“We are designed to move” and it is true. But what is also true and more important when we are talking about movement is that we are designed to “adapt to the movement that we do”. The understanding of this concept is key when we consider our overall health and wellbeing.
I’ll give you an example…
You decide to run a marathon, you start training, maybe change your diet, make some adjustments to lifestyle, but the key to the marathon is the movement, the training. Your physical body starts to change, you become a marathon runner shape. Your body, the muscles, the bones all adapt to your new lifestyle as a marathon runner, because we are designed to adapt to circumstances, lifestyle and the movement patterns and loads we put on our body.
We are “not out of shape” we are in exactly the right shape for the lifestyle we lead because that’s the way we are designed.
It makes sense the that if you want to “shape up” you have to shape up your lifestyle.
Our natural tendency to do as little as possible, to look for the easy way has debilitated us. Modern advancements to make our lives less physically taxing have taxed us physically. Our unquenchable desire to be as comfortable as possible has debilitated us. Ironic as there’s nothing comfortable about being debilitated. .
Most importantly you have to start moving…
- Take the stairs, walk to the shops/work, use your car less.
- Take more standing breaks from sitting at a desk.
- Enjoy housework, cooking, hoovering.
- Wash your car,
- Dig the garden.
- Walk the dog ,the kids to school.
- Have you noticed less pedestrians where you live? And more traffic!!
All of these tasks use a wider range of movement that repetitive gym exercises. More effort, less inconvenience ?! Yes but more long lasting mobility.
Make time! Create new habits, a lifestyle with more movement means better sleeping, digestion, emotions, balance and brain cognitive function.
Lets not get confused between exercise and movement.
Exercise is generally something that we “DO” as a counterbalance to our sedentary lifestyle.
- Drive to the gym, doing a repetitive workout,
- Sitting on a couch for 4 hours of screen time in the evening.
- Deliveroo, Ubereats. Not cooking, since when is that a thing!!
- Horizontal in bed for 8 hours.
- A lifestyle with 1-2 hours of moving in a 14 hour day of being awake…its not a lot is it?
So, what’s New?
It’s the way we used to live. When food was grown and sold more locally, cars were a scarcity. Dishwashers, washing machines, carwash, and take away-deliveroo wasn’t a thing.
80% of adults in the US use prescription medication for what could be avoided by lifestyle changes. Aches and pains, bad digestion, skin breakouts, allergies, gout, insomnia, health issues that you worry about having in the future. Obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease is on the rise along with daily use of prescription hormone, anxiety and depression medication, over the counter drugs.
Now think again about inconvenience!!
Practising yoga is a lifestyle, a balance of the inner and outer worlds, harmony. Yoga is a practice designed to create awareness with our body physically, turning up the volume on how we live our relationships and interaction with our environment . Consider how you FEEL daily, perhaps on paper you are healthy, meaning you are free from disease but how you Feel is the earliest indicator of your good health.
Make a list this week. Keep a daily diary of your change in patterns and how it made you feel.
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- The things that made you move. Pay attention to your movement, look for opportunities to do more i.e., the stairs.
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- The food that you cooked. Where you bought the food and how much time and movement required to make it.
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- How did you sleep, how many hours and was it restful?
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- What is your daily mood.
FURTHER READING AND LISTENING
Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman on Apple Podcasts
