Working from home: tips for mobility and staying healthy
By Mark Hallam – Health Coach
Over the past few weeks working from home, outside of the obvious health implications of coronavirus, one of the things that has hit people hardest is their loss of resources.
We have access to less food, we aren’t able to socialise like before, some people in the world aren’t even allowed out of their homes and we are all too familiar with the toilet paper fiasco.
Life at the moment simply isn’t what it used to be and who knows how long it will stay like this.
However we still have access to our most valuable resource of all:
Our body.
And with our bodies we’ll always be able to manage our most valuable commodity:
Our health.
Now more than ever is a time to take stock of how we look after ourselves, what we put into our mouths and, just as importantly, how regularly and well we move.
Different pillars of our health; nutrition, breathing, sleep, mindset and movement are often looked at as separate entities, but they all have an impact on, and are just as essential, as the other.
How much sleep we get impacts our hunger levels. How much we eat dictates our energy and how much we move. How much we move correlates with our breathing. How well we breathe has a strong link with how we sleep.
And the cycle continues.
Staying healthy in your home
So what can we do from the comfort of our own homes to ensure we’re staying fit, healthy and sane at a time when we sorely need it?
Well, being aware of how much you move is undoubtedly a great first step.
My go to movements for this known as CARs: Controlled Articular Rotations.
This is a process in which we take our joints through their full, active range of movement in a rotational fashion. EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Why do I place so much importance on them? Well there are numerous reasons.
If you want your joints to remain healthy, which you should, then the only way to do this is to consistently move them through their full range. This allows you to, at minimum, sustain the range of movement you currently possess.
Secondly they provide feedback as to your current mobility restrictions and therefore areas you’d need to work on further down the line.
And, finally, they offer a brilliant rehab process due to their anti-inflammatory nature.
Plenty of reason to incorporate them into routine.
So, when?
- In the morning. Think of it as a warm up for your day
- Before any exercise sessions
- Habitually throughout the day
The more you do the better. And, instead of thinking of them in sets and reps, think of them more as skill acquisition. When you learnt to walk, your parents didn’t tell you to do 3 sets of 10 with a 60 second rest in between.
They let you try, try and try again until you gained an unconscious mastery of how to perform placing one leg in front of the other.
CARs are the same. More practice = more awareness = better movement.
Below is the video of a fully body CARs routine, with separate links to videos on how to perform them through our major joints; hip, shoulders and thoracic spine. So get practicing!
We may not be able to control our external environment. But, with more practice of these, we’ll certainly be able to control our own bodies a lot more.
Want to join Mark for one of his online classes? Check out his website for more information!
If you’re also interested in other home workout routines, check out Yoga Release for Those Stuck at Home now.
