Sustainable Movement
Mobility and strength throughout life requires choosing sustainable modes of exercise. Like us, you may have learned the hard way that although it may be fun in the moment to run on pavement or power lift heavy weights, it isn’t so fun when your body hurts all the time as a result.
A few examples of sustainable movement are walking, hiking, suspension training, pilates, and yoga of all types. Variety and consistency are important, too!
In Nature
Living in Boulder provides so many opportunities to move in nature during every season. But, you don’t have to live in virtual paradise to exercise in nature. Sometimes it’s as easy as going into your backyard (literally) for a little yoga under the stars or heading to your local park to play basketball.
Moving in nature isn’t always possible. Few find it appealing to exercise in a blizzard or extreme heat, so consider setting up your yoga mat in the living room and try one of the thousands of pilates routines available on YouTube. We favor pilates with Kit Rich.
For more time in nature while being active, try walking to the grocery store or riding your bike to work. You will find the small efforts add up to a more healthy body and mind.
Be Flexible
Hiking, climbing, pilates, swimming, and biking are all great ways to maintain strength. However, to maintain flexibility, nothing beats yoga in all forms.
Because our modern lifestyles keep us sedentary in chairs and ultimately unable to move freely without pain, the focus on flexibility is just as important as that on muscular and cardiovascular health. To be pain free, try making yoga a daily part of your exercise routine and you may also discover that moving without pain is a gift worth pursuing.
Gentle stretching and yoga can also reduce recovery time from other forms of exercise. If you need some guidance, learn about one of our favorite yoga practices called “Yin Yoga” from practitioner Travis Eliot.