Movement Mindset™

A Movement Mindset™ is a perspective or viewpoint that informs human behavior related to movement and the way one inhabits the body with regards to Movement Health™. It is held by people who understand that the health of their body’s movement system or Movement Health™ is fundamental to the quality of their life and tied directly to their longevity. Those with a Movement Mindset™ have a greater understanding of their body and how it relates to movement - body and movement literacy. They know how essential movement and their capacity to move is to their well being and as a result have made changes to the way they inhabit their body to promote their Movement Health™. They bring their body to the activities of their life with the awareness of their body’s movement system and, therefore, make informed decisions on what they subject their body to. They understand that there are movement prerequisites that sit at the foundation of their ability to exercise, to participate in sport and to be physically active. They live what I refer to as A Movement Lifestyle™ and as a result experience greater harmony and freedom in their bodies and an increase in their movement longevity.

Those with a Movement Mindset™ understand that the terms exercise and movement are related, but not the same. Exercise in all its forms falls under the umbrella of movement, but movement is so much more than exercise. Movement is the process or the state of changing place or position of the body or a body part from one position to another and is not bound to the intention of conditioning the body or limited to physical fitness variables. Movement encapsulates all that we have the capacity to do to move in and around with our body. Movement is about necessity. It is present inwardly with activities like respiration and circulation and outwardly in the course of meeting a variety of basic human needs like eating and harvesting food. Movement is about freedom. It is present when locomoting our body from one place to another. Movement is about expression. This is seen in activities like singing, dancing, and playing an instrument. Movement is about play. It is present in games and activities we participate in with our friends and children.

An Exercise Mindset is a perspective or viewpoint that informs human behavior related to physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive for the purpose of conditioning the body without sufficient knowledge of or consideration for their Movement Health™.  This is the default mindset due to the way we are conditioned by the health, wellness and medical industries. People who hold this viewpoint, more often than not, exercise to the detriment of their body’s movement system. They are the ones who are doing the “right” thing, according to the authorities in the health and fitness industry, by exercising, but strangely are experiencing all the same debilitating conditions to their movement system that those who aren’t doing the “right” thing. The only logical conclusion these folks come to is that this is just what bodies do. They deteriorate over time. WRONG…. This is the conclusion because they are missing a key piece of the puzzle. They are missing awareness and understanding of Movement Health™ and its importance to their physical well being.

EXERCISE IS OPTIONAL.

Exercise is a human creation. It came into existence in the mid 1900’s and is present today largely to make up for the lack of natural forms of movement in the lives of most people. Exercise by its traditional definition is physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive for the purpose of conditioning the body. If you naturally live a lifestyle of movement, one could reasonably argue that there is no need for exercise. Dan Buettner, a National Geographic researcher and writer on the Blue Zones, areas with the highest concentration of people who live beyond the age of 100, discovered that exercise was NOT part of the lives of the many of the centenarians in the five regions of the world he spent time in. What was consistent among these groups was that low intensity physical activity was part of their daily lives and way of living. 

MOVEMENT IS ESSENTIAL! 

Human beings evolved to move. We cannot exist without it. In fact, Daniel Wolpert, a neuroscientist, says in a TED video on YouTube that movement is the real reason that human beings have brains. He says “We have a brain for one reason and one reason only. And that’s to produce adaptable and complex movements. There is no other reason to have a brain.” He continues to say that “movement is the only way you have of affecting the world around you.” Can you think of any time where movement is not taking place in and with your body? 

EXERCISE WITH A MOVEMENT MINDSET™

There is a place for exercise even if you embody a Movement Mindset™ and A Movement Lifestyle™. Those with a Movement Mindset™ approach traditional exercise by taking into consideration the impact that it could have on their Movement Health™. They recognize that exercising in a way that exploits a movement compensation or compromise to the health of their body’s movement system will likely exacerbate the issue. Those with this viewpoint also use specific forms of exercise with the intention of addressing compromises to their body’s movement system to restore their Movement Health™.

CULTIVATE A MOVEMENT MINDSET™

Shift from an exercise mindset to a Movement Mindset™, resolve pain and limitation by restoring your Movement Health™, build resilience in your body by bolstering your Human Movement Sphere™ and invest in your movement longevity by cultivating A Movement Lifestyle™. Contact Me today to begin your journey to better Movement Health™.