• FITNESS •
The good MOVEMENT diet Bounce, shake, and breathe. Keep your body on its toes with this simple daily routine. BY SUZANNE BÉCHARD PHOTOS BY ELLA LEVING
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or the first time in human history, we live in a digital world that doesn’t require us to move enough to maintain basic physical and mental health. All too often, many people in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s find it difficult to sit, stand or twist without help or pain. Many people complain of back aches, neck and shoulder pain, hip and knee pain, as well as depression and anxiety. A sedentary lifestyle interrupted by an hour-long workout at the gym consisting of predictable repetitions of aerobics and resistance movements is not the kind of movement hygiene we need today. Our physical training has to change because what we are required to do in the world has changed. As we move towards the future, physiotherapists, kinesiologists, and other movement specialists are beginning to map the intelligence of the body in motion to ask questions about what kind of movement—and how much of it—is needed to maintain basic health.
34 THE ART OF LIVING WELL
The Good Movement Diet is based on recent scientific findings about what constitutes healthy movement. For example, we need a variety of multidirectional, unpredictable and bouncy movements to surprise our habitual movement patterns. We need to include exercising barefoot to restore the sensitivity of the proprioceptors in our feet responsible for balance and locomotion. We need to train ourselves to close our mouths and breathe through our noses, breathing gently and slowly and exhaling for longer than we inhale. At the same time, we need a diet that keeps down inflammation in the body. We need to add gelatin to nourish our connective tissue (four teaspoons per day—a vegan alternative is protein powder like pea or brown rice.) We need time to move. Set aside the time, turn on your favorite music and learn to tap into the natural intelligence of your body. Set small, manageable fitness goals. Everyone needs a daily movement diet rich in nutrition as part of a healthy lifestyle.
