Move Your DNA
I’ve been reading (again!). This time, I borrowed Move Your DNA by Katy Bowman from a colleague. I’d first heard about the book via a blog I came across by Petra Fisher, so when I saw it on the shelf, I was eager to get my hands on it. A week later, I can safely say that I wasn’t disappointed (as you can see from my geeky note taking above). This post summarises some of the key take-aways of the book (for me). As you’ll see, I was SO inspired, I promptly ordered two of her other books too and am looking forward to devouring those in the coming weeks!
Working at a desk, commuting by car or public transport and relaxing on the couch watching Netflix, has made many of us sitting ninjas. Most health improvement regimes advocated by social media encourage changing your diet or getting to the gym. Will this work? Katy argues that, if you really want your health to change, you have to change the way you move. Note, move NOT exercise (or eat). We tend to think of exercise as movement, but just like an orange is a fruit but not all fruits are oranges, exercise is movement, but movement is not always exercise.
Literally, we just need to make moves, not drag ourselves down to the gym. The beauty of Katy’s programme is that it emphasises natural movements that you can relatively easily incorporate into your daily activities! That’s right, getting healthier doesn’t require finding hours in your day or week :-)
And, just like we wouldn’t try to stay healthy on a diet of only oranges, our bodies need more movement nutrition than exercise alone provides. An average person who does exercise, more than likely has one or two activities they take part in, such as running or cycling. Over time, heavy use of your body in one particular pattern or set of patterns makes stronger muscles next to weaker ones. This leaves you open to injury when you try to use your body in a new way. A classic example, that I give to clients is that we mostly move our legs in a forward parallel motion (walking, running, cycling), but little, if at all, with our legs in lateral (outward) or medial (inward rotation). The beauty of the Pilates footwork series is that you work through and strengthen through more ranges of motions than your daily activities would usually require. And hence, reduce your risk of injury.
And it’s not just the weaker muscles that get the benefits of increasing your movement patterns, your neurological connections do too as you brush away the cobwebs on pathways that might not have been used since you were a toddler crawling, squatting and moving more.
Sold? Let’s move from talking the talk to walking the walk. How do we start moving more? I’ve narrowed Katy’s advice down to 5 main areas that I consider low hanging fruit, i.e. easy to reach even if you’re super busy or reluctant (*cough cough* a bit lazy).
1. Release - Take a walk (it doesn’t have to be long) and here are the rules. No earphones, just enjoy the sounds of life happening around you. Remember to breathe, unclench your jaw and look around (up, down, left and right).
2. Standing - Stand side-on at a full-length mirror, now try to stand up straight. What do you notice? Where are your bottom ribs relative to your pelvis? Forwards? More than likely. Now imagine your bottom front ribs pulling back and up to kiss your kidneys. Problem solved and obliques activated to boot.
3. Walking. This is so good, i’m suggesting it twice. Taking yourself for a walk is like taking your cells out to eat. As a bonus, there’s no recommended calorie intake to worry about. Walk and feed your cells as much as you like!
4. Feet - try to be barefoot. Not practical for work, I know, but start with being barefoot at home. That means shoes AND socks off. Let the 26 bones, 33 joints and over 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons work to their natural capability. No insoles, no heels, no cramping your toes in narrow shoes... and when you’re ready, start rolling your feet with a massage ball and consider barefoot shoes for when you’re out in the real world.
5. Sitting - Sit on the floor. As. Much. As. Possible. Simple. Can’t get there? Use a bolster, cushions or a block. You could do it once and just need to remind your body that you can get there.
For more ideas on easily incorporating more movement into your day, i’d recommend having a read of this post.
http://www.petrafishermovement.com/easy-ways-move-more/
I hope these little tips have inspired you to make some small changes in your daily movements. I particularly loved one of Katy’s closing quotes in the book, so will share that with you now. Translation: it’s never too late to start moving! Your skeleton is a living story, how you choose to move today, tomorrow and the day after that, will become part of your autobiography, so get writing that next chapter!
If you’re feeling REALLY inspired....
Another source for further reading is Philip Beach. I came across his work on PilatesAnytime. I can’t squat properly (yet) and found his class really interesting and my clients have enjoyed the challenge of adding his movement sequences into our classes too. Even those who tick the dodgy hips and knees boxes!
Here’s a short video promo for Katy’s book, which summarises the key messages in a fun, easy-to-absorb way.
Lastly, I really hope you’ve enjoyed this post. If you have any questions or comments, do get in touch by email ([email protected]). Also, visit my website www.eatsleeppilates.com to subscribe or follow me on social media and see how I get on with two of Katy’s other books!
Thanks for reading!