Functional Movement + How to Find Movement that Feels Good to You
Functional movement embraces the way your body was meant to move.
It’s supportive movement that trains the body in a pain-free and stress-free fashion by engaging different muscles and joints. It improves the biomechanics of the body which leads to the building of muscle, strength, and endurance. It’s natural movement. I love functional movement! It’s what I recommend to my clients when we talk about movement and what sounds like fun movement to them.
“The impact of movement on our physiology, not to mention our psychology, is imperative for proper function.”
What I’m not referring to are workouts where you hit it hard every time. To be honest, I’m not one for the “no pain, no gain” mentality, and most days your body isn’t either. What I mean by moving your body daily is exactly that – move it. This could look like stretching, chasing your kids around the yard, walking the dog, doing squats or walking during breaks, vacuuming, or dancing to your favorite tunes while you cook. It’s about getting the body to move so it can keep moving with us as we age.
The exercises that you enjoy will shift from season to season. One season may require more energy + time and you’re up for it, while another season may require a focus on health challenges. That being said, it’s so important that you meet your body where it’s at and honor its needs. This is especially true if you have health challenges like hormonal imbalances, thyroid or adrenal issues, chronic stress or fatigue, or an autoimmune condition.
At the beginning of my healing journey with my adrenals and thyroid, I had to cut back on the intensity of my workouts. I should mention I wasn’t getting enough sleep or eating enough, either. Lack of sleep, under-eating, and under-functioning adrenals and thyroid resulted in an overwhelmed + overworked body. Strenuous workouts weren’t the answer. My body was begging me to slow down and participate in restorative movement, so that’s what I did – and it was life-changing.
Hiking around the lake at a gentle pace.
Within a short period of time of switching up my exercises, I noticed my body calm down. It went from survival to feeling safe enough to start healing. I realized my body still desired movement, but the kind that met my body where it was at and not what I thought it needed. This experience taught me that I needed to work with my body, instead of against it.
I say this to tell you there may be a season or two where you really need to scale it back and re-evaluate the kind, amount, and intensity of exercises you’re participating in. You might need to slow down and do more gentle movement to heal. Or perhaps your body is asking you to move more.
The best way to determine if the exercises you’re engaging are right for you is by checking in with yourself to see how you’re feeling before, during, and after a workout. Are you taking a long time to recover? Are you experiencing any pain? Are you losing muscle mass? Are you completely exhausted afterwards? These are signs that your body can’t handle the workouts you’re doing and/ or you’re over-exercising. Honor your body’s needs and have fun with the experimentation process. Listen to it. It’s a learning journey you’ll be grateful you took the time to walk (pun intended).
So, what’s the difference between exercise and movement?
Ah, that’s a great question! Exercise is actually a form of movement – it’s a structured form of movement, often eliciting repetitive movement and engaging a small range of muscles and joints. Movement, on the other hand, engages all kinds of muscles and joints and is typically a more organic + natural way of moving the body. It’s finding more play in your life!
“Exercise is not the flip side of the sedentary coin - movement is. While the difference may seem like an argument in semantics, these two habits are quite different. ”
Exercise is bio-individual, meaning not all types of exercising will be good for your body. As good as it is to exercise, relying solely on exercise as our only form of movement can be detrimental in the long run. What truly matters is that we move. We don’t need to “workout” to move. We just need to be intentional in moving on a daily basis.
Moving our bodies throughout the day will prevent stagnation and muscle decline. Precision Nutrition brings up a valid and interesting point – “We may move less. But movement is still programmed into the human brain as a critical aspect of how we engage with the world” (PN). This is especially important for those that do most of their work at a desk (that’s me too). Simply taking a walk after lunch, walking while you talk on the phone, using a standing desk, or taking a break every hour to stand and stretch are a handful of ways to get more movement in your day.
Examples of Functional Movement
Moving with proper alignment and intensity
Squatting
Lunges
Pushups
Dancing to music you enjoy
Cooking – stirring a pot, cleaning dishes, reaching for items out of the cupboard
Walking/ hiking
Kayaking or canoeing
Yoga
Meditation
Playing with your kids or friends
Playing like a kid – digging, taking on the monkey bars, running and laughing, crawling
Climbing
Vacuuming/ sweeping
Gardening
And the list could go on. For women, the type of movement, more specifically exercise, impacts your cycle. This is because your hormones fluctuate, as do your energy levels, throughout your cycle and your body will find certain kinds of exercises more nourishing than others depending on where you’re at in your cycle. I’ve started cycle syncing with various kinds of exercise for each phase to support my body better and I’ve noticed a positive difference in how my body responds to exercise and recovery. Cycle syncing with exercise is a wonderful way to support your body by embracing being a female!
The more you move, and move well, the more connected you’ll feel with the world and your relationships (Precision Nutrition).
Benefits of Movement
Improves brain health
Supports neurotransmitters
Releases endorphins
Balances hormones
Reduces inflammation (when used appropriately and not done in excess)
Improves bones, joints, and muscles
Supports the lymph system (detoxification)
Improves the cardiovascular system
Builds confidence
Increases energy
Makes you more expressive + productive
Improves thinking + learning abilities
And the list could go on here, too.
Just like our bodies crave different nutrients throughout the day to thrive, so does it crave different kinds of movement throughout the day. Our bodies can’t thrive off one diet, one food, or a small handful of nutrients alone. That would make us nutrient-deficit. The same applies to the kinds of movement we participate in (Bowman). If we do the same kind of movement all the time or even slightly switch it up, that puts us into a movement-deficient state.
Movement matters. The way you move matters. How often you move matters. Engaging in activities that work different parts of your body is pivotal and the beautiful piece to that is it isn’t black or white. We don’t have a few movement options to choose from but many! The point is to discover what movement feels good to you and – do more of that. And ladies? That goes for cycle syncing with your workouts too.
Movement that feels good to you is movement you’ll continue to do because you want to do it. Our bodies are bio-individual not just on a nutrition level, but on a whole-body level. This means movement is bio-individual too. Movement that feels good to me may not feel good to you. Cool. Understanding that is important. So is understanding it’s supposed to be fun. Have fun with it!
Give yourself time to think – what movement sounds good to you? Try out different things and make a note of what you enjoy and how your body responds to the movement. Then do more of it and watch as your body shifts from a creaky tin man to an agile + dynamic you.
Move like your life depends on it (because it does). Move in a loving and supportive way.
Move and groove people. There’s no time like the present!
Sources
Baddeley, B., Sornalingam, S., & Cooper, M. (2016). Sitting is the new smoking:
where do we stand? British Journal of General Practice, 66(646), 258.
Bowman, K. (2021). Alignment and Natural Human Movement. Retrieved from https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/alignment-and-natural-movement/
Jagim. A. (2020). The importance of movement. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/featured-topic/the-importance-of-movement
Nutritional Therapy Association. (2019). Sleep, Stress, and Movement. Nutritional Therapy Association. Student Guide, 63-85.
Scott-Dixon, K. The real (and surprising) reasons healthy movement matters. Retrieved from https://www.precisionnutrition.com/healthy-movement