Monday October 21st 6.30 - 7pm
To celebrate ‘Move More Month’, this April we are sharing ways you can keep your body and spine moving well.
One of the barriers when it comes to intentional movement, is that it is going to take up lots of time and cause us stress due to an already busy schedule.
So this week, I wanted to share some simple things you could do, to help you move more, without consuming lots of time.
Here are my top 5 tips to keep moving!
1. Choose the stairs.
If you are physically able to, choose the stairs over the escalator or lift. The latter two are of course more convenient, but unfortunately they are of no benefit to our body. Taking the stairs may take a few seconds or minutes longer, but it will help to increase your heart rate and get your body moving. (I love to do this when I stay away in a hotel, regardless of what floor I’m on. It certainly gets the heart pumping and makes the rest at the top satisfying!)
2. Park further away.
If you are heading to the supermarket, your favourite shop, or even visiting us at Epoch, how about parking on the other side of the car park? This will again encourage you to move for, and if visiting us for an adjustment, will help prime your body in preparation!
3. Can I get there another way?
Life has become so convenient. Most of us have cars or access to public transport, even scooters which once required a lot of energy to move are now battery powered. This all contributes to us moving less. I am guilty of it too, I have often chosen to drive somewhere when I could have walked there quite easily, even when time wasn’t a factor. Asking yourself ‘can I get there another way’ will encourage you to look at other options. Can you walk the kids to school instead of driving? Or cycle to the shop? By the time you have battled the traffic and found a parking space, you may have been able to get there on your own two legs in a similar time frame.
4. Can you stand?
If you are travelling on public transport, waiting in a que, or working from home, is there an opportunity to stand instead of sitting? If there is a seat available, it is ‘normal’ to take it, but how about standing instead, or alternating between the two? If you caught last weeks blog on desk work, being sedentary and sitting really is the worst thing for our spine health (you can read it here if you missed it), so try and create as many opportunities to stand up and keep moving.
5. Be playful.
If you have an opportunity to play and have fun, take it. If you are taking care of your children, grand kids or even walking your dog, instead of going through the motions of sitting back and watching, or going for a gentle stroll around the block with your dog, how about getting fully involved? Whether it is running around the garden, having a go on the slide in the park or chasing after the ball with your dog, get your heart rate up, move your body and have fun in the process! Same time, just different way of using it.
There are endless things we can do to maximise our time and help our body out along the way, and I hope that the tips I have shared this week are helpful, or create some food for thought on how you can incorporate more movement into your life. Adding more movement to our day doesn’t necessarily have to take more time, it just takes more intention.
If you have any gems to share on how you keep your body moving without it taking more time, please share in the comments, I’d love to hear!
With love,
Sarah
