Movement vs. exercise and how to move more.
“I propose that movement, like food, is not optional; that ailments you may be experiencing are simply (and complexly) symptoms of movement hunger in response to a movement diet that is dangerously low in terms of quantity and poor in terms of quality—meaning you aren’t getting the full spectrum of movement nutrition necessary for a baseline human function.”
- Katy Bowman, Move your DNA, 2014.
What is movement to you? What do you see when you think about movement? Perhaps an 80s style Jane Fonda workout with neon leotards to boot, spinning, sweaty HIIT hell and Sunday evening stretch sessions.
Well, what if I said, "We all need to move MORE!"
You might agree (at best) or feel defensive and refuse to read any further, shouting “This chick don’t know me!” (at worst.) Perhaps you have a pretty regular exercise routine woven into your week and you don't feel the need to add more pavement pounding into your life. I get that. Worry not, because what we've been talking about up until now is EXERCISE and I want to introduce you to the wider world of MOVEMENT!! Psyche. Biomechanist, author and creator of Nutritious Movement, Katy Bowman speaks about movement as the umbrella word that encapsulates the body in motion - from biking to the shop to twitching in your sleep, to your lungs expanding with each inhale - all movement. Exercise is simply a subheader under a much larger title.
Evolutionary Mismatch Theory proposes that the modern environment is not one conducive to optimum human health. We are literally ‘mismatched’ to it. These days we are mostly sedentary and on a cellular level, human beings’ tissues act in the same way our ancestors would have - our bodies get good at what we do often. In nature we moved,. Lots. We used our bodies as a tool to survive and interact with the world. We had to walk to find sources of water and fill and carry containers, not just turn on the tap. We used our arms to pull fruit off branches, to carry our young and to take down our prey. We would squat close to the floor to prepare food, to take cover when tracking and go to the loo. You get the picture, we had to use our bodies in a variety of ways every single day. Now, we have far fewer movement patterns and our bodies are suffering. It is a classic case of use it, or lose it. And lose it we are. Even those of us who exercise are on average moving about 300 minutes a week. That sounds like a big number to me, but when compared to modern day hunter gatherers, they beat us by 10x. Yep, they’re move on average for 3,000 minutes a week. Massive.
So what is the cost of not having to move our bodies to survive? Katy argues that as a result of our mostly sedentary lives, we are seeing a huge rise in illness and a drop in overall health here in the West. Creaky joints, painful backs and poor breathing technique can all be things that contribute to us feeling less than optimum. Perhaps more movement (not necessarily exercise) could be what we are missing.
One study by the World Health Organisation states, “60 to 85% of people in the world—from both developed and developing countries—lead sedentary lifestyles, making it one of the more serious yet insufficiently addressed public health problems of our time.”
Yikes.
It is not all doom and gloom though, the body is incredibly receptive, as mentioned above, what we do lots of the body adapts to be better at. It adapted to sitting in chairs all the time and it can adapt to moving more too and we can find ways to pepper more motion (not necessarily exercise) into our days, months and lives.
Below I have shared a few things I do to integrate more movement into my life and I hope they are helpful for you too.
Get Low
Human bodies are made to squat and I’m not talking about the gym rack kinda squat, although that has its perks too. I’m talking about the sort of crouch-squat toddlers do. This odd obsession we westerners have with sitting in chairs has effectively trained our body out of being able to squat. So reclaim what was taken and begin to reap the benefits.
Why do we need squatting? Firstly, deep flexion (closing) of the hips and knees delivers all sorts of tasty nutrients and lubrication to the joints by way of synovial fluid which helps to keep them functional. Knee and hip replacements are rife, so any little bit of added juice we can get has got to be good, right?
Secondly your squat will strengthen your lower body just by getting up and down from it. When down press your feet into the floor and focus on widening your knees without the help of your hands. Imagine that you could peel your knees beyond the direction of your toes, to feel your outer butt engage. Please make sure your knees are not collapsing inward. This is called a valgus knee line and often does more bad than good.
How to squat more? Take breaks from your desk to drop it low throughout the day. Do your laundry squatting. Get to the ground to play with your kids or pets. Bonus points for those of you who squat at the bus stop or in line for the supermarket (because we do that now). And if you really want to go all in, get a toilet step to elevate your feet when you poop - It’s how the body was designed to work, afterall!
2. Walk on the wildside.
Shockingly, in the States, the average teenager walks a pewny 11 minutes a day! Our bodies are literally walking machines and can get a whole lotta good from getting those steps in. As it is low impact too, this is one of the best ways we can move if we have any kind of joint stuff going on.
So get out there and take some steps if you can. You’ll be doing your bones good by causing stresses to the tissues, which results in higher bone density. Plus, the constant input to your centre of gravity will keep your core stabilizing, albeit on a fairly minimal level, but if you remove that baseline from life altogether, it adds up to a weaker one. You will also reap the benefits in your joints and your cardiovascular system too. Not just because you might get your heart rate up a little, but you’ll be using big muscles like your glutes and calves which help to pump blood around the body, by keeping the flow consistent and thus taking some strain off your heart doing all the heavy lifting.
