Read time: 2.5 mins

Hi Friends! Happy Tuesday and welcome to the second email is the series on simple health tips. Today we're exploring Movement & Exercise.

From the hundreds of clients I've worked with, all my certifications, years of clinical experience, and collaborations with other professionals in the field, I'm going to give you the four most simple and most helpful tips for movement and exercise. You can take them at face value or dive deeper into each concept by listening to the linked episodes of The Resource Doula Podcast or by simply scrolling through the blog that has show notes for each episode and additional articles that aren't podcast episodes.

1. The floor is the biggest piece of exercise equipment you're not using. Simply get down on the ground and back up again 10x per day. Sit on the floor in a variety of positions while working, playing with your kids, doing laundry, or any number of other activities. You'll be surprised at the amount of strength you gain just by spending more time on the floor daily. If kids develop better with more floor time and fewer containers, as pediatric PT Abbie Ogilbee explains, maybe it's a great sign for us to ditch our chairs and spend more time with them on the floor.
2. Don't be afraid to move! A lot of trainers in this space (myself included!!) used to lead with a fear-based mentality, like "don't do these unsafe exercises because it might hurt your abs/pelvic floor/etc." But since the research has been coming in, and my experience with clients has taught me that if you teach that way, people are way less likely to move at all, and not moving is worse than moving in a way that's not perfect! My philosophy is to just try something, and because you're the expert on your own body, it will tell you if it's an appropriate exercise or not. Learn How to Actually Engage Your Core and then be empowered to move freely from there. And go lift something heavy. You are strong! Your toddler weighs way more than those 5# and 10# dumbbells you are worried about using.
3. Free your feet. Ditch your shoes that are stiff, supportive, and ultra cushioned: really, your feet are the very foundation of your body, and in order for the rest of your joints, muscles, tendons, and fascia to work naturally, you have to restore natural foot function. Listen to Why Minimal Footwear with Anya of Anya's Reviews and also my chat on The Truth About Feet with Podiatrist Andy Bryant to understand more of why the feet are SO important.
4. Have fun! Play > drudgery. Enough said, right? Find movement that you enjoy, and pursue that more of the time than not. There is something to be said for sticking it out and completing your sets and reps even if they aren't fun, but if you enjoy movement, you'll form a sustainable habit that stays with you the rest of your life. Maybe you need encouragement from Humans Outside host Amy Bushatz to get outside with your kids more regularly? Or maybe you need to just rediscover play with whatever this stability ball exercise is? 😆

Pretty simple and easy to implement? Hit reply and tell me which of the four tips you resonated with most.

We'll be back next week for the third email in this series on simple health tips where we'll talk about grounding, and more on shoes & feet! Thanks so much for reading!

Warmly,

Natalie