Day ELEVEN: Live in the Movement

Reading through the numerous benefits of exercise yesterday, I'm sure many were familiar and somewhat obvious. Highlighting the importance of this healthy habit: MOVEMENT.

Stress, hard work, and lots of thinking/feeling create tensions in the body, which can lead to chronic aches, tightness, inflammation, and constipation (to name a few). We may try to alleviate these symptoms with food/sugar, alcohol, TV, social media which only serves to anesthetize and distract the body, mind, and soul.

Movement is an ideal way of releasing a build-up of physical, emotional, and mental tension (energy). Creating a regular ‘exercise’ program to suit your particular body type, interests and lifestyle will have innumerable rewards.
The key is to find the types of movement you enjoy most, and then build them into your life and schedule, i.e cultivating the healthy habit.

First: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
• Movement is a lot like food. Once you understand how different types of movement nourish your body in different ways, you can put together a menu of activities to keep you in balance.

• Feeling tired and unfocused? Try a higher intensity exercise to increase vigor and power like HIIT, swimming, or running/fast walking.

• Feeling tight and tense? Implement a gentler exercise to foster lightness and flexibility like Yoga, Tai chi, or Qi Gong.

Second: Be CURIOUS and OPEN and CREATIVE.
Develop a routine to nourish yourself with on a daily basis. What will get you moving? Explore new ways of moving, new ways of connecting to find that center and strength from within.

Finally: MOVEMENT AS MEDICINE.
Shifting our perspective from feeling like we should or must exercise to understanding the many wonderful physical, mental and emotional benefits movement yields can have a big impact on maintaining and sustaining this healthy habit.