This month’s health and wellness focus:
Movement Not Just Exercise
Anytime is great time to get moving!
What Is Movement?
First, let’s talk about what movement is. Movement science, a relatively new field provides three levels of movement and it’s helpful to think about these concentric circles.
The smallest circle is where exercise lives. When we talk about exercise, we’re talking about working out, weight lifting, biking, and yoga. These activities tend to be somewhat structured with planning, repetition, duration, and focus as part of the structure.
The next largest circle is physical activity. This encompasses exercise but may also include less focus and less intent. Examples of this include taking a walk to connect with nature, biking to work as part of an environmental statement, doing a stair climb challenge to bring awareness to a particular cause, or dancing.
The last and largest circle is movement which encompasses exercise and physical activity. Movement is simply changing the position of the body. Examples of this include standing during your workday and stretching.
Why Is This Important?
It’s important to discuss this so we can change our view of how we can help ourselves to be well. Movement, not just exercise are important to our health.
We have experienced a shift from physically intensive workdays to desk jobs which are more sedentary. With this shift, there has been an increase in diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, not to mention some of the complications that come with these diseases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed a sedentary lifestyle as both a major risk factor for chronic disease and the 4th leading cause of death. The American Institute for Cancer Research has collected evidence that movement translates to lower cancer risk.
What Can I Do?
Pick things that you enjoy so you’re more likely to stick with them.
Try something you’ve never tried before.
Change your mind set about movement. Some movement is better than no movement. Start with a small change and work your way up because some progress is still progress. Also, consider your ideas about what constitutes movement and think outside of the box e.g. squat to pick things up off the floor instead of bending over.
Movement can be a way to connect and love your body, to engage in self-care and self-love.
Change your choices to get more movement. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator or add a stretching routine with your coffee/tea break.
Use technology to schedule and track your activity and to remind you to get moving. Maybe even sign up for a movement challenge.
Resources/References: ACE Fitness, American Institute For Cancer Research, Rachel Hartley Nutrition, The Real Life RD, The CDC