3 Tips to Embrace Intuitive Movement
Intuitive living is, by my definition, embracing the cyclical nature of being a human. After many phases in the wellness space, from fad dieting, borderline obsession with “health”, to HIIT and high impact movement, I’ve landed in a space of intuition.
Intuitive movement is any kind movement that feels right to you at any given moment. From swimming, to walking, dancing, running, lifting, rock-climbing, cycling, hiking, hot yoga, yin, or plain old curl on the couch level rest. It all counts and it all comes down to what season we find ourselves in.
I firmly believe that your body is your greatest teacher, and that our inner voice only grows loud enough to hear when we create moments of stillness. When we continuously push and pull in the wrong direction, our inner knowing becomes cloudy, agitated, and our cortisol levels sky rocket. That movement we thought was supposed to benefit us backfires, stress levels bubble over and start to show up in our interpersonal relationships and our everyday lives.
Here are my 3 tips for embracing intuitive movement. I hope you take them all with a grain of salt, find the stillness to listen, and create your own.
1. Plan movement based on where you are in your cycle.
If you’re a woman, your hormone levels vary on a 28 day cycle (give or take), with four distinct phases. The follicular phase begins with day one of your cycle, a great time for low intensity exercise like yin yoga, slow flow, or walking to boost mood and reduce symptoms. Next comes the build up to ovulation, where we can enjoy high energy levels and peaks in FSH, estrogen, and LH, with that “top of the world” motivation where we can lean into high intensity workouts like HIIT training, hot yoga, and cardio. Our last phase on the monthly journey is the luteal phase, where progesterone levels rise and our energy levels can ebb and flow, eventually falling in support of menstruation. This phase is a great time to practice listening to the body’s cues. Build in rest days, solitude, and higher protein snacks.
If you’re a man, your hormone levels are running on a 24 hour cycle, with peak testosterone levels early in the morning. Men are more likely to have energy and focus in the morning, and can plan movement based on everyday routines, varying movement patterns to peak curiosity and keep motivation high.
2. Practice conscious eating.
The wellness industry is full of professionals prescriptive diets that often don’t consider the biodiversity of each individual human. It can be disorienting and frustrating to decipher all of the conflicting information around food. I cannot and will not tell you what you should or should not eat. But here’s what I know to be true: there are no “bad foods.” Restrictive eating patterns can be more damaging than eating variation in moderation. A variety of raw foods, nuts, and low inflammatory foods will most likely support your overall health needs. Practicing conscious eating means slowing down before a meal and finding a moment of gratitude for the nourishment it is about to provide you. The less we prescribe our diet, the more we can explore different foods that support us and the movement we decide on any given day.
3. Join or create a community.
Blue zone regions, or parts of the world that report the highest levels of life satisfaction and also live the longest share one important characteristic: they value community. After traveling for the last three years, I can tell you one thing for certain: there’s a group for that. There is a community for every possible niche you can think of. So… if the one you’re in is not inspiring you, embracing you, or helping you find belonging - try a new one. Look for communities that are open-minded, heart centered, and free of gossip.
However you find yourself navigating growth and wellness, I hope you decide to write your own script. There is no one size fits all to being a human, and what works for one person may have the opposite effect for others. It’s all just exploration, curiosity, and leaning into what feels right for you.
