether that's prayer meditating or just sitting and drinking your coffee."

"Seeing green or just looking at nature reduces our levels of anxiety and depression. It makes us feel more grounded, more connected and more energized. So if you want a quick hit of energy, just take a five minute walk out outside."

"This has been really useful in my life. Take a systemic approach to who you want to be. We hope that we are a good person or we hope we are able to perform well, but we don't think of the work-back plan of being (that) person. Take a look at what you're doing on a daily basis, do your habits reflect who you want to be?" 

"A lot of times our devices or social media drain our energy How can we (use technology) in such a way that it actually reflects the life that we want to lead? So that we have control."

WATCH | Miranda Ayim, flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics, knows what it takes to perform