Have you come across the term “Intuitive Movement?”
It seems that everywhere you turn there is an article or story about “Intuitive Eating.” Many people are looking to loosen the grips of insidious diet culture from their lives. And, well, Intuitive Eating works.
It is no surprise that we are starting to see the word “intuitive” pop up in areas that make no sense (for example the hypocritical concept of “intuitive fasting” that went around last year.) The concept has become trendy and marketers of diet culture like to monetize on anything….and everything that they can deem as “healthy.”
In walks “Intuitive Movement.” No pun intended! What does Intuitive Movement mean? Is it just another fad or are there benefits? How can you get started? Keep reading and I will uncover the answers to these pressing questions.
What Does Intuitive Movement Mean?
Take a minute and close your eyes and imagine the ways you like to move your body. What feels good to you? What brings you joy? What connects your body to your breath? What movement or exercise would you choose to do if you were NOT focusing on how it can manipulate your outward physique? Is there a certain type of movement that you may not do because you feel it “won’t count” or burn sufficient calories?
When practicing “Intuitive Movement” you are divorcing the idea of diet culture from your choice of movement. You are choosing movement that YOU enjoy and feels good to YOU and not choosing exercise for how many calories it burns or for having a goal of manipulating the shape of your body.
Movement should bring you joy and fulfillment. Mantras such as “no pain, no gain”, “pain is temporary” and even phrases like “the only workout you regret is the one you did not do” would have NO place in honoring the concept of “Intuitive Movement.”
Within the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating, the ninth principle is “Movement – Feel the Difference”.
Forget militant exercise. Just get active and feel the difference. Shift your focus to how it feels to move your body, rather than the calorie-burning effect of exercise. If you focus on how you feel from working out, such as energized, it can make the difference between rolling out of bed for a brisk morning walk or hitting the snooze alarm.
Intuitive eating – a revolutionary anti-diet approach by evelyn tribole and elyse resch
The Benefits Of Intuitive Movement
It is a well known fact that physical activity is one of the consistent elements that is linked to long-term health. The problems arise when one does not decouple exercise from weight loss. If your prime focus is on weight loss, chances are you will not create a healthy habit of movement. It will either turn into a thing you “have to do” or a thing you “stop doing”.
Having an “intuitive movement” approach can help create physical activity into a healthy behavior. There are so many benefits to physical movement. Here is a list of some of the top health benefits:
- Increased bone strength
- Stress reduction
- Elevates mood
- Has shown a reduction for chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and some types of cancers
- Increased levels of GOOD cholesterol (HDL) and overall reduction in overall cholesterol
- Increases metabolism by increasing lean muscle mass
- AND many many more benefits!
How To Get Started
If you are ready to start practicing “Intuitive Movement”, below are some ways to get the ball rolling.
Think About What You Really Like To Do
It may seem obvious to do activities you REALLY enjoy however, not everyone does and they may not even realize it! I use to be an avid cross fitter and my coach use to tell us that “spinning” was useless and to not waste our time. Mind you, I was a certified spin instructor and it was a form of exercise I LOVED. For 5 years I stopped taking spin classes because why would I do exercise that “did not count?”. During recovery for one of my many shoulder injuries from CrossFit, I decided to take a spin class. It felt so amazing. For me, music fuels my soul and that is what I love about spin class and I happen to love riding a bike. I had to let go of external opinions about what types of exercises are deemed as “valuable” and find true alignment inside of myself. For the record, “spinning” is not useless. That was one humans incorrect opinion.
Do an inventory of what you LIKE to do. And what you do not like to do. Many people run because they feel it is the best exercise but when asked if they truly enjoy running the response can be “nope, I hate running but it is quick and gets the job done.”
There are so many ways to move your body. Grab a hoola hoop. Turn on music and dance. Take a dance class. Go out in nature and take a walk. If you find movement that you enjoy and lights you up, you will keep doing it and not dread it!
Detach From The Results….And the Numbers
“I got my 10,000 steps in!” How often do you hear this sentence? Who made up this rule and is it based on anything??
According to Dr. I-Min Lee, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an expert on step counts and health, the 10,000-steps target became popular in Japan in the 1960s. A clock maker, hoping to capitalize on interest in fitness after the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, mass-produced a pedometer with a name that, when written in Japanese characters, resembled a walking man. It also translated as “10,000-steps meter,” creating a walking aim that, through the decades, somehow became embedded in our global consciousness — and fitness trackers.
NYT “DO we really need to take 10,000 steps a day to improve our health?
The obsession with data when we exercise can be obsessive and it disconnects you from your bodies intuition since you are relying on an external factor to monitor your exercise. If you are someone who needs to “close your rings” for the day or you feel inferior, think about this for a minute. You are chasing numbers that do not mean anything about YOU! However, society has placed a value on it.
Chasing numbers can be done by tracking time/speed, calories burned, miles run/walk, laps swam and yes, on Peloton -the Leaderboard! And placing lots of pressure on yourself to keep hitting your “PR” – personal best.
Intuitive Movement means detaching from all external measures and just move.
What About a Six Pack?
Intuitive Movement would mean decoupling fitness from what it can do for your outward physique. Moving your body in a manner that feels good and not for how it may make you look. Core exercises can help someone to have a strong core which can help decrease back pain (or prevent it) and so many people do “abs” to chase that 6-Pack.
What does it feel like to have a strong body? Do daily tasks get easier? Do you have more energy? What about bone health? (hard to feel that one) These are all benefits that have nothing to do with outward changes to your body.
More Does Not Mean Better
When I started my journey with exercise, I had it in my head that if exercise was not 30 minutes in duration it was not beneficial. Thinking about that “rule” is silly and it is one of those rules that sticks with you. Intuitive Movement would allow you to let those rules go.
Go on a long walk because the weather is perfect and the breeze is blowing. On the flip side, if you are taking a class and just not feeling it, guess what….you can STOP! You are not a quitter if you are choosing to honor your body and your mind.
Exercise is proven to improve your mood and more is not better. Many people feel that they need to work out for hours to get the benefits and may tell themselves that they need 2 plus hours a day. Listen to what your body wants and do not just keep going and going.
Rest days are just as, if not more important, then days you work out. Listen to what your body wants and needs. Sometimes you have to listen to your body over your head on this one. If you find that taking FULL rest days is difficult for you, I suggest re-evaluating your relationship with exercise.
Go out and have fun!!! Movement can feel so good. And, if you choose to not move your body, that is OK too! Your body, your choice!
