Hello friends! Today I am bringing you Part 2 in the Intuitive Exercise Series. (You can read the intro here and part one here.) The second principle of Intuitive Eating is to Honor Your Hunger, and the exercise analogous is to Honor Your Body. So, let’s chat a bit about how we can use movement to accomplish that goal!
Ever watch young kids? If you haven’t, I encourage you to really pay attention over the course of a couple of hours if you can. I am going somewhere with this, I promise. Kids function in life like an interval workout. They are made for short bursts of focusing and sitting still. And then they have to move. If they don’t you end up dealing with attention issues and cooperation problems.
See, kids somehow instinctively know that the pent up, held in physical energy has to be used up so they can focus again. My husband and I actually have a phrase we use with our kiddo when he’s been sitting too long. We straight up ask him if he has to get the wiggles out. The answer is usually yes. And if we run around a bit, he will settle back down (this has been a super handy observation during the pandemic).
So how does this relate to Honoring Our Body? Well, it’s twofold actually. Honoring Your Body means moving it through physical activity and exercise regularly. Preferably daily. Kids don’t lose the innate need to be active as they grow. As we get older and our attention spans lengthen, we suppress the need for regular movement. Either because we are forced (school, jobs, etc.) or because society tells us there is more value in doing something else with our time.
And then Exercise Culture kicks in with all of its “wisdom.” Exercise should be hard or you should sweat a lot for it to be worth your time. Exercise should be done at certain times of the day and all in a huge block, regardless of what fits your schedule. Exercise requires all sorts of fancy gear or memberships so that everyone knows you are properly engaged. Movement needs to fit into certain boxes (cardio, strength training, etc.) for it to be healthful.
I call bull corn. Now, as a working parent, I will concede that allowances for time management need to be made. But the only “right” time to move is the one that works for your schedule. Restorative movement, like yoga, isn’t difficult and yet has tons Physical and Mental Health benefits. You don’t need fancy gear to take a walk. And a living room dance party checks the very important, yet often overlooked, fun box.
Now obviously, if part of your why for exercise is a specific goal, you’ll need to fit the WANT to dos around the NEED to dos. But I’ll argue that even if you are legitimately training for something specific, you need to listen to your body. At least to know when to rest. Super specific plans aren’t necessarily sustainable for the long term. To make movement a habit, you need some elements of your plan that you actually look forward to doing.
Which brings me to the second part of Honoring Your Body: Listening to it. Your body might be, and probably is, asking for different types of movement on different days. We usually ask ourselves how many steps we can get in or how many calories a workout will burn or maybe, how much muscle an exercise might help us build.
But there are more important questions to ask. Does this help my body (and mind) feel better/stronger right now? Do I enjoy this movement right now? Do I want to engage in this type of exercise or movement again?
By trusting our body to tell us what will help it feel better or stronger, we are lifting a huge mental burden off movement and exercise. Sometimes our bodies need recovery time and sometimes you just want to go roller skating. (Just me? OK then.) Sometimes we are up for a tough workout. Every one of those is a valid practice, especially if you are listening to your body and honoring its needs.
Those things that are fun (for us) and just help our bodies feel better, regardless of the calorie burn, are the ones with the huge Mental Health benefits, too. Again, having a basic plan for the week isn’t a bad thing. But having the wiggle room within that plan to acknowledge that your body is asking for a walk on a given day, and to be able to deliver, will make the HIIT workout you do another day more enjoyable too.
Kids move in tons of different ways, it’s called play. And to bring it back, we don’t lose the desire for play as we get older, we just suppress it. By allowing space in our exercise plans for “play” workouts, those that we love regardless of the benefits Exercise Culture tells us to revere, we bring back fun. And fun workouts are part of what lead to sustainable habits.
Because Honoring Our Bodies means bringing joy back to exercise and movement. At least some of the time we need to be asking ourselves if we are moving the way we want to at present. Being able to hop off the (actual and proverbial) treadmill and have a dance party in our living room because it is fun is a huge win for Intuitive Exercise.
Until next time, be well friends!
