Movement builds brain cells and the opposite is true too. Habitual inactivity inhibits circulation and respiratory health, which increases stress and slows down the brain. The habits that promote a healthy mind and body are ones that keep you moving all day.
It doesn't take a muscle shredding workout to gain the benefits of regular movement. Movement snacks are little things you can do multiple times a day to wake up your body and your brain. I like to include full range-of-motion snacks for smaller areas that are often overworked and neglected; feet, ankles, neck, wrists, and shoulders. Most movement snacks use no equipment. You can also use small, light-weight props like therabands, foot rollers, and pinky balls to help focus your attention.
It takes only a few minutes to gain the benefits of movement snacks. Studies show that after 20-50 minutes working at a desk your brain becomes more easily distracted. Instead of wasting your efforts with less than stellar results, take five minutes to restore your energy! Movement increases your circulation, wakes up the brain, and lets out stress. Turn off your alerts and look away from the screen, take slow deep breathes and move with mindful attention to what you are feeling. Save your adrenaline for a workout later, just move naturally and with ease. If you don’t feel anything it just shows how disconnected you are from your body. Go slower and try to relax into what you feel without qualifying it as good, bad, better, worse, or whatever…
You can use movement snacks at your desk or any small area of space, before a longer full-body workout, to warm-up before an athletic event, when you are traveling, or after a long ride, run, or hike.
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