I encourage ALL of my clients to engage in some sort of movement--not only for their physical well-being, but their emotional well-being. Data gathered around exercise and well-being reports that 78% of people cited their well-being as their main motivator for exercise. That is a huge insight into how movement impacts your mood, attitudes, and ability to endure and manage stress.
Physically changing your view, or the space you occupy, creates internal shift. Moving is important to your wellbeing, especially outside of your dedicated exercise routine.
A dedicated exercise routine should get you to a goal. Whether that is to be more athletic, explosive, muscular, or conditioned--your program should serve a purpose. There should be phases, progressive overload, and skill-acquirement.
Movement refers to all physical activity other than what the body does it keep itself alive at rest. That includes everything from doing the laundry to playing soccer with your kids and walking around the grocery store. Not all movement is exercise, but all exercise is movement.
Movement benefits wellbeing outside of its obvious fitness effects.
Wellbeing is the subjective positive experience of our lives, and movement has been shown to have many wellbeing benefits.
Movement has been shown to shift the effects of hormones associated with positive emotions, like serotonin and dopamine, this results in increased experiences of pleasure, accomplishment, meaning, sense of self, and other aspects of wellbeing far outside the movement itself.
Often I find that my clients struggle more with including movement in their day as part of their overall well-being strategy. If you're finding it difficult to create space for movement, start small. When you notice you're having uncomfortable feelings like stress, sadness, anxiety, or worry--just move. I recognize you may encounter these feelings while you're at your busy and stressful job, or at the store with your unhelpful kiddo-- But, just move. Even if you can't leave the situation, move your feet, shake out your arms, roll your neck. This will bring your awareness back to your body and shift those feelings--even for a moment.
Another approach is using reflection. Ask yourself these questions:
• What movements and activities do I already enjoy?
• What activities could I do with friends or family?
• What activities could you I see myself doing to meet new people?
• What feels accessible to me right now (even if it doesn’t necessarily feel good)?
• When has movement felt good? Is there anything similar I'd like to try?
These are some questions you can reflect on to evaluate if some of your other needs could also be met by introducing movement into your life. Possible new social connections, hobbies, and friends--and if you're motivated by the social's aspects of health, this is a great way to set yourself up for success, as well as meet your physical and emotional needs.
All of my clients are engaged in a dedicated exercise program, as well as daily movement. I encourage you to find ways to include movement as part of how you navigate stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. I think these will be themes in 2023, and the best you can do is know yourself well--and MOVE from there :)
Tell me your thoughts! How do you use movement to create awareness and space? And of course, what's your favorite exercise :)
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