Movement for a healthy lifestyle.

Do you want to be fitter, more mobile and live a more active lifestyle? Be in charge of your own health and wellbeing?

Movement is one of the tenets of a healthy lifestyle. We don’t stop moving because we get older – we get older because we stop moving. Sadly, nowadays most of us don’t move enough. Certainly, nowhere near what our ancestors used to have to do just to get dinner. 

While formal exercise is important, in excess it can be damaging. The good news is that non-exercise physical activity (NEPA) or non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) has been shown to be extremely beneficial. Potentially even more so than really vigorous exercise.

So what exactly is NEPA or NEAT? It is defined as any energy expenditure during everyday activities that is not formal exercise. Increasing that can lead to appreciable improvements in health over time.

Here’s a few ideas to incorporate more movement into your daily routine.

Walk more. As cliche as it sounds, walking is the most underestimated movement of the 21st century. Walking on uneven surfaces and stepping up raised surfaces, if you can do so safely, is fantastic for strengthening your feet and ankles as well as balance and coordination, which in turn is important to prevent falls. And if you walk barefoot on sand or grass, you will also be grounding yourself which has its own benefits. 

Take the stairs and don’t shy away from walking up and down hills. The large muscles that this activity draws on are incredibly important for a healthy lower back and hips.

Carry heavy things. You can feel good next time you’re carrying heavy bags of groceries. As long as the load is well balanced between the sides, you will not only strengthen your arms, but also your core.

Sit on the floor while doing things and practice getting up without any props.

Stand on one leg while doing the dishes. Make sure to switch sides and keep the hips level.

Dance! Expressing yourself through movement is amazingly healing not only for the body but also the soul. 

The possibilities are endless. We hope that you use the ideas above as a starting point and find other creative ways to get yourself to move more.

For further information or appointments    brooklynwellnesshub@protonmail.me