Just Keep Moving

If you are sitting at your desk right now reading this, you may be wondering how it’s already September and summer is (un)officially over. The kids are back in school. Students from all over the globe have reentered our neighborhoods and roadways. The traffic suddenly seems to be more packed. Alas, another beautiful New England season is behind us and Autumn is just around the corner.

One thing you will start to notice immediately as you return to your normal routine is that your tolerance for sitting (and co-workers) has diminished significantly and those aches and pains slowly start to creep back in. Before you make your third visit to Starbucks before 2 pm today, consider doing something for yourself that will have longer lasting rewards than a 30 minute caffeine jolt.

Science has proven time and again that as little as 5 minutes of exercise can have a dramatic impact on your overall health. Simply taking the time to take a deep breath can send an immediate message to your brain to release Acetylcholine (a primary neurotransmitter who’s basic functions involve the control of skeletal muscles via activation of the motor neurons as well as stimulating the muscles of the body). By taking just a 5-10 minutes every hour to do some basic yoga, stretching, corrective exercises, mobility work, MOVEMENT, you can allow your body to slowly start to acclimate to your return to work. To paraphrase Dory from Finding Nemo, “Just keep moving!” That’s really all it takes. Lack of varied movement over a prolong duration of sitting (more than 50 minutes) can cause injury and potentially long term damage to tissues. Check out these simple poses that you can print out and keep at your desk as a reminder to ‘just keep moving’ throughout the course of your work day.