Understand that not exercising is often a challenge in habit formation and life’s complexities, rather than a sign of laziness, lack of understanding, or character flaws.
View movement as a literal and metaphorical nutrient essential for cellular behavior and overall physiological well-being, similar to dietary nutrients or sun exposure, recognizing predictable physiological issues arise in its absence.
Adopt a fluid and broad definition of movement (anything that changes body orientation, position, or location) to discover more opportunities for physical activity beyond traditional, narrow ’exercise’ categories.
Identify your personal values and connect movement to them, focusing on how physical activity helps you show up in life (e.g., for productivity, connection, or service) to find immediate payoffs and overcome aversions.
Practice shifting your attention away from disliked aspects of movement (e.g., sweating, embarrassment) and broaden your perspective to notice other positive or neutral elements, challenging unhelpful thoughts about exercise.
Identify and challenge your internal ‘movement rules’ or tight boundaries (e.g., exercise must equal sweat, or must be a 60-minute block) to open up more possibilities for physical activity that fit your preferences and schedule.
Combine multiple needs into the same unit of time (e.g., walking to the grocery store with kids, carrying bags, and having conversations) to increase the ’nutrient density’ of your time and meet more needs simultaneously.
Incorporate foundational human movements like walking, squatting, hanging, and crawling into your daily life to ensure a varied movement diet that nourishes all parts of your body, as these patterns created the ‘body government’.
Treat your body with the same care you would a beloved pet, a garden, or a child, ensuring it receives basic physical needs like movement and play, reframing self-care movement as an act of self-compassion rather than selfishness.
Develop fluency in your body’s ‘primitive software’ signals (e.g., crankiness or impatience as a sign of under-movement) to recognize when physical activity is needed, rather than attributing all feelings to external factors.
Distribute your movement across different categories like cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and mobility work for joints, rather than focusing solely on one type, to nourish all tissues of your ‘body politic’.
Make permanent modifications to your physical environment (e.g., hanging rings in the living room, using lower seating) to integrate movement into the fabric of your daily life, making it more accessible and less susceptible to being thwarted.
Make movement more consistent and enjoyable by entwining it with your social life and community, as having an obligation to others or engaging in conversation can redirect attention from discomfort.
When dealing with chronic pain or significant discomfort, start with small, doable, and appropriate movements, gradually scaffolding for action rather than attempting giant changes.
If you dislike sweating, choose movement activities that don’t cause sweat, such as lower intensity options or different gear, rather than avoiding movement altogether, and then gradually work on your relationship with sweating.
Take short, non-sweaty movement breaks (e.g., bending, stretching, brisk walk) for 5-10 minutes throughout the day, recognizing that these small bursts of physical activity count and instantly connect you to your body.
Avoid outsourcing movement-rich chores (e.g., gardening, carrying groceries) to weave physical activity throughout your day, making it a natural part of your routine.
Desensitize yourself to body shame (e.g., ‘jiggly body’) by intentionally engaging in movements that highlight it, like bouncing on a trampoline, to realize you’re safe and still here.
Strengthen your ‘so what muscle’ by asking yourself ‘so what?’ when embarrassment arises (e.g., being the least coordinated), recognizing that the perceived harm is often minimal compared to the benefits of moving.
Acknowledge and grieve the physical changes that come with aging or life transitions, moving through that discomfort to then re-engage with taking care of your body in its current state.
Create movement-based rituals to process grief, such as walking in honor of a loved one or having walking cemetery visits, to find connection and honor.
To combat screen addiction, use a physical alarm clock instead of your phone as your morning alarm, and remove distracting apps from your phone to reduce friction and minimize screen time.
Set a secondary alarm or reminder (a ’note from yourself’) a few minutes after your main alarm to cue yourself to put down your phone and start moving, especially if you get caught scrolling.
Utilize your phone for positive movement by preloading short (5, 10, 15-minute) exercise routines or movement games, using it as a tool for activity rather than just scrolling.
If you overdo movement and experience discomfort, recognize it’s temporary, learn from the experience, and adjust your choices for future movement sessions.