Living Well: Making moves: Small ways to increase your daily movement

Making moves: Small ways to increase your daily movement

Movement is a key component to maintaining health and wellness – from cardiovascular to mental health to bones, joints, and muscles. Our bodies are made to move! Intentionally increasing the amount, and range, of your movement during the day is a great way to improve overall health.

So, how do we do it?

Build movement into your day

An active workspace (office, or otherwise) outdoes a sedentary, ‘ergonomic’ space. While keeping things close at hand is convenient, consider spacing out tools and other resources you need during the day to get yourself moving more frequently. Try varying your posture (for example, between sitting and standing) to use different muscles and keep blood flowing. If you’re already moving a lot for work, try to change up the routes you take, the order of the tasks you perform, or other repeating patterns to keep things fresh.
Small steps add up to big wins

Parking further from the store, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and pacing (or dancing!) while doing chores are a few simple ways to get your body moving more, daily. Popular advice is to try and reach an average of 20-25 minutes of aerobic activity each day. Pairing more movement with everyday activity is a great way to make that a manageable target.
Increase your range of motion

While a daily yoga practice is an excellent way to build strength and increase flexibility, it’s not the only way. Each time you go to pick something up from the floor, from a high shelf, or at your side is an opportunity to do a little stretch. Mobile device use is a common reason to look down so even that out by looking up to the sky – while spending time outside, perhaps!
Ways to get moving

Your benefits plan may be able to help you get moving. Paramedical coverage, like chiropractic or physiotherapy services, can help evaluate and expand your range of motion. If you have a Wellness Spending Account, it can be used to purchase equipment or memberships – just be sure to check your list of eligible expenses beforehand.

Lastly, there is a wide array of online resources and services you can use to kick off a new movement routine or add to an existing one – YouTube is a great place to start!