One More Reason to Move

Categories: Blog Oct 20, 2019

I’ve been on this kick lately of talking about the importance of having a daily movement routine.

If you’ve missed it, basically I think everyone should have some type of daily movement routine in order to keep themselves.

Yes, keep themselves; healthy, strong, agile, able, functional, stable, peaceful, joyful, free and any other “good” quality we are supposed to have.

If we have a daily movement routine, we are allowing ourselves to remain vibrant and we are inviting Life to have a body to express itself through. Wow, that sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Anyway, that is just one fantastic reason to have a daily movement routine. 

Wait, before I give another fantastic reason to have a daily movement routine, please know that I’m not talking about a daily exercise routine. Yes, a daily exercise routine could be a daily movement routine, but I’m not really talking about exercise here. I’m talking about nourishing movement; the kind of movement that strengthens the nervous system, it nourishes the joints, it preserves the vestibular system, and it feeds the brain. Exercise can play a role in this, but typically, when I think exercise, I think purposefully employed movements for building stronger, bigger muscles, or developing cardiovascular health. I think other things too but we will leave it at that for today. 

Different than daily exercise, purposeful daily movement simply seeks to honor the body we’ve been given by moving it in the ways it was designed. 

Moving daily, the way we were designed to move, keeps the body. It uses the body, so it keeps the body (use it or lose it). Again, that could be one of the greatest reasons to have such a daily routine. But a greater, or more fantastical reason, could be that choosing to engage in a daily movement routine allows us to consciously engage in co-creating and maintaining our nervous system and ultimately our body. 

 “Tim, isn’t that basically saying the same thing you’ve already said? ‘Use it and keep it’?”

Well, yes, but to consciously co-create our own nervous system just sounds super cool. 

And that’s what we are doing when we choose to deliberately move and engage in our design. We strengthen neural connections, we keep away compensatory movement patterns that would otherwise creep in from non-use, and we reinforce our desire to allow our body to express its design throughout our entire life. Do you see it? We have a say in how our nervous system functions, in how it relays information, in how it decides what neural connections to build, keep, prune, and strengthen. We have input into how well and how long we will allow our bodies to move with strength and ease. 

By having a daily movement routine, we are essentially consciously tending to our body, maintaining it from the inside out. This is the exact opposite of mindful neglect. Yes, I suppose you could have a “mindless” movement routine and just go through the motions, but if the intent is there, it really isn’t mindless. There may be times when you are not as mentally present as others, that’s ok. It’s the intent that matters and it’s the intent that will also create those times when you are mentally present and dialed into every breath and every articulation your body makes. And it’s these moments where you can really experience the joy of co-creation. 

Anyway, our bodies are the most amazing “machines” or “living works of art” or “miracles” on the planet. And even more amazing is the fact that our bodies essentially invite us to give them input on how they will grow, feel, maintain themselves, and express themselves throughout our lifetime. That’s amazing. 

If you don’t have one, invest in a daily movement routine.  Press RESET, go for a walk, do Tai Chi, learn Yoga, MOVE with intent. Accept the body’s invitation to give your input on how it will express your life. 

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