Movement is medicine
‘Look at your happy face,’ my love says while watching my first successful aerial ballerina on tape, ‘it looks really good.’
It’s a move I’ve been practicing for six months. It still looks flawed of course, but I finally got enough momentum to wrap my hips and legs around the pole mid-air, which means I made visible progress.
That aerial ballerina might be the only visible highlight of this whole month of intentional movement, but it’s not the only thing this project affects.
Depression can’t hit a moving target
Seasonally low vibes are usually no stranger to me. Although not right now, other than being really tired, no but really tired, I feel excited about where this is going and about trying new things. My happy also seems contagious, which I did not expect.
I’m also getting more intentional about other things. I’m journaling more than I normally do, because I want to keep track of my progress. I’m more conscious of what I spend my money and time on, and my screen time has even gone down. And the creative ideas are coming in multiples too.
Recap of week one
My first week of being intentional about movement was mostly the physical kind.
In case it’s useful, I thought I’d share the routines I use. Full disclosure, I can’t promise they’re effective yet. It’s my first time trying.
The app: Three days a week I stretch with an Amsterdam-based app called Flexible Strength Academy. It has several routines focused on the front split, side split, pancake or contortion. There’s also a fun feature where you pre-plan your workouts, so you get a notification when it’s time to stretch.
I find it really useful, because before this app I was inconsistently trying random YouTube routines and AI-generated reels promising a ten-minute routine would get me into a full split in 30 days. No surprise, that promise was complete bogus.
The everyday routine: On top of the app I do a smaller routine for the parts of me that are stiffest, my hip flexors and adductors. It takes about 10 minutes, needs no equipment, and you can do it in your pyjamas.
Warm up first so you’re not stretching cold muscles:
30 jumping jacks
10 squats
Then the stretches:
Pigeon pose sit-ups: 10 reps, 3 rounds. Sounds fancy, feels like your hips are being politely interrogated.
Lizard stretch: 30 to 40 seconds per side. Breathe into it and don’t rush.
Side stretch: 10 reps per side.
Horse stance good mornings: 10 reps. Wide stance, hinge from the hips, keep your back long.
Frog stretch: 30 seconds.
Note to self: rest is intentional movement too
My wild enthusiasm had me working out six times in one week: three times pole and three times stretch routines. I found that was too much. Not only is my body feeling sore, I also spent my weekend sleeping more than I normally do. So for the following three weeks I will be more aware of labeling rest as intentional movement too.
Love always,