How many times have you heard someone say you just need to ”Move your body!?” And like me you probably rolled your eyes and maybe even ignored the person who said it. And very possibly even muttered a four letter word or two under your breath at whoever said those annoying three little words, because you’ve heard it so many times!! When you live with a chronic illness most days it’s hard just to live in your body much less move it. And like me you have probably wondered why you need to do anymore than what you do on a normal daily basis! But seriously, what does it even mean to move your body anyway? What does it mean when someone tells you to get out and MOVE….YOUR….BODY. Don’t we do that all day everyday?. When we walk to the bathroom? Or roll over in bed? Does that count? How do we know what movement is enough? Or what movements count?
It is said that intentionally moving your body daily is vital for not just your physical health, but your mental health as well. It can also be beneficial for your strength, and believe it or not, even for your skin! If you get moving a little more than normal everyday, you are helping your bodies and minds function at their best. Moving your body isn’t just about getting in shape or losing weight. It can’t also improve circulation, impact the lymph system, boost your energy, as well as help to regulate digestion and elimination.
So what does it mean to move your body? Moving your body can be anything from doing yoga, stretching, lifting weights or aerobics. It doesn’t have to be an activity that you hate. It can be something fun like playing with your kids or walking the dog. It just needs to be something that gets your heart rate up. Whatever you want the activity to be is up to you.
When you move your body that gets your heart beating thus your blood flowing. By increasing the blood flow in your body exercise helps to nourish skin cells and keeps them vital. Blood is a carrier of oxygen and nutrients to working cells throughout the body, including the skin. In addition to providing oxygen to the body, blood flow also helps carry away waste products, including free radicals, from working cells. By increasing the blood flow to the liver, which is the organ that has the job of neutralizing toxins, a period of exercise will help to flush out all the cellular waste & debris out of the system. So moving your body is basically a good way of cleansing you skin from the inside out! Who knew?!?
The Lymphatic system is absolutely essential and vital to our bodies abilities to detoxify, nourish and regenerate tissues. It has many jobs like filtering out our metabolic waste and working to keep up a healthy immune system. The bodies lymph fluid flows relies on the actions of the bodies muscles and our diaphragm to actually circulate the fluid. Thus exercise has the ability to increase lymph activity by at least 10 to 30 times its activity when we are at rest. Exercise of any kind is great, but it is recommended that we try to get more vigorous exercise at least some of the time. That can be things like- strength training, cycling, aerobics, or tennis. Practicing yoga is another option for promoting lymph flow.
Exercise has also been known to boost your energy. Physical activity and exercise deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues all throughout your body. Exercise can also helps your cardiovascular system to work more efficiently! Anytime your heart and lungs work more efficiently you are going to have more energy for your daily activities.
Exercise isn’t just good for your physical health is also has been proven to stimulate various chemicals in the brain that can make a person feel happier and more relaxed. Exercise is a really simple was for a person to boost their confidence and improve their self-esteem while reducing stress at the same time. Many skin conditions that be exacerbated by stress, like acne or eczema, so blowing off steam at the gym can help diminish the flare ups or even keep these conditions at bay.
Did you know that your intestines are actually a muscle? And just like any other muscle you have in the body and need to stay toned in order to function properly!?? When we move or exercise regularly, the flow and intestinal circulation is stimulate thus encouraging bowel regularity. The bowel has a series of wave-like muscle contractions called peristalsis that moves food through the digestive tract, but when your intestinal tract loses muscle tone, the peristalsis can become slowed or weakened and can lead to irregularity. On a different note when your bowels are more regular from more regular exercise your body is able to rid itself of toxins much more effectively, and will reduce these toxins from having to resort solely to eliminating vis the skin, which can lead to blemishes, redness or irritation.
Who know that all this happens just from moving your body?!? I know that even with my medical background I didn’t know that all these parts of the body were directly impacted from simply moving the body. It’s now more clear than ever why it really is so important for us to get out and MOVE YOUR BODY. It is clearly not just about losing weight or getting in shape. It’s about having a healthy body. So next time you hear someone tell you to get up and move! It’s truly good for you and your WHOLE BODY!!
With Love,
Amber ?
