by Health Coach Sheri
“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person’s physical, emotional, and mental states.”
~Carol Welch
Movement
“Movement” is a much gentler word to the ear than “exercise” and far easier to achieve daily for those of us not vying for gym rat status. For many, the words, “exercise,” “working out”, and “going to the gym” evoke a sense of dread followed by a whole list of reasons why tomorrow may be a better day to begin. If we believe that movement is a medicine for not just the body but also our psychological wellbeing, then why don’t we do more of it? When we consider that our bodies are made up of over 650 muscles and 360 joints, it stands to reason that we were designed for movement. After all, that’s a whole lot of moving parts just to allow them to rust out from lack of use.
Free Flow
We know we should be active but why? How does movement benefit the body? Think of your body as a body of water. The stiller the water, the more likely for it to become stagnant. Stagnant waters become an incubator for all kinds of bacteria and disease. Movement helps facilitate the free flow of the body’s fluids, which helps to release harmful toxins and pump fresh, nourishing blood to every cell to revitalize tissues. Consistent movement has a dramatic effect on reducing the risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and even some cancers.
If someone were to tell you that there’s a “magic” pill that will most likely,
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Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression
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Increase happy chemicals in your body
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Clear your mind for greater creativity and problem-solving
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Take your mind off your problems
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Help keep your brain growing
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Protect the brain from dementia
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Improve sleep
would you be interested in getting a prescription for such a wonder drug? Research tells us that even our brains are improved, moods are elevated, and creativity increases after taking just a 15-minute walk. Plus, there are no harmful side effects! What does your “magic pill” look like?
Is it walking, jogging, cycling, hiking, dancing, joining an exercise class, yoga, or sports? Feel free to mix it up so you don’t get bored. Remember, the best exercise program is the one you do. So, whatever you do, take your “medicine” regularly, out in the fresh air whenever possible, and encourage your friends to take theirs too.
HI Sheri,
It is so funny how I know that exercise is so vital to our health and yet it is the hardest thing for me. I try to eat the foods that will nourish my body, take supplements, not eat processed foods, fried foods, etc.
Seeing what you wrote about the stagnant water, bacteria and disease spoke to me. That was a visual for me.
Of course where you said about the magic pill made me laugh. Nothing is really easy when it comes to doing the right thing for our health. It takes God’s help and self discipline and not eating the foods , drinks and sweets that you would rather have sometimes.
Sandy