The Innateness Of Movement

I’ve been spending a lot of time with kids and babies these days, and one thing I’ve noticed is that little people love to move. Babies and toddlers like to wiggle and jump. Grade-school kids love to tumble and climb. They dance and scoot and swim and ride bikes. Left unattended, kids will naturally choose movement over stagnation on many occasions throughout the day. In fact, they’ll voluntarily run down the sidewalk if you let them. But most adults won’t.

Many adults don’t like to move. We view exercise (even the word sounds challenging) as a chore. We set up contingencies around movement that render it a chore.

Can you return to your innate love of movement? To the baby who jumped from the door frame for 30 minutes because he could, to the little girl who bopped in her bedroom to her favorite songs because why wouldn’t she dance, to the boy who chased his buddies down during a hearty game of tag?

If movement isn’t this natural, this inspiring to you, then find another way. Moving our bodies should be invigorating, not depleting, and can uniquely connect us to the earth and our most innervated selves. Make fitness fun.