Movement Matters

Your Skin Was Designed to Move

When most people think about exercise, they think about stronger muscles, a healthier heart, or perhaps losing a little weight. Very few people think about their skin, yet one of the most fascinating things about the human body is that movement influences nearly every system that keeps our skin healthy. Every walk through the neighbourhood, every flight of stairs, every stretch while waiting for the kettle to boil, and every afternoon spent working in the garden becomes part of a remarkable process that helps deliver oxygen, nutrients, and immune cells throughout the body. Movement is not simply something we do for fitness. It is one of the ways we help care for every living cell we have, including the millions of skin cells that are continually repairing and renewing themselves.

One of the ideas I hope stays with you after reading this article is that your skin was never designed for a body that remains still all day. Human beings evolved while walking through forests, carrying water, preparing food, tending gardens, gathering wood, climbing hills, and caring for families. Movement wasn't a scheduled event squeezed into an already busy calendar. It was woven naturally throughout the day, and each of those ordinary movements encouraged circulation, supported healthy muscles, challenged our balance, and helped keep the body's remarkable transportation systems working exactly as they were designed to work.

That transportation system is something we rarely think about, yet it is impossible to overstate how important it is. In one of our previous conversations, we followed nutrients from the food on our plate through digestion and into the bloodstream, where they began their journey to every corner of the body. Those nutrients don't magically appear inside the skin. They are delivered by an extraordinary network of blood vessels that reaches almost every living cell we possess. Every heartbeat sends another wave of oxygen and nourishment throughout the body, and every movement we make helps that process continue efficiently. When we walk, reach, stretch, or climb the stairs, our muscles repeatedly contract and relax, helping to encourage healthy circulation so today's breakfast has the opportunity to reach the fibroblasts, immune cells, and countless other workers that are busy caring for our skin.

I find that thought incredibly encouraging because it reminds us that movement isn't only about burning calories. It is about delivery. The beautiful salad you enjoyed at lunch, the homemade soup you prepared yesterday, and the nourishing breakfast you ate this morning all provided wonderful ingredients, but those ingredients still need a reliable transportation system to carry them where they are needed. Every time we move our body, we are helping support that remarkable journey.

There is another transportation system that deserves just as much attention, although most of us know very little about it. It is called the lymphatic system, and unlike our circulatory system, it does not have a powerful heart pumping fluid through the body every second of the day. Instead, it depends largely upon movement. As our muscles contract, our joints bend, our breathing deepens, and our body changes position, lymph is encouraged to continue flowing through tiny vessels that travel throughout the body, collecting excess fluid, transporting immune cells, and helping maintain a healthy balance within our tissues.

I like to compare this system to the care that goes into keeping a beautiful home. Groceries arrive, meals are prepared, dishes are washed, and the recycling is taken away. Imagine how quickly that home would become uncomfortable if the garbage was never collected or the sink was never emptied. Our bodies are continually delivering nutrients where they are needed while also collecting and transporting materials that no longer need to remain in the tissues. It is a beautiful balance, and movement plays an important role in helping that balance continue throughout the day.

This is one of the reasons I think that everyday movements are a way of  giving the body a lymphatic bath. We often imagine that caring for ourselves requires expensive equipment or complicated routines, yet something as simple as walking through the woods, climbing the stairs, stretching while preparing supper, carrying groceries into the house or spending an afternoon gardening encourages the body to continue doing what it was designed to do. There is something wonderfully reassuring about that because it reminds us that ordinary movement, repeated consistently, has extraordinary value.

Unfortunately, modern life has changed the way we move.

Many of us begin the morning sitting at the breakfast table, drive to work, sit at a desk, drive home, eat supper and spend the evening sitting once again. None of those activities are harmful on their own, but when they become the pattern of an entire day, our body receives far fewer opportunities to circulate blood, encourage lymphatic flow and remind muscles that they were designed to contract and move. The body tries to adapt, and it does remarkably well, especially when we do not give it what it needs most of the time. Yet it responds with gratitude every time we stand up, reach overhead, walk across the room, or spend a few minutes moving while waiting for the kettle to boil. If you have been still for too long, your movements may come with some aches and pains, while things get lubricated and strengthened again. Remember that your muscles do atrophy if they are not used.

