Inspired by Nature: Natural Movement

Spring is here, in all its glory!  I love walking around my neighbourhood and being in awe of the gorgeous flowers and trees that are blooming around me.  Every day the world looks different.  Vibrant.  Joyful. Abundant.

As the weather gets warmer we naturally gravitate to spending more time outdoors, we go on long evening walks, meet up with friends at the park and gather with families at cottages.  It can be hard to be motivated to roll out the mat while you’re on vacation or instead of hitting up a patio for brunch.

I’ve been heavily influenced by Katy Bowman, a bio mechanist, creator of The Restorative Exercise Institute and author of several books including Move Your DNA.  Katy talks about the difference between movement and exercise.  Exercise is a type of movement. However, so is walking and climbing and squatting and reaching and…the list goes on and on.

We are well aware that yoga is a mindful movement practice but I think we often categorize it as physical exercise.  Yoga can be very physical and I think it’s great to be aware of the numerous physical benefits that yoga offers, but since reading Move Your DNA I have become aware of the millions and millions of movements that are absolutely amazing for our bodies that don’t look like a typical “exercise”.

For instance, I have started rolling my feet out with a ball and stretching the tops of my feet and calves.  I have done this in yoga classes in the past and I have always felt the benefits of it, such as feeling more grounded, less tense leg muscles, and better balance.  But I found that I wasn’t implementing those types of movements into my personal practice at home very often.

I often overlooked the physical benefits of releasing the tension I carry in my feet and legs and gravitated toward a more flowing Vinyasa practice because I felt like the big movements that a Vinyasa practice offer would help me get stronger and feel more energized.

I’ve come to understand that a practice that focuses on the smaller muscles or the underused muscles will help create more balance in my body rather than always reaching for the more challenging and impressive poses.  Stretching my feet and legs out has not only helped relieve tightness in my legs but has also positively affected my lower back and pelvic floor muscles.

Shifting our thoughts about movement versus exercise creates a few opportunities that I think are highly beneficial for us as yoga practitioners.  For one I think it creates a deeper connection to our bodies and to ourselves.  Yoga is about union. Breath, body and spirit.  To me that means cultivating an awareness of how our body moves.  Being mindful not only when you’re in a yoga class but also when you’re moving through your day.  Honoring your body and listening to what it needs.

Maybe you don’t need a vigorous flow practice but would benefit from a walk on a trail.  Perhaps you would benefit from sitting, breathing, and meditating. Or maybe your body really does needs to move and sweat and release some pent up energy.  Thinking about how we move around on a daily basis invites us to be more engaged, aware and present.

Secondly, I think of walking barefoot in the grass.  It seems too simple to even be considered movement or to be helpful to our bodies.  But on a physical level, walking barefoot allows the muscles of your foot to move more freely than when crammed inside a shoe.  Walking across unleveled ground challenges your balance and the muscles in your legs to work differently.

On an emotional/spiritual level we feel more connected to the earth beneath us.  We feel more alive and aware of the world around us.  We notice temperatures and textures, maybe it brings back a fond memory or perhaps you feel more grounded and peaceful.

I have 2 young children who I spend a lot of time with at the park; watching them play in the sandbox and climb up and down the slide.  Instead of standing close by watching I now practice goddess pose, a deep squat, next to them as they play.  Or I find a kneeling position such as gate pose, which gets me down on their level and also gives me a great stretch for the inner thighs.

I’ve started to introduce a variety of movements even when I’m working on my computer. I often stand and practice feeling my weight back toward my heels, spreading my toes wide and breathing into my diaphragm. When I need to do a little stretch I just walk my feet back, hinge at my hips and bring my eyes to look down to the floor.  This movement is essentially a modified downward dog.

One of my favourite ideas from Katy Bowman is to prepare dinner on the floor.  It sounds crazy!  So radical!  And sure it doesn’t sound all that comfortable but it provides an opportunity to include a variety of movement into your life without having to schedule in specific “exercise” time.  Katy suggests bringing your mixing bowls down to the floor or chopping your veggies down there while you’re squatting.  I’ve tried this on a few occasions and not only did it add different movements into my day but the kids were really interested in what I was doing and wanted to help out.

I am not suggesting that you should give up on your yoga practice and only take to squatting while making dinner but if we begin to see that what we do on our yoga mat is just a portion of the movement that we should be exploring throughout our day then we will find new ways of feeling balanced, connected and strong. Being more mindful of the amount of movement that you’re getting in your day means that yoga can then be more than just your daily dose of exercise.  You can then reap the multitude of physical, emotional and spiritual benefits that are truly transformative.

I hope that as you go about your life this week you would feel the energetic current of spring. The opportunity to transform. To explore and grow. To feel alive and connected. To move.

Laura is a Supporting teacher at 889 and offers pre and postnatal yoga and Pilates privates with a speciality on reconditioning the core including restoring diastasis recti and pelvic floor weakness.