What is movement?

“An act of changing physical location and/or position”

In science, we think of position and movement as relative to one another. We cannot determine movement without thinking of a point of reference first.

In human form, we think of how bodies in motion execute this steady trajectory through time. As primates, movement comes naturally for us, however with evolution, we are moving less and are more sedentary than ever designed to be.

Sedentariness today is changing the way our bodies move. Our skeleton counteracts the pull of gravity and our muscles should be able to move freely, but with our current culture, our bones become misaligned and our muscles tend to have to do some of the work of our bones.

The goal of movement as we know it hence has to be to correct the length of our muscles to restore the ideal musculoskeletal function.

The science of movement can only tell us so much, we have to take part in the actual feeling of movement to reap the benefits.

Movement can be simple. Getting up often during the day and performing a few dynamic stretches can improve your mood and restore your alignment.

1. Stand with feet hip bone apart and hinge at your hips. Try to keep your back straight and think of widening your sit bones. Return to stand tall. Repeat 16 to 20 times.

2. Place hands across the chest in the shape of an X with your fingers gently resting on opposite shoulders. Rotate your spine to one spine and then the other keeping your gaze in horizontal alignment with your breastbone. Repeat 10 times in each direction.

3. Reach the arms up to the sky with a great big sweeping arc motion. Look up when you reach the sky to extend your upper spine. Lower the arms back down. Repeat 10-12 times

Remember to breathe. Take deep breaths in and out. Expand your lungs. Smile. 

Jocelyne Pelchat

Founder - The Cornerstone Pilates

905-631-8352