What scripts can you flip due to your body awareness, strength, access, or athletic lessons in identities of age, physical ability, fitness, gender, or other identities? How do we support people older or younger than us when an aspiration at first seems too soon or too much?How do we deconstruct ageism in our personal lives? What are the incremental steps that contribute to changes?
Read MoreQ: What’s the best way to be in a car?
A: As little as possible!
Kudos to those of you who walk to work, park a bit farther from your destination to walk a bit more every day or who don't even own a car! It’s not that we sit so much, it’s that we sit so much in the same way on those long Summer travel days.
Read MoreAs many of you no doubt have also experienced, the impact of grief can be hard on the body, mind and spirit. The grieving process requires an enormous amount of energy. It may cloud your thoughts, keep you up at night or flood you with a range of emotions from anger to guilt, sadness and confusion. As with any other natural human process, grief requires movement.
Read MoreSome of us, when we were younger, did amazing things with our bodies. We danced ballet, ran marathons, climbed mountains, gave birth. As my friend Marcie says, “We know stuff!” Although some of us may no longer be as active as we once were, our bodies still hold memories and maps of the ways we once moved through life. Some of us, later in life, have reconnected with our bodies and are stronger than ever. There are many ways to honor our bodies of experience.
Read MoreWhen I was still working in an office, my favorite shoes were a pair of short black cowboy boots with a 2-inch heel and a pointy toe. Wore them all the time, despite the niggling knee pain I experienced while doing so. It didn’t occur to me until much later that those shoes were partly to blame.
Read MoreAgeism is prejudice or discrimination against people based on their age. It typically applies to people who are older but can also affect young people. Ageism has a negative impact on physical and mental health, and reports link it with earlier death. Although it is universal, people do not always take ageism as seriously as other forms of inequity. Meg LaPorte is co-founder, with Jordan Evans, of Art Against Ageism. She says, “Let’s reframe the anti-aging mindset to that of anti-ageism.”
Read MoreLet me introduce you to a movement method that is not only gentle on your joints and muscles, but also supports better breathing, circulation and metabolism while calming your mind and soothing your spirit. Sound too good to be true? This 1000-year-old “moving meditation” is practiced by millions of people around the world today.
Read MoreWhen I break a tiny bone in my foot, I learn (again, in new and different ways) about the power of stillness. That there is grief to feel when things break--bodies, schedules, plans--in letting go of how things were supposed to be. Also, bones are amazing! Healing begins in the first moments after injury and goes on for months. It takes the time it takes. How do we heed what the body needs? How can we move into stillness? What kind of movement practice is that?
Read MoreIf you've been struggling to cultivate a new habit or stop an old one, you might be surprised to learn that the way to make change is to start small. Really small. Tiny, even. Spend the next 5 minutes exploring the deceptively simple method created the founder of Stanford University's Behavior Design Lab and see for yourself. Then create your own recipe for change. While I highly endorse creating habits that help you move better, you could apply this innovative information to wiring any habit you want, such as getting better sleep, practicing self-care as a caregiver, strengthening your relationships or staying focused. I hope you enjoy this quick tour of the Tiny Habits® method.
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