📝 How to Build a Movement Routine for Your Nervous System

Community First!

🧘 January 20th - April 9th: My friend Naomi is hosting Perfectly Imperfect, a series of yoga classes for better body image. Please note that the dates have been changed from the post!

🚶‍♀️ March 8th: The Sarah's Circle Winter Walk is back! Walk through the neighborhood from 1-3 PM to learn about our unhoused neighbors, and register ahead of time to help fundraise!

🎉 Happy Friday, Friends,

“Working out” can become overwhelming, no matter where you are in your fitness journey. It can feel like a LOT to start a new movement routine, and it can become that way again as your life, body, obligations, and interests change.

➡️ Today, I’m going to show you a gentle way to start a new routine or refresh the one that's no longer serving you, rooted in asking yourself important questions.

If you’ve been reading these newsletters for a while, you probably know that intuitive movement starts with how your body feels and what it intrinsically wants to do, rather than how it looks. Sure, one of the downstream effects of moving intuitively might be that your body looks different, but that’s not the goal.

It’s about balance – body, strength, and mobility. Plus, what you need beyond the physical, like emotional processing, time alone, and a feeling of empowerment.

Let’s just reiterate, too, that exercise – even intuitive movement – is a form of stress.

No matter what you’re doing, it puts some level of demand on your joints, muscles, and nervous system. When used as a punishment, without preparation, recovery, or oxygen (hello, breath work!), that stress compounds and disconnects you from your body.

This is a form of self-preservation that your brain uses to keep you safe from dangerous levels of stress, so listen to that disconnection and work with your body. If you feel unable to move, even if it's your routine, general stress, or something else that's changed, the message is the same: whatever worked before doesn't work now, and it's time for a switch-up!

But where do we start when things feel... off? A great place is the main mechanism that keeps you disconnected when stress is high – your nervous system. So let's begin a dialogue with that essential part of the body!

How to ask yourself important questions as you explore more structured movement

These questions can help you stay in tune with yourself instead of falling into the self-destructive pattern diet culture and bro science have taught us. You can use these as journal prompts, but you don't have to (more on that later!).

Reflect on these questions before movement, and use them to choose activities that feel aligned:

➡️ How do I want to feel during and after? (Remember that being sweaty and sore are not measures of success, and you can measure your success by your emotional response to movement, too.)

➡️ What time of day do I have the most energy?

➡️ How much time can I realistically give, including my warm-up and cool-down?

➡️ Do I need any equipment or specific clothing?

➡️ Where am I most comfortable moving?

And try these ones right after movement:

➡️ How do I feel now? Could I have kept going if I wanted? (It’s great to stop when you still have some gas in the tank – that leftover energy will fuel your recovery and encourage you to come back to movement!)

➡️ How long did it really take for me to warm up, get into my movement practice, and cool down? Was it longer or shorter than I expected?

➡️ How did my physical environment impact my movement? What about the impact of my clothes or equipment? Try to come up with some descriptors for the energy of the location you moved in and what your experience might have added to the energy, too.

And as you go about your week after movement, consider these questions:

➡️ How is my desire to move changing?

➡️ What about my appetite? What do I want to eat that feels new?

➡️ How is my sleep changing?

➡️ How are my general stress levels and mood throughout the week?

You can return to these questions again and again as your needs change. Though keeping a record of the answers to these questions can be helpful, don’t feel pressured to write everything down. Sometimes, mentally revisiting these topics can help you hone in on what types of questions actually help you, because what you remember to ask yourself is often the question that gives you the most insight.

Let “going slow” be enough. Take these pauses before and after moving to establish your baseline as you review your movement practice, and build from there. Movement guided by how you feel creates the safe space for your body to reward you with a desire to try new activities, and it supports everything from your mental and physical health to your day-to-day ability to manage stress.

Remember that the journey is the goal. Meet your body every day, and see what happens!

With you as we ask ourselves important Qs,
Dana