Movement influences something else that is often overlooked. It changes the way we feel. Many people notice that after a walk, time in the garden or even a few minutes of stretching, their breathing feels easier, their mind becomes clearer and the tension they carried earlier in the day begins to soften. Those moments influence much more than mood. They often improve sleep, encourage healthier food choices and reduce the feeling that we have to force ourselves to care for our health. Looking after ourselves begins to feel natural again, and that ripple effect reaches far beyond our skin.

The wonderful news is that your body does not keep score the way your brain and emotions do sometimes. It does not criticize you because you missed yesterday's walk or didn't exercise three times this week. It simply responds to what you do today. Every time you move, circulation responds. Muscles respond. Your lymphatic system responds. Your mood often responds. The remarkable body that has cared for you since the day you were born simply says, "Thank you," and gets back to work.

That is why I have never believed movement has to be all or nothing. Some days we enjoy a long walk through nature. Other days we may only have a few minutes while waiting for supper to cook. Both matter. Every movement becomes another opportunity to care for ourselves, and those opportunities accumulate over weeks, months and years until they become part of the way we live.

As you finish reading this article, Try to stop thinking about exercise as something you have to fit into your day. Instead, begin looking for movement that already belongs there. Stretch while waiting for the kettle. Walk while talking on the telephone. Climb the stairs one extra time. Reach for the sky before preparing breakfast. Dance while making supper if the music moves you to do so. Your body simply needs the opportunity to keep doing what it has always been beautifully designed to do. Move!

So, healthy skin begins within. It is nourished by the food and drink we take in. And every time we move, we help carry those remarkable ingredients to the places where they are needed most.

There are 1,440 minutes in a day. How much of that time do you think you are sitting, and how much of that time are you in motion?

Movement Matters

This Week's Kitchen Invitation

This week, instead of thinking about exercise, I'd like you to think about movement snacks.

Every time you are waiting for the kettle to boil, your soup to warm, vegetables to steam or supper to finish cooking, give your body two or three minutes of movement. Those few minutes may not seem like much, but over the course of a week they can add up to an hour or more of extra movement, helping encourage circulation, supporting lymphatic flow and reminding your body that it was designed to move throughout the day.

Here are four simple movements you can try while your next meal is preparing.

1. The Kitchen Counter Push

Stand an arm's length away from your kitchen counter with your hands resting comfortably on the edge. Slowly bend your elbows as you lean toward the counter, then gently push yourself back to the starting position.

Repeat 10 to 15 times.

This simple movement encourages circulation through your arms, shoulders and chest while gently strengthening the upper body without ever leaving the kitchen.

2. Rise and Lower

Holding the counter lightly for balance, slowly rise up onto your toes, pause for a moment, then lower yourself back down.

Repeat 15 to 20 times.

Every lift asks your calf muscles to contract, and those muscles act almost like little pumps, helping move blood and lymph back toward the heart.

3. March While You Stir

While you're stirring soup or waiting for the frying pan to heat, begin marching comfortably in place.

Lift one knee, then the other.

Swing your arms naturally.

Continue for one or two minutes.

This simple movement encourages circulation throughout the entire body without feeling like exercise at all.

4. Reach for the Ceiling

Stand tall.

Take a slow breath in as you reach both arms overhead, imagining yourself becoming just a little taller.

As you breathe out, slowly lower your arms.

Repeat five or six times, then gently roll your shoulders backward and forward.

It is remarkable how much better our body often feels after simply changing position and allowing our chest to open.

You don't need special clothing, or a gym membership; you don't even need extra time.

You're simply making good use of the minutes that were already part of your day.

By the end of the week, notice how many "movement moments" you collected while making tea, preparing meals or waiting for supper to cook.

You may discover that caring for your body doesn't always require doing more.

Sometimes it simply means making better use of the moments you already have.

LyzaLee