MM#44--G-Habits

Hi, I’m David and welcome back to another MOJO Minute. 

“It can be difficult to convey to people that I am not talking about getting more exercise—I’m talking about a different kind of exertion. I am referring to the multitude of small, low-intensity movements we make throughout the day as we go about the business of living—movements that are related to using gravity. These are movements that occur naturally throughout the day when you’re doing activities other than sitting. And yet these simple movements—these G-habits—are the key to health!

This quote comes to us from Joan Vernikos in a great little book called Sitting Kills and Moving heals.   This fascinating read hits the premise that even if we are exercising routinely throughout our week, that we still spend most of our days “sitting” at work, at home, in our cars, etc.   

Joan should know.   Actually, I should say, Dr. Joan should know, she is the former Director of NASA’s Life Sciences division.   She studies the effect that the lack of gravity had on astronauts, their muscles, and bones.   

At short quick premise to the book, when astronauts leave gravity here on Earth, their muscles and bones begin to atrophy as if they were rapidly aging.   NASA discovered this and began to put Dr. Joan and her team together to find a way to combat this.   They discovered ways to restore Astronauts to full health very quickly once they returned to the Earth and gravity.  

Spoiler alert:   The key is more than just traditional gym exercise.   

 Back to the quote, Dr. Joan, highlights, G Habits.   G habits are those varied set of habitual non-exercise movements that are the most important thing you can do.  Thinking of what you did when you were a child.   These movements came naturally to you.   Here are some examples

Stretching - it is super quick, and most people neglect this as we get older.   (Whenever you are not sure about what to do next, think of that child in you and stretch.

Standing up and Sitting down (Dr. Joan recommends 32 times a day by the way).  “If you can do nothing else from this book, this is the single most important habit you can acquire.  The key to independence in old age is being able to stand up.  It’s no more complicated than that.”

Walk Tall—“aim to keep your gaze focused straight head rather than at your feet—this will help you to walk taller and keep your spine straight.”

Dr. Joan has a whole list of these G-habits in the book.  

So why the importance of these G-habits?

Back to the book “Developing a varied set of habitual non-exercise movements is the most important thing you can do. Even if you do exercise regularly at the gym, pay attention to your habits when you are not exercising, for they benefit your body in a very different way. If your life and work are such that you cannot get away to exercise, you do not enjoy playing a sport, and you spend much of your day sitting in an office or a car, all is not lost. This is all the more reason why you will derive great benefits from restoring gravity habits—G-habits—back into your life. You had these habits as a growing child, so it’s simply a question of getting them back.”

So in today's MOJO Minute, let's channel our inner child and begin to move, stretch, walk, lift more throughout our day, knowing as we look up at the moon that science is telling us, more natural movement is necessary than just our regular workout routine.   

In fact we can have fun every day getting our G-habits on