The evolution of the Human body and mind is truly one of the wonders of nature. Your ability to sense and move within this world is an incredible piece of biological engineering that we still do not fully understand (may the questions keep coming). It is in this union of mind, body and nature that we express ourselves and our movement, one being intrinsically linked with the other.
Natural Movement incorporates the full range of human abilities which we evolved in response to our environment. There is an emphasis mobilising and stretching, aligning the body and moving in a holistic whole body approach to create co-ordination, balance, strength, endurance, speed, agility, flexibility and focus. We incorporate movements such as squatting, climbing, walking, balancing, hanging, sitting on the ground, throwing, lunging and crawling with modifications according to each unique body.
We all have the ability to move in some capacity and we move every day in order to live our lives but what we are required to do in our daily lives has changed dramatically and it is this change that has brought about a serious decline in our ability to move in the way we evolved to. Over time, we are losing our ability to move to our full potential, therefore limiting what we can do in our lives as well encouraging adverse health effects on our being. I’ll go deeper into the reasons this change has happens in the next blog.
So, if movement is on the decline and our lives have changed accordingly, how can we bring natural movement back into out lives?
Ways of bringing natural movement into your lives and your training regime
Get in Nature
Look at how much time we spend in nature. Make time to visit and exercise in different environments. Challenge the body to be adaptable, do not just walk on the set path but take the unbeaten one, create instability for the body to overcome. Start small and build up and enjoy the process of the mind and body learning,
Bring awareness to your daily movements
Notice how we move around the home and become conscious of our daily movements; like how we get up off the floor, climbing the stairs, picking things up. Are you moving in the most conscious efficient way?
Explore your Natural Movement
Incorporate more natural movements mentioned previously into your daily routines and exercise to develop a broader movement catalogue within your mind. A couple of techniques you could try are:
Exploring your Squat
Squatting is a fundamental movement that provides a lot of both physiological and practical benefits. If you are unable to rest comfortably in the deep squat position, it is a movement worth working towards. Start small and shallow. This position serves as a common transition position during any ground and standing movements. The squat is traditionally a position of rest that improves your posture and hip mobility. Be conscious of how you move in and out of your seated positions, keep equal weight across the feat whilst activating the hips and glutes, keeping the knees strong as you lift in or out.
Ground movement
If natural movement is medicine, then the ground movement is a multi-vitamin. Keep in mind that you cannot get enough of ground movement. Ground movement in daily habits makes the most significant difference. Get comfortable moving and transitioning through your ground movements, exploring what movement is available to you. Ground movements allows you to get effective positioning in lying, kneeling, seated, and standing positions as well as building coordination and stability. Along with this, improved ground positioning also leads to improved visual field and an increased range of motion throughout the body.
To Recap
Your potential is huge, don’t limit yourself to a restricted lifestyle that doesn’t make the most of this incredible biological machine. Explore your movement, explore yourself, be healthy and be happy. If you needed a few other reason to move naturally check out the list below:
- Builds resilience into the autonomic nervous system
- Boost the immune system of the body
- Encourages deep relaxation
- Focuses the mind and promotes healthy sleep
- Increases concentration
- Enhances creativity
- Help to balance the emotions
- Creates a deeper understanding of yourself
- Helps with creating your day
If you need any inspiration to move more consciously, more naturally and more healthy then head over to www.human-movement.co.uk where you’ll find all the support you need in your venture to a more natural you.
