How we move our bodies is just as important if not more to how much you move. Cardiovascular exercise is definitely known to be essential for health and well-being. If exercise is your only form of movement, however, it is not a very balanced. There is mounting evidence that slow movement, with body sense awareness, has astounding health benefits by itself and in combination with regular exercise routines.
There are a growing number of centers that offer slow movement, awareness-based therapies (like hatha yoga and tai chi) for pain in a wide variety of conditions including “pain caused by cancer and cancer treatments, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases and conditions.” Society tends to jump right into taking pain medications, injections and pain management therapy groups. Slow controlled movement in multiple planes of motion in coordination with the breath and mindfulness will be far more beneficial than the temporary fixes most people search for.
The trend in the fitness industry is, “Go hard or go home”. Yes, there is definitely a place for intense training, just as there is a place for slow controlled movement. One of the key messages that we stress at Revival Escapes is, it’s all about BALANCE. High intensity training is great, safe and effective workout, but you cannot do it too often, as you need time to recover to reap the benefits. To offset the intense workouts we need slow methods of movement, which increase the parasympathetic relaxation response, which in turn reduces the stress response, promotes immune function that inhibits inflammation and stimulates healing.
Paying attention to the body is like shining a direct spotlight on areas of pain. Not such a great idea, to focus on pain? Actually, it is the best cure for pain because the attention spotlight helps to direct the body’s own healing resources to the affected areas. Slow movement practices combines with the body’s readiness to direct its resources toward healing. It can only do that if we reduce stress, slow down, and pay attention.
The purpose of this blog is not to say that slow movement is better than fast movement. It’s simply to point out that slowing down and listening to your body with complete mindfulness can direct energy to specific areas of the body to help it to heal itself. We all have different goals and objectives when it comes to health and fitness. Some want to loose fat, build muscle, become a better athlete, gain flexibility, become more agile and the list goes on. However, one thing that everyone needs is balance between yin and yang to live a healthy lifestyle.
During our Revival Escape we show you a variety of different ways on how to move the body slowly, connect the mind and allow your creativity and imagination to FLOW. Find out more about our upcoming escapes
