photo by Javier Ideami
In our house, we have been examining what movement and exercise is without the luxury of a gym or fitness studio to steer the production. For most of us, adapting to new exercise normals means transferring gym experiences to a cleared out living room and using some sort of online platform. While this is beneficial, we invite you to widen the lens and take a panoramic view of what true movement means to the body.
Think of the run, cycling, squatting, lunging, pushing up and pulling and even the stretching we do. Our lines are rigid, predetermined - within the confines of a cast so to speak. As we all know, what we practice is what we become better at.
What happens to those underused parts, the step-children-joints and motor neurons? What about those angles and planes we never visit? Do they matter?
They do. And are very important.
Our bodies adapt - the parts of us that have grown dusty from lack of attention become frail and disconnected from our brains. Our toes, feet and spines for example, were designed to move in all different directions in order to support our whole bodies and all other movement.
How can we nourish our bodies’ movement? What we are talking about is a tapestry of natural, whole body movement - the way we were meant to move in nature - fully, across different planes, within inconsistent textures, at different levels, speeds and intensities. Think of the exercise we do in the gym as processed movement. With gyms and studios closed, we are presented the prime opportunity to increase the nutritional value of our movement.
What does this mean - in practice?
Start with the feet. As an easy onramp, footwork will yield exponential benefits. There are 33 joints in the foot, many of which do not get enough movement and slowly become atrophied. Sensors on the feet communicate to the rest of the body, directly impacting the health of the knees and hips. Healthy feet are the basis for a healthy overall body.
Here are 5 easy ways to begin.
Take your shoes and socks off - be barefoot most of the time. This will help awaken the many foot sensors.
When outside, begin a transition to minimalist shoes.
Walk on surfaces of varying textures - grass, rocks and pebbles, sand. This will expose your feet and ankles to unique angles.
Practice separating your toes. Use your hands to begin with, then as your toes become stronger, progress to spending them hands-free.
Give yourself a standing foot massage using a ball. The MELT Method balls are our favorites, but a tennis ball will also work. Start standing with a ball under the arch of your foot. Slowly transfer some weight onto the ball while moving the foot back and forth, while applying pressure to each of the joints. Apply more pressure as needed. Repeat on the other foot.
If you are interested in learning more about moving more seamlessly, fully and with more strength, some incredible resources are MELT Method, Nutritious Movement, Tune Up Fitness, MoveNat and Kinstretch.