If you can, break your walking up throughout the day and make a big weekly walk part of your routine. Explore the local countryside and parks. Take quick walks and slow walks. Your body loves ( and needs) a variety of movements to thrive. So explore different terrains and levels of incline too as no step is created equal. If you really want to up the ante, try some minimal footwear to get the body moving in a way closest to its natural disposition. Your feet will likely get stronger and better at absorbing shock too, which could result in a host of great stuff like better posture and happier joints.
3. Reach for the sky!
How often do you take your arms above your head? Here’s an exercise for you: Imagine your normal day and think about all the times you reach up, minus any exercise activities (that includes Yoga postures). Maybe you have to grab a jar from the top shelf, or move your shower head. Can you think of any others, because I actually can’t. We mostly use our arms these days to drive, type, eat, prepare things in front of us, write, gesticulate...the list goes on and is mostly all stuff directly in front of us.
We know in nature that we would use our upper body in a plethora of ways. We had arms fit for purpose, because we used them. Now, many of us have weak upper bodies, sloping necks and and backs and perpetual inward rotation at the shoulder joint - again, not necessarily bad, but we are seeking balance, so we want external rotation too!
So how can we reach up more? Well you can put more stuff high up! My personal favourite is having my snack stash on a shelf just within reach so I have to really go for it when I want some choc! You can also take breaks from your desk to take your arms up and explore your range of motion. If you are a yoga practitioner - reach up in more poses. On that countryside walk you go on, find a tree with a strong enough branch and hang off of it. Go to the park and try out the monkey bars. Install a pull up bar and give a pull up a go each time you walk under it. Hanging and pulling are SUPER beneficial to your tissues for strengthening.
4. Don’t look back in anger.
We look behind us when we drive, most probably just taking a peek behind our right shoulder. Other than that, on a day by day basis, how often do you look back? And when you do, how much of your body do you use? Try using your whole torso to look behind you, it allows for a greater range of view right? Maybe you can see 180 degrees with that range. Chances are you cannot when you turn just your head.
Now imagine our paleo ancestors moving through nature, they would need to use their full range of vision to see any threats behind them and keep track of their team, most likely using their full body to twist and look back behind them at points.
This kind of motion requires that you recruit your core muscles and not just your abs, but pretty much the full spectrum, including spinal muscles. Plus you will be twisting through the spine and stretching out your fascia. A pretty nutrient dense way to move.
So do some twisting of your trunk. You can incorporate these really easily into your day, whether standing or sitting. Practice twisting to each side, rotating around the belly button both with and without the assistance of your hands. Hold each side for a few seconds and notice how deep you can go. Chances are it will not be as deep sans hands holding you in place as you’ll be relying on the muscles of your core to hold you there.
5. Are you sitting comfortably?
Because if you are, it may be time you mix it up. One researcher from Solgar UK found that on average, us Brits sit for 18 years of our lives! That is 51 hours on our bums a week. Sitting itself is not necessarily the issue but being in one position for all that time encourages the muscles to get hella lazy, as our chairs, sofas and loos do all the heavy lifting as we become (as Bowman puts it) ‘Ninjas of sitting’. Our paleo pals would rely on their own bodies to support their weight and their bones, joints and muscles would gain the benefits.
We all know it is hard to sit in one position on the floor for a long time (made even harder by the fact we are out of practice). So I suggest that you get to the ground and change position often. If you have only taken one thing from this article, let it be that VARIETY of movement is key.
Sit at the coffee table to work or eat and move the position of your legs from time to time. You may also find the urge to get up and shake it out occurs more often than usual - great! That is more movement. You will probably find you cannot sit and work as continuously, so break up your day and sit in different locations, or pop the computer on the floor and lie on your belly for a bit. This position is great to stretch out your hip flexors, which spend lots of their time flexed due to sitting. It is also great for getting a supported backbend in without even going to a Yoga class.
So there you are. Let me point out that I am a Yoga teacher, not a health pro or doctor and I am just passing on research - both personal and from further afield - because I want you to feel empowered to move more and feel better. Because that is what this is all about, right? Moving to feel good in our bodies and to create more longevity so that we can keep enjoying life and using our bodies as the wonderful tools they are for exploring the world and engaging with it.
See below for references
Katy Bowman, 2014, Move your DNA, Propriometrics Press, Ebook.
James Nestor, 2020, Breath: The new science of a lost art, Penguin Audio, Ebook.
https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/the-books-ive-written/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/naturally-selected/201804/evolutionary-mismatch
https://yogawitholive.com/blog/f/what-the-hell-is-natural-movement
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2982942/average-person-18-years-sitting/
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