This month’s wellness topic is Movement. Physical activity, or Vitamin “M” is essential to our overall wellbeing. While critical, movement is more than just your daily workout. In fact, the smaller movements throughout the day are just as important to your wellness and longevity.
Here are 5 ways movement is beneficial followed by ways to add more movement into your day.
1. Movement is biological
As humans, we are designed to move. Movement is as necessary as sleep or food. Vitamin “M” can starve off illness and is a vital source of empowerment and energy. It is linked with better sleep, gut health and outcomes for a host of diseases.
2. Movement is more than just your daily exercise routine.
While important, it’s not the only component. You may have heard that sitting is the new smoking. You see it’s the sitting itself – not necessarily the lack of exercise the adds to the specific undesirable effect on energy and health parameters.
When we sit for too long the body’s ability to both utilize (burn) and create or experience energy is compromised. Think about it — if you sit for hours straight, do you get up full of energy? Of do you feel tired, sluggish or maybe even stiff or sore?
3. Daily movement is a factor in longevity
The Blue Zones are locations around the globe where its citizens routinely live to be 100. These were first identified by Dan Buettner of National Geographic. He identified 9 traits that these Blue Zone locations – Barbagia region of Sardinia; Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California; Okinawa, Japan – all had in common. One of those traits is natural movement.
These individuals don’t go to the gym, run marathons or pump iron. Instead, they move daily without having to even thing about it. This could be walking into town, gardening, and house and yard work since they don’t have the mechanical conveniences that we have.
4. Improve mental health
Physical activity can improve our moods. It influences our body image and self-esteem. It also reduces, stress, anxiety and depression. Movement also enhances the creation of new neural connections, which fuels mental agility, decision-making, learning and other skills for a healthy brain performance.
5. Elevate your performance on the job
Physical activity helps elevate creativity, engagement and productivity. “Designed to Move” report links physical activity with gender equality, the ability to bridge differences, trust, teamwork, job success, higher morale, among other pathways vital to organizational wellbeing and success.
How to incorporate more movement into your day:
- Incorporate stretch breaks throughout the day – Taking small breaks every 30-40 minutes to stretch can help increase your energy. You can even take some breaks to do some larger movements for a few minutes such as squats, pushups, etc.
- Stand up – there’s a reason that standing desk have become more popular. Try taking a call or meeting standing up. Standing up just a few minutes more each day tones muscles, improves posture, increases blood flow and burns calories.
- Walking meetings – hold a brainstorming session or information discussion while walking. Teams that walk together – undistracted by cell phones – often experience greater concentration, problem-solving, and productivity, as well as camaraderie. Some coaches also offer walking sessions, including a service at Miraval.
Mind, Body & Soul
On a deeper level, you can also think of movement as any action that channels your intention. In the bigger picture beyond just physical activity, there is a connection between your action and the intention behind it. The action may be a response to something that has cropped up. Or perhaps something someone said. That response may be reactive, or proactive. The moves you make are driven by your intention. Are they a reaction to stress or current events or are they a thoughtful approach to a challenge.
Whether it’s our own motivations or intentions or physical activity, movement is fundamental to our wellbeing. Movement is biological and provides benefits to our immune system and helps us fight diseases. It also is a boost to our mental wellbeing, boosting mood and reducing stress, anxiety and depression. Movement throughout the day also helps us feel more energized, engaged and effective and alive.
Movement is just one piece of feeling fully energized and your best. To learn how to go from exhausted to energized, register for the Exhaustion Fix, learn more here.
Note: Global Wellness: I am an ambassador of the Global Wellness Institute and a proud supporter of their Wellness Moonshot Initiative. The initiative is a global commitment to eradicate preventable, chronic disease. Each month explores a different wellness topic with information and resources to create wellness. This post is inspired by their October Wellness Moonshot.
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