There are infinite ways to move. So, you can either move in ways that are specific and rigid and rooted in results like weight loss or calorie burn OR, you can experience connection with your body by mindfully asking the body to do things that actually make it feel better.
Too often we turn off the signals our body is giving us. The way a extremely strict and limiting diet will burn you out, a strict, non-intuitive, maxed-out workout plan will definitely burn you out. Overtraining leads to more injuries, sleep-disturbance, tapped out hormones, chronic fatigue, immune dysfunction, and dissatisfaction since your body will not be able to recover. If you have any of these symptoms it’s time to listen to your body and incorporate different workouts and possibly more recovery.
The beautiful things is that your body will respond to movement of any kind. Yoga can be restorative, or it can be really hard. The same goes for walking, dancing, strength training, etc. Weight loss isn't all about pushing your body hard.
Based on what your body needs there is great significance in listening to what your body is craving. There are mental, emotional, and physical reasons our workouts need to adjust from time to time.
When we get mindful and approach exercise as a method of sel-care we are practicing Intuitive Movement. Here are some foundational principles you can adopt to grow your mindfulness and give you body movement that builds, strength, ease, calm, joy, and energy through movement:
Principles of Intuitive Movement:
1) Ditch the all or nothing mentality: You don’t have to exercise to extremes or push yourself to failure with every workout to be healthy. Often your body needs to have a balance of movement in order to build strength, heal, recovery or simply adjust to the stressful demands of your life. Just because the latest model or movie star does a workout, doesn’t mean it was meant for your body too.
2) Honor your pain or need for rest: Your body is talking to you all of the time. There are more nerves talking TO your brain than nerves telling your body what to do. So listen! Are certain exercises painful, or so fatiguing that they just do not make you feel well both during and after exercise. Then find something else.
3) Make peace with your movement. Many of us have been told to exercise in ways that made us feel terrible in our bodies. Or perhaps we were given mixed signals about what purpose exercise was supposed to serve in our lives. Movement is a gift that can enrich your health, strengthen you entire body, and ease your heart and mind. How can you approach movement with love?
4) Stay open and adventurous. Too often we only do three types of movement that may or may not be things that we actually find fun. The big three are cardio, strength training, and stretching. But what about Tai chi, or Chi gong, rock climbing, dancing, paddle boarding, ice skating, or even team sports? While you might put these sort of activities into a “category” we often dismiss some movement as “not good enough” because it doesn’t fit our definition of what will give us results. Challenge this thinking! What did you love to do as a kid? What is something you have always wanted to try but haven’t considered?
5) Discover the joy of movement. Movement has been proven to boost endorphins, oxytocin, it helps with your focus and memory, it will give you a sense of accomplishment and confidence. What kind of movement brings a smile to your face- especially when you have completed it…whether it feels challenging or relaxing or somewhere in between?
6) Satisfy your strengths. The body needs to be challenged to get stronger. But we cannot ignore our limits. Your body is under new circumstances is changing it’s tolerance with every passing day. In some seasons you can do more. In some you can do less, In some you can press deep and really push yourself to your edge, in others you will do well to lean into more restorative movement. In each of these seasons, how can you challenge yourself to strengthen what your body actually needs?
7) Give compassion. Not everyone will have 6-pack abs, teardrop delts, defined claves or whatever else you beat yourself up about. Your body is YOURS and yours alone. What matters is that you tend to how you nourish your personal needs and respect your body for the beauty you own.
8) Treat your body like a friend. A friend knows their friend well. Be a witness to what you body is both saying and how it responds to what you are doing and what you are telling yourself. The more you get to know your body after trial and error, the more you will know what is right for you. The more you speak kindness and compassion to your body, the more you will find you want to do things that give you more health and move you into motion.
9) Fuel your body for both fun and fitness. It doesn’t feel great to workout on a full stomach or to eat foods that make you sluggish. Approach food as a way to support your body like a dear friend would. What foods and the timing for when you eat them help you feel better and elevate your mind & body to be more available & energized to move?
10) Focus on the long-term. Short term goals can be motivating and fun, but keep re-evaluating. Challenge yourself in new ways when you start to feel run down or bored. Stay curious about the ways your movement will help you live longer not just because they work your heart, muscles or help you stay limber…but what things test your balance, open your mind, and make you laugh? These are the things that keep you young.