Quick and nourishing movement snacks

Quick and nourishing movement snacks

Back pain seems to plague us all at some point or another. This precious piece of machinery, our spine, lies beneath bands of fascia, muscles, tendons, ligaments and is in close proximity to our organs. When our back begins to ache it can be hard to distinguish exactly what is the culprit. We can experience many different types of pain. Nerve pain typically presents as numbness, pins and needles, or shooting and stabbing. Muscle pain presents as sore, achey, tight. When we are in pain, the last thing we want to do is move, but often it’s what our bodies need the most. Our bodies do not like being in the same position for an extended period of time. Example: driving in a car for a long distance road trip. How often does your body feel the need to move and stretch? I believe every hour is necessary. So why do we sit at our work desks for 5 hours straight without a break? Let me introduce you to my favorite exercise concept called the Movement Snack. A movement snack is when you select an exercise to do for about 1 to 5 minutes. There are many benefits to performing small bursts exercises. It helps regulate blood sugar levels, increases blood and oxygen to the brain and skeletal muscles, and mobilizes your body through different ranges of motion. You can do them anywhere, anytime exactly as you are. 5 Ideas for movement snacks:

1. Supine: sit ups in bed going from lying on your back to sitting and balancing.

2. Seated: twist to the left and right several times going as quick or as slow as you need. I love to do this with hands behind the head.

3. Standing: marches or hip abductions with a neutral pelvis

4. Standing: squats or deadlifts. Adding weight is optional

5. Prone: pushups - can be done on counter or table

Sometimes even a few seconds of moving can improve our mindset and mood. Oftentimes that one minute turns into several.

Happy moving,

<3 Caroline