Movement practices our bodies enjoy.
The last three blog posts have been building a theme of a holistic integration of wellness from the foundation upwards.
The first was about breathing and getting more oxygen. The second was about drinking water and hydration. The third was about colon cleansing and clearing out our detoxification system.
This post focuses on movement, activating our physiological matrix, why it’s important, and how to do it.
From our perspective, the order of importance looks like this:
- Breath, we’re breathing deeply and feeling energized!
- Water, we’re hydrating our cells and feeling juicy!
- Detoxifying, we’ve cleaned out our colon and feeling lighter!
- Movement, we’re moving our bodies and getting stronger!
Nutrition is an important part of a holistically integrated lifestyle, and we’ll focus on that subject in the next blog, but these first five subjects are the building blocks that underlie nutrition, because they create the canvas that food paints onto our bodies.
In today’s typical world, most of us probably sit more than we stand or walk. It’s a sedentary society. And on top of that, we have constant access to an eternal abundance of food, most of which is artificially synthesized. These situations can be harmful to our health, but it’s easy to find balance, and it can be fun too!
One of the first steps to finding physiological balance is to want it, and then notice when we’re out of alignment. The second step is simply to do something about it.
Here’s an example of one of the easiest thing to do.
You’re sitting at a desk working for hours. Focus starts to wane and energy tapers off. Notice when that happens and then detach from the task. Press pause on the project for even just five minutes. Stand up where you’re at or go outside nearby. This is the time to move your body in basic ways. Bounce on your heels a bit. Shake your hips. Swing your arms in circles. Roll your head around. Do a backbend and then a forward fold. Grab a few squats.
While you’re doing these things, pay attention to your breath. Take a few deep breaths. After five or ten minutes of this, you’ll probably feel charged up again. The blood is pumping, the brain is activated, and the body relaxed again after sitting in one place.
Little breaks like this once an hour can make a big difference in productivity and quality of work. It’s our experience that tension gets released, mood improves, and so much more.
It’s been said that our issues are in our tissues. We believe this to be true. It’s a psycho/somatic kind of situation where our thoughts and feelings can get stored in our bodies if we don’t find ways to release these energies through some sort of movement practice.
We are what we eat, yes. And we’re also what we think and feel. Thought patterns translate into our body matrix. Feelings create molecular cascades through our bodies. Incorporating even just short and simple movement routines into our days has a powerful effect on the symmetry of our bodies.
As mentioned in the last blog about colon cleansing, the way we typically sit has an effect on our digestion of the food we eat. Proper absorption and elimination are greatly effected by movement, or the lack of it. Moving regularly increases the intake of nutrients.
Most of us sit a lot. At the breakfast table, driving to work. While we work. Driving home. At the dinner table. On the couch. And all this sitting is done in a position that’s not exactly ideal for our bones, and bowels.
If we can make the time to grab a few squats throughout the day, it’s going to help our posture, joints, and bowels. Not to mention strengthen our muscles. Squatting is one of the most natural movements for humans and is just one of the best things ever.
One of the other intrinsic movements for humans is hanging and swinging. Imagine how monkeys move through trees. They hang and swing with their arms. Our body design is similar to theirs. The socket joints in our shoulders are geared for this type of movement. But we don’t see many of us doing this these days.
Besides squatting, hanging can have a most positive effect on our physiology. Because we’re usually sitting or standing, gravity compresses our spines. Hanging counter balances this and creates an opening in our spines through traction. Find a place to hang for even just a few seconds and you’ll likely feel a nice little crack back there.
You can find really good bars to install in door frames and put one in your home and/or office. This is a convenient and safe way to hang anytime. So your desk is here and your hang bar is right there. Take a break, give a little shake, grab a squat, and hang for a few seconds too.
We find that doing this is so much fun. You can even find a small tree when you’re walking in a park, hold on to a low branch, and get your hang on anywhere. If you’re feeling in a playful mood, bonus points for practicing your cartwheels!
Humans are born to move. We can use our bodies in all kind of ways that are effective, and fun. We knew that as children. Let’s remember to embody a bit of that playfulness in our adult years. Or else it could be as they say, “use it or lose it”.
So this blog is just a simple reminder to move more and make it playful. Yes it’s true that more strenuous exercises are an excellent addition to a holistically integrated lifestyle. But here we just want to reinforce the basics. And here’s a short summary in general …
We eat a lot, we sit (or stand in one place) a lot. Some people experience low energy, tension and stress, and some bowel issues. Incorporating simple movement practices into our daily routines can have a positive effect on all these things. Examples of movements are bouncing in place, swinging, shaking, bending, squatting, hanging, walking, and cartwheels!
The point is to be playful and enjoy the body you have in this life. It’s a precious thing and we honor your path in this world. It’s a pleasure to share these perspectives with you and we wish you a blessed journey.
Reach out if you have any questions or if you’d like to share your experiences with us. As always, we’re here for you, and wish you and your loved ones all the best as well!
Contributed by David Whipple
David Whipple is a health strategist and digital nomad. He’s been experiencing lifestyle improvements for 20 years and loves to share his learning process. He also offers creative services on his website.