This week on The Living Experiment, we’re talking about Nutritious Movement, the brainchild of our brilliant friend, biomechanist, fitness expert, and best-selling author Katy Bowman.
Katy’s term “nutritious movement” refers to the type of movement that nourishes, educates, shapes, energizes, and repairs us in ways that support optimal health and vitality. And, as Katy explains during the conversation, that does not describe most conventional fitness approaches.
So here, Pilar talks with Katy about a great many science-y things very few of us have ever learned about movement and exercise, including some key differences between the two.
Katy shares some misconceptions most of us hold about what good fitness constitutes and requires, and she offers up some wonderfully simple, effective, and sustainable strategies for improving your body’s physical form and function.
We wrap up with a few experiments to help you discover what nutritious movement feels like and how you can easily enjoy more of it, starting today.
“Nutritious Movement” Episode Highlights
- Katy’s philosophy on movement and exercise, and what she means by “nutritious movement”
- Defining and differentiating exercise, fitness, and movement
- The movement away from movement (and fitness)
- The concept of “stacking” to meet all your physical, social, professional, emotional, etc. needs at the same time
- Learning to accept (and convince others) that “simple” movement can replace (and even be healthier than) all those exercise classes
- The protective effects of movement on our DNA (from Katy’s book, Move Your DNA)
- Parts of the body we tend to neglect — especially the feet
- The problems with exercising in repetitive ways
- How our clothing restricts daily movement
- Re-thinking ongoing immobilization after an injury
- Talking minimalist shoes
- The metabolic benefits of regular daily movement (vs. bursts of “exercise”)
Experiment of the Week
Identify a physical behavior that you’d like to engage in, but that you haven’t done yet. Think more along the lines of “I’d love to go camping with my family” or “I really want to do that hike” rather than “I want to go to three exercise classes a week.”
Once you have that picture in your mind, think about the physical limitations that are keeping you from that goal — “My foot hurts” or “My hip has been bothering me for years,” for example. Then pick one activity or movement that you know alleviates that problem — a stretch, a yoga pose — and do it once a day.
As an added experiment, pick one simple, “small bite” movement you can easily add to your day. Walk to the nearby cafe instead of driving. Watch TV sitting on the floor rather than the couch or the recliner.
After a few days of incorporating one or both of these experiments into your routine, notice if you feel motivated to add more movement.
Resources
- The Nutritious Movement website, and Katy’s books
- The animated definition of nutritious movement
- Nutritious Movement blog posts on minimalist shoe brands, and a list of favorite foot, shoe, and walking resources
- “Find the Movement In Your Day” video — ideas for more movement without exercise
Plus …
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