I think that rather than thinking of durations and intensities,
30 minutes, must be moderate, people don't even know what that means,
I think that we should view movement as being essential to human
survival as eating and sleeping...
Punishment for enjoying life, that's how a lot of people think about it.
And mindset influences so much of how we experience something.
So I describe movement as using your body to engage with life.
And I think of, whether you call it movement or you call it exercise,
it's really about finding an activity that allows you to engage with
life the way that you want to. So maybe you love how it feels
when you go for a walk in nature, or you love how it feels when
you run and you feel fast and free and you can sense your own persistence,
or you love how it feels to move in flow in high cheer yoga,
or have dance parties in your living room with your kid.
And that you use your body to engage with life, to express different aspects of your human
nature, to connect with other people. And if you're experiencing movement instead as
a punishment for something you ate or an investment in your future wellbeing that
is not connected to something you actually enjoy, it just sets people up to, first of all,
find an activity that they hate, I mean if people are obsessed with looking at
their watch and seeing like these calorie counters or counting how many steps they've taken,
it's very easy to miss how powerful you feel when you lift something heavy
or how much fun it is to high-five someone after you do an exercise or go for a run.
So I think we need a total mindset reset about what movement is and why we do it
so that people are more likely to choose something that actually connects them to join in meaning.
And also, so that we can sort of escape the voices in the head that often come up
when you come to exercise from a place of shame or fear that's so common.
Even if you're thinking of movement as a medicine, so your quadriceps don't really care
if you are squatting and lifting things because you're gardening
or you're squatting and lifting things in a gym because a coach is telling you "do this now."
Your quadriceps just know "I need to exert strength,
I need to use energy..." and any good that comes from that squat,
whether it's changing your mood, or releasing these myokines that protect your health,
it's gonna happen because you're moving your body and your quadriceps aren't tracking
did you do it exactly 20 times for exactly this many repetitions,
your body and your brain just know "I'm engaging with life!"
And all the benefits that come from movement, it's about using energy, using your muscles,
using as much of your body as you can and that's when your brain and body reward you.
We don't need some of this other stuff unless it lights you up.
Think about something that you already love
and then think of an activity that allows you to do that.
So, if you love animals and maybe you don't have a pet,
you can't have a pet because of where you live or your circumstances,
do you know how many animal shelters will let you volunteer to take a dog for a walk or a run?
Maybe there's a person you want to spend time with,
maybe they love an activity, and you could choose to do it with them.
Do you know how much that strengthens a relationship
when you endorse an activity that someone else loves and they feel like it's their best self
and you're like, "okay, I'll go to that yoga class with you."
There's a lot of ways to think about who and what you already enjoy
and I think that rather than thinking of durations and intensities,
30 minutes, must be moderate, people don't even know what that means,
I think that we should view movement as being essential to human
survival as eating and sleeping,
you don't say "I'll do it once on the weekend," it's part of how you live your life
and if you can find ways to make it part of your life so that it's not a chore,
it's an activity you love, so maybe it's part of recreation,
or it's part of how you get about your life, you run errands by cycling or walking,
or it's how you connect with people in your life. If you're going to spend 20 minutes
with your partner or with your kid, why not make that a movement since we know that
the neurochemistry of movement helps us bond and connect with others.
And I really think this idea that it's something that you are shoving
into your life that's divorced from your life is one of the reasons people don't actually do it.