Movement

I posted this quote by Albert Einstein because it is appealing on so many levels.  Sure, the analogy of life being like riding a bicycle and you need to keep moving to maintain balance is clear.  But you need to keep moving to maintain balance for your health, too.  Movement is essential to our health and longevity!  Movement helps lubricate our tissues, it helps our circulation, it keeps our joints healthy, prevents disease, and it improves our mood and cognitive functioning.  I am working with a couple from India who are in their 70’s three days a week and they have taught me so much about the value of movement to our health.  We are not talking about intense exercise here, just plain old movement, functional movements that mimic everyday life.  We work mainly on strength, balance, and joint integrity,   Over the last 6 weeks I have watched their physical health improve so much.  They are stronger, moving with greater ease, have improved balance and seem so much livelier than when I first met them.  They love their exercise time which of course I love in return.

Whether you exercise regularly or not, you need to move your body at regular intervals all day long.  That is why all those messages about taking the stairs, parking further away from the store, getting up and stretching and moving every hour that you are at your computer, replacing your desk chair with a stability ball, getting out for a walk in the morning and evening, exercising with your kids, etc. are SO IMPORTANT!!!!  Please move and move often and never take your health for granted!!!

Here is a good article from Runner’s World that you might want to read that compares sitting to smoking, “sitting increases your risk of death and disease, even if you are getting plenty of physical activity. It’s a bit like smoking. Smoking is bad for you even if you get lots of exercise. So is sitting too much.”