moving like a kid can keep you healthy

Remember those silly-looking ways we used to move around as kids on endless summer afternoons, not caring what we looked like? Turns out they’re good for our energy, mood and nervous system … and they’re a lot of fun, too.

I’ve been working with a variety of teachers over the years, swimming in the pleasant waters of Asian wellness through Qigong, Tai Chi, acupressure and more. Again and again I’ve come across practices that brought me back to long, lazy days with friends, giggling and tossing our limbs around with abandon.

According to Ken Cohen in his much-referenced book, The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing, he says arm swinging might not necessarily be an ancient practice, but he considers it a “classic” because it’s a simple, gentle, effective and popular way to improve blood and energy circulation.

This floaty-feeling exercise has aspects of rocking, repetitive motion, weightlessness … all sensations that are believed to soothe us and lift our mood.

Click the image here to try this quick practice, and let me know how it feels in your body!

Ready for more fun and FREE ways to move your body and engage your brain? Join me 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 3-Oct. 22 for Fall Prevention Tai Chi. These weekly 60-minute classes will be held online via Zoom and in-person from the Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse in Springfield, Vt (21 Fairground Road). Can’t make these dates or times? Register to get access to the recordings, and you’ll be able to practice along with the class again and again, on your schedule. All are welcome and you don’t need any experience—follow the link to reserve your spot (registration is required)!