The First Post!

Hi!  I like to keep moving my body as I get older. The way I exercise/move has definitely changed from my 20's to late 50's.  In this blog I plan to post things I've learned on my journey to keep moving.  I hope these ideas help you too!

4 Ways to Move Daily Over 50

1) Walk!  I learned a lot about the benefits of walking by reading Katy Bowman's work (www.nutritiousmovement.com) .  When I went through menopause and felt that my body was falling apart, walking regularly saved me.  I learned that walking uses the largest muscle groups of your body, which improves muscle tone and stimulates blood flow, but it also helps improve the health of the muscles and ligaments in our pelvis, which helps with elimination (eww, but good to know) and other good stuff.  

I was in good health generally, but felt worn out from trying to do the workouts I thought I “should” do, so my goal was to simply walk 2 miles five days per week.  I didn’t try to walk fast or anything, just walk. I was working full time, but I could do that.   More than all of the health benefits, I noticed that I FELT better, and that being outside was soothing to me!  I walked through my neighborhood mainly, but there were still trees and birds, and plants and flowers......and other people!  I re-connected with some people I rarely see because they would be in their yard briefly or walking themselves.  Walking in the afternoon or evening also gave me time to de-compress from the noise and energy of teaching 60 PE students in each PE class that I teach.

If you haven’t been walking at all, try it! Katy Bowman says walking for 5 minutes in the morning, 5 in the afternoon, and 5 in the evening is just as good as 15 minutes all at once.  I also found it very useful to use the Runkeeper app when I started walking.  It was motivating to me to see how far I was going.  Walking can be very therapeutic!

Late morning walk (sans make-up obviously).  Beautiful flowers I get to see!

2) Squatting.  I don't mean the kind of squatting you typically do in an exercise class or weight room.  I mean, can you squat down on your heels (as when gardening) and then stand all the way up?  Or, can you sit cross-legged on the floor and then stand up without holding on to something?  This type of squatting is still done in third world countries but rarely in affluent countries.  We sit in chairs.  All. Day. Long.  Thus, we lose the flexibility to sit any other way, and the strength to get ourselves up off of the floor.  Start by just sitting on a pillow on the floor in whatever position you can.  www.movnat.com has tips and photos of many ways to sit on the ground.  I started eating breakfast that way and it has helped me keep that flexibility and strength to be on the floor, and get back up.

3) Downdog.  Also known as Downward Facing Dog, this well known yoga pose is an excellent way to stretch the entire back side of your body, which we need from sitting in chairs often and also from wearing shoes with heels.  Sitting in chairs tends to weaken and tighten our hamstrings (back of the thigh), and wearing any kind of heel on your shoe tends to shorten your calf muscle.  Downdog can be done with your hands on the floor, or even on a wall or counter.  But it can feel soooo good after sitting!

4) Stretch your arms overhead and behind you.  Since we sit so often (is there a theme here?) our shoulders tend to roll forward (slouch/hunch), and these moves can help release tension and stretch out the shoulder and chest muscles.  Doing these stretches several times a day will give you more energy and your body will thank you!

 Our bodies are made to be In Motion.  If your body is staying in one position for a long time, move it!

Have a great day!

Denae