10 Ways to Improve Health and Mobility in 2018

Two recent studies came out that caught my attention with regards to the importance of mobility. One study came to the conclusion that half of cancers are preventable and lack of exercise/obesity is a major contributor. Another made the connection between mobility and longevity. Those that could easily go from sitting on the floor to standing were living much longer and healthier lives.

These results underscore how much health and life is lost by simply not moving. In a way, when you don't exercise you are making an unconscious decision to live a shorter life with more discomfort and possibly an arduous and expensive journey fighting illnesses like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

So considering making a better relationship with your body your New Year's resolution. Below are some ways to help you be more mobile and healthy in 2018. Pick one first and commit to that. Too many goals will leave you lost at sea. If you need help, check out this article on how to keep your resolution.

1. Take a walking break for lunch. This gives your pelvis and low back a break by opening up and moving your muscles, lymph, blood and stretching out your fascia  for a bit. If you act like a statue, you will become that statue.
2. Get rid of your furniture. Try removing furniture that encourages poor posture and add things like yoga balls, stools, zafus and kneeling chairs to support mobility, core strength and better posture, as well as adding variety to your seated positions.
3. Shake it out. Try jumping on a rebounder trampoline, dancing to fast music or simply shaking your body. This relaxes your muscles, lubricates your joints, stimulate lymphatic flow and aid in dispersing emotionally based tension in the body.
4. Do a body scan. Simply scan from toes to head how you are feeling and try to relax each body part. This will help with stress based tension and bring you back to connecting with your body in a conscious way.
5. Integrate alternate transportation into your daily routine. Cars robs us of the regular need for motion. If this is too challenging, park far and walk as my 95 year old grandfather would say.
6. Attend one movement class a week or take up a sport that has a weekly meet up that includes activities that are very different from your work life. Regular commitments that include others are more successfully fulfilled.
7. Consider adopting an active dog. Or get a personal trainer. Or a an exercise buddy. All of these work well for getting your butt off the couch.
8. Do your own cleaning, gardening, etc. Manual chores introduce variety of movement that is key to a balanced and agile body, as well as giving you breaks from sitting at home.
9. Make exercise as high a priority as eating. Put it in your calendar a few times a week and block it off. You can also use the carrot method. "I can get some food out if I walk/bike there." Or, "I will only watch TV while I am doing some kind of exercise or stretching."
10. Keep moving even when you are hurt or in pain, which about 1/3 of people are at any given time. When some people sustain an injury, they halt their activities to nothing. Others push through. The ones who keep moving fair far better over a life span. You can always move some part of your body, even if part of it hurts and likely you can still move almost all of your body. Indeed many people slowly or quickly decline in health after an injury. Get all the help you need as fast as possible so you don't slip into a downward spiral of injury-lack of exercise-immobility-injury-lack of exercise-immobility and so on.

Keep movin' on!