Calling in the Movement Experts to Prevent Exercise Pain

Children are Movement Experts

Several Facebook friends forwarded videos to me last year that showed a simple stand to sit test that was correlated with longevity in a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. “What did I think of this test?” they wanted to know. Could I do it? I believe that the tenets of the test are true: being able to sit on the floor and get up without using your arms is an important skill to retain or regain. However, as you can see in the video below, the test from the study is hard on my knees. Can you hear the grinding sounds coming from my knees at thirty seconds?

My training and experience led me to believe that I should modify this test to avoid the grinding in my joints and accompanying pain, so I decided to call in some movement experts. I could have called a physical therapist or a personal trainer, a structural integrator or kinesiologist, a yoga therapist or a Feldenkrais teacher. While I respect professional training and do get advice from each of these types of movement experts, I believe that children have a lot to teach us about movement, too. Kids move naturally with ease. In this video, The Movement Experts, my grand-nephews Beau and Emil, show me how to sit on the floor and get up without using my hands.

Sitting on the floor and getting back up is an excellent way to stay in shape. Follow Beau and Emil in the above video and feel the workout. If you have lost the ability to get on the floor, don’t give up. Rebuilding your strength and flexibility is possible. I created a second video to show you how with a progression of strength building movements. Every time you sit down and get up from a chair, you can build your leg and core strength.

You can also use the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 30 second chair stand test to see if you are above or below average in strength for your age. However, my best recommendation is to find some kids and copy their movements. I will help you with that with upcoming videos from The Movement Experts, who will teach us all how to stay mobile. 

Variety of Movement

Life requires movement. At a minimum: breath and circulation. Optimally: continual development. Lack of movement results in stagnation, illness, and injury.

We need to move. But what if, like me, you aren’t a born athlete or even very coordinated? I loathed PE class as a child, which only highlighted my physical ineptitude and caused constant embarrassment. The worst humiliation was the annual Presidential Fitness Challenge, which consisted of a bent arm hang (my spindly arms couldn’t hold me up two seconds), sit ups (I could do a couple), the 40 yard dash (picture skinny, pale arms and legs flailing wildly), and my nemesis, the 600 yard dash. (Dash, ha!, I was lucky to finish limping across the finish line with a stitch in my side a full 15 minutes after everyone else.)

I am so thankful that fitness has a broader definition today. Without yoga, belly dance, undulation, and of course, Hellerwork Structural Integration, I would still be awkward and unhealthy. Today’s emphasis on fitness also involves “the core,” an unknown idea 30 years ago.

Move regularly and vigorously to keep your heart, lungs, lymph, muscles, and even your brain healthy. If you haven’t already found a way of moving that fills your body-mind with joy, try something new to exercise different muscles and avoid stagnation. Here are some types of holistic exercise that you may find pleasurable and effective.

Nia. This low-impact aerobic program combines jazz and modern dance with low impact martial arts, yoga, and healing arts techniques.

Tai Chi. Don’t let the flowing movements of Tai Chi fool you into thinking it’s not beneficial. Slow movements use more core muscles and counteract the stress we often feel. Quigong is different than Tai Chi, but offers similar benefits.

Ecstatic Dance. You can put your favorite music on the stereo and dance ecstatically around your living room. Another option is a group gathering with world music that starts at a mellow pace and gradually builds up to high energy. Everyone is encouraged to move in a way that feels good and disregard the way they look.

5 Rhythms. Gabrielle Roth says that she likes to “drown out” our self-critical voices with “the beat.” Her 5 rhythms practice includes flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, and stillness. I was first introduced to the 5 Rhythms in my Hellerwork training and I find it applicable in everything from typing to jogging.

How about creating your own favorite form of exercise? What do you love? If volleyball, tap dance, and tae bo are your thing, put them together every once in a while for a new type of exercise, all your own.