Movement Snacks: When you don't have weights
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Hey Reader, This past weekend, I led my final Winter yoga retreat. It was wonderful and sad and I am so grateful to the women who showed up to move and write and share stories and listen and connect. I led this retreat and ones like it for 16 years. I love leading retreats but one of the hardest things for me in these situations was finding time to take care of myself in the midst of caring for others. At least, it used to be. Early on, I remember having trouble finding time and space to move my body before teaching. Often, I just didn't do any sort of practice at all, mostly because at the time I didn't appreciate the value of shorter movement practices. I was a 60 minutes of movement or nothing kind of person back then. While thankfully my views of movement have changed, my practice has, too. Now, I do more strength training than yoga, often using barbells but sometimes handweights and kettlebells, too. Those don't pack easily in a carry-on suitcase. And I dislike gyms. So what can I do to keep up a little bit of strength training? (That leads me to my movement snack for the week) Movement Snack this week: Last week I shared a quick workout with resistance bands, which are super easy to pack into a small carry-on suitcase (and which I did bring with me to use on the retreat). But if you don't have resistance bands yet, there's another fantastic option: Bodyweight strength workouts. These workouts are exactly what they say they are: you are using only your body as the instrument you're exercising with. This can mean squats, push-ups, jumping jacks, bridge lifts, core work, lunges....really there's a lot you can do. I love bodyweight strength workouts because they're easy to take on the road and you can either turn up or turn down the intensity based on your needs. My latest video on YouTube is a quick workout that features 5 bodyweight strength exercises, with no jumping and no weight bearing on your hands, so it's low impact while still getting your body warm and moving dynamically: If this type of class is right up your alley and you also want to commit more to daily movement, I am offering my DAILY 5 program once again this February. The DAILY 5 is a 28-day program delivering quick, efficient, and fun movement practices to your inbox every single day. All of the movement practices are 5 minutes long and in addition to bodyweight strength include creative yoga flows, mobility work, and strength training with weights. It's a well rounded program intended to give you a variety of different practices so that you can figure out what feels good in your body. I also have daily tips for helping the habit of movement stick as well accountability built into the DAILY 5 to give you the support you need to get moving every day. If you'd like to get more information about the DAILY 5, click here. We begin on February 1st and if you sign up today, you get all 5 bonus videos to give you a taste of what to expect in the DAILY 5. Thanks for being a part of my community this year. I am so grateful for you. I hope that the year ahead is full of light and joy and ease. Warmly, Naomi Want to stay in touch during the week? Here are a 2 easy ways: Follow me on Instagram, where I share movement inspiration 3x a week 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 -- I wrote about a few wellness grifts that you really shouldn't fall for in 2026. 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 I also had a piece published by Fit Bottomed Girls about creating habits that actually stick. You can read that one here. |