The human body is a design marvel. We are built to move, and in a seemingly endless variety of ways.
Physically, when compared to other animals, we are fairly pathetic. We can’t run fast, when either pursuing prey or running away from a predator; we have no fangs, claws or horns for either hunting, self defence, gnawing or digging. We are just a soft, hairless, weakling with an oversized head.
But how we move!
This ability to change our movement patterns from moment to moment has allowed our true super power to come to the forefront and allow our species to spread across the globe, becoming one of the most generalist, adaptable creatures on the planet. Movement has created adaptability.
Walking, sprinting, climbing, swimming, jumping, swinging, crawling, balancing, rolling, throwing, catching, dancing, crafting, we do it all.
Or at least we did.
Fast forward to the modern, western era and things look a little different.
Tell me if this sounds familiar:
You wake up, do your ablutions and go down stairs.
You sit down to have coffee and some breakfast, maybe watch Lorraine for a bit.
You drive to work, sitting down.
You get to work and sit down at your desk, only getting up for the toilet (often sitting down) or a coffee break. Maybe a quick sit down lunch at a local cafe.
5pm comes and we sit back in the driving seat and head home for a sit down dinner with the family.
We’ve worked hard today and are knackered. All we want to do is sit on the sofa and watch Game of Thrones.
Rinse, repeat.
Compared to our ancestors, even those only a couple of generations past, we don’t move anywhere near the level we are designed to. We are potentially sitting ourselves to death.
Even those who are meeting the guidelines for healthy activity are now seeing the same ill-health markers as those that don’t. This is referred to as Active Couch Potato. The huge amount of time sitting is having a deleterious effect over the good exercise and movement work put in, compromising our metabolic health. See this study and this post.
What’s the answer?
To view movement like food.
If we ate salad for 1 hour, three times a week, it would undoubtedly be of benefit to our nutritional profile. But is it going to counteract the fact that we eat cake for the rest of the time? No, of course not. It’s the same for movement.
I’m drawing on the excellent work of Katy Bowman here (check her out, she’s ace).
What we need is movement snacks, little and often, and as varied as we can make them. Sprinkle these throughout your day and some pretty cool changes start to occur.
And if you’re not sure where to start with movement, or you would like to take part in a social event focused of moving, then why not try the new Humanoeuvre course starting next week.
In this course we will be looking at gentle stretching and mobility, ground based movement and crawling patterns, balancing, mind/body awareness, relaxation, and breathwork, amongst many other aspects of movement.
It is suitable for absolutely any ability level. You are likely to have sore abs from the constant laughter. This is supposed to be fun!
This course starts next Wednesday 1st May at 6.30pm.
To book, click here
Or contact me more info.
Move along now!