clean living// four daily movements to boost your health

rooted in balance//

FOUR DAILY MOVEMENTS TO BOOST YOUR HEALTH

it’s wild how much you learn on the journey to clean living. when you start out in one area of your life, your eyes can also become opened to the other areas of your life that you can switch to healthier practices.

in this past year, i’ve come to learn more about movement and how greatly it can impact my health. i have always been an active person, but with gyms being closed during covid and routines looking so different, i’ve become even more aware of listening to what my body needs. movement looks different for me every day; sometimes it’s just getting out and running errands, and other times it’s cutting out time for breathwork and yoga or a walk with jase and bennie in the neighborhood.

whatever it is, movement is essential to your health–both mentally, physically, and even emotionally. it truly isn’t that hard to get movement in, and does not have to be some difficult event in your life that you torture yourself over.

here are four simple daily movements that you can practice each day to boost your health.

WALKING

my functional medicine doctor has taught me the importance of starting your day away from your phone and getting outside. he stresses how impactful this is not just for the energy of your day but for your overall mental and physical health. start your day without your phone, and get outside in the sun for ten minutes.

CAT COW

this is a common yoga pose. get on all fours, resting on your hands and knees. be sure to align your hands to be directly under your shoulders. now allow your belly to drop, arch your back forming your spine into a u-shape with your neck, head, and eyes pointing at the ceiling. while doing so, take a deep breath in. this is cow. now transition to cat. bring your tummy into itself, arching your spine in the opposite direction up towards the ceiling, and bringing your neck, head, and gaze towards the floor–creating a shape like a scared cat. while rotating through this motion, deeply exhale and hold. transition through the movement five to ten times on each side to boost the mobility of your spinal column while getting your circulatory system flowing.

LOW-IMPACT PLANK WITH HALF PUSH-UP

this is a modified push-up that will strengthen your arms without the torture of forcing yourself to do regular push-ups or injuring your knees from a traditional modified push-up. not only will you strengthen and tone your arms from bicep to tricep, but you will also strengthen your core and exercise the mobility of your spinal column.

start on all fours, with your hands and knees on the ground, and your hands spread an inch or two outside of your shoulders – create a 14-15 inch gap between your hands, rather than a common 12-inch gap if you were to have your hands directly aligned underneath your shoulders. this will keep you from over-extending your shoulder (potentially causing injury) when lowering yourself into a push-up.

move from all fours into a traditional plank position. extend your feet out from underneath you and hold yourself up on your hands and the balls of your feet. take in a deep breath and hold.

now, lower yourself from plank position to the floor while counting down from five, four, three, two, one. while lowering yourself, be sure to deeply exhale. lower yourself entirely to the floor, so that the full front of your body is resting on the ground. transition from on your toes to resting the top of your feet on the floor, while maintaining your arms in the same position.

at this point, you should be laying on the ground with the palms of your hands pressed to the ground next to your armpits.

use your arms to push your chest up, and return to all fours. go through this movement 10 - 15 times a day, and you will be amazed at how your arms tone up in just a few weeks.

ELEVATING YOUR LEGS

this is an essential movement especially for those who find themselves sitting or standing all day. it’s important to increase the blood flow in your legs while boosting circulation and fighting off inflammation and swelling. did you know that circulation in the body is essential to its ability to heal itself? now think of where your heart is in relation to your legs. elevating your legs aids your body in its natural ability to circulate itself, further boosting its ability to heal and remedy its needs.

get on the floor near a wall, chair, or even the edge of your bed. lay your head back to the ground, with your neck and back resting entirely on the floor. now, lift your legs above your body, extending them to full length, and resting them on the object of your choice. be sure that your legs are entirely elevated above your heart and extended with your toes above your knee caps; your knees above your hips. stay in this position for 10 - 15 minutes. you may begin to feel a tingling feeling or a cold sensation in your toes or legs as your blood begins to flow away from your elevated extremities and back to your heart. this is totally normal!

these movements are so easy and can take less than 10 minutes each. try to start encrypting one each day, or even transition to doing them all in one day. your body, mind, and soul will thank you!