Obstacles to Physical Activity and How to Overcome Them
It’s so patronizing to assume that people aren’t living up to physical activity recommendations simply because they are too stupid to know what’s good for them. Unfortunately, I don’t think the health and wellness world is going to drop that tone any time soon, so the materials we read and the messaging that makes it to the news is going to continue to be, “Hey, guess what?! Physical activity is beneficial for your health! Aren’t you glad we told you?!” Then, it’s the job of curious and self-reflective movement educators like myself who, once knowing better, can do better.
I think there’s a lot of things that get in the way of regular physical activity for most people, but here’s the three I think matter most.
My Response to the Most Asked Question: What Exercises Will Help my Pain?
When it comes to chronic pain, there is no single answer or framework that I use when teaching movement. People are often seeking a particular set of exercises or some kind of transformative formula that can be applied to everyone’s pain situation. But it just doesn’t work like that. Each person will have unique obstacles, limiting beliefs and blindspots that require tailored attention. What I have found makes the difference is not so much what exercises you are doing, but the intention, consistency and accountability surrounding the movement practice.
Change Your Movement Mindset to Exploration
We often say that movement is medicine. But physical activity might not feel very therapeutic if in the past it has been associated with pain. In order to get back to a place of confidence and comfort with movement, we have to first change our mindset to one of exploration. This is an essential part of the Movement Remedies approach when working with chronic pain clients who want to get active again but don't know where to start.