Movement Snacks: A super quick bodyweight strength practice
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Hey Reader, When I was in my first yoga teacher training program, 20 years ago, sequencing came naturally to me. I had trained as a dancer prior to yoga, but more importantly, I am really good at puzzles and patterns. Fitting poses together in a sequence or over the course of a 60 minute class was a fun challenge for me. I got really good at leading my students through a class that never threw anything at them that they were not well prepared for. Smart sequencing is one of my teaching superpowers. But when it came to my personal practice, I sometimes struggled. Especially as I transitioned to strength training. And especially when I found myself in a time crunch, needing to squeeze in 5 minutes of movement before a kid woke up demanding breakfast or needing a diaper changed or help getting dressed. It took me longer to build this skill because I was still stuck in the mentality that a longer movement practice is better. And I'd often spend a lot of mental energy trying to figure out what I wanted to do, then run out of time before I even got to move my body. When I finally figured out how to simplify and sequence for shorter periods of time, it was a game changer. (This leads me to my Movement Snack this week) Movement Snack this week: I realized that I didn't need fancy; I needed simple. Yoga was easier because it was what I started with in the movement space. Strength was harder. So I made a list of all of the bodyweight strength practices I could think of -- and then I googled for more. Once I was done, I aimed for practicing one a a time, trying to see what I could do in a minute. Eventually, I started linking them together, aiming for what I could get done in less than a minute with some breathing room before beginning the next exercise. From there I was able to create some super simple 1 exercise workouts in a pinch, as well as 5 minute workouts that became staples on busy days -- but that I could expand out on days when I had more time. I share one of those in my latest YouTube video. First I share 5 individual exercises, with lots of modifications and options based on your needs. Then I put those 5 exercises into a 5 minute bodyweight strength workout. Check out the video here: If you want more super quick, one-off exercises or poses that you can do in under a minute, check out my Power of One challenge, which begins tomorrow December 1st. If you're unfamiliar, this is a free program designed to help get you moving every day in the easiest, most accessible way possible. Every day in the month of December, I'll send you a single yoga pose, exercise, or action you can do in 1 minute or less. The idea is to give you just a little bit of movement every day to help reduce your stress in the most stressful month of the year -- and to do it without adding more to your life than you can already handle. It's super easy to sign up. Click here and you'll be all set! Question of the week -- if you were going to pick a single yoga pose or exercise to do right now, what would it be? I'd love to hear from you and will share what i'd pick, if you respond! Warmly, Naomi Want to stay in touch during the week? Here are a 2 easy ways: Follow me on Bluesky, where I try to share daily movement practices as acts of resistance, connection, and strength. Follow me on substack, where I write about the intersection of movement, motherhood, and the culture that we are all moving through. Or better yet, subscribe so you have immediate access to regular essays, including my most recent substack, about all of the things Diane Keaton taught me about relationships, motherhood, and aging well. You can read it here. There are many ways to support my writing on substack, which focuses on women's health and motherhood during perimenopause through an anti-diet and pro-science lens: 😍 Become a free subscriber |