Intuitive Exercise: 8 Body Cues for Rest and Movement
A rumbly stomach can tell you that you’re hungry and need food, but what about the body cues to tell us when to move?
Our need for movement is just as important as our need for nourishment. Movement is not just about getting ripped in the gym, but walking, breathing, stretching, even down to cellular movement of blood cells and nutrients. But since the dawn of the digital age, we have become increasingly disconnected to our bodies’ rhythms and more dependent on outside experts and diets to tell us how to move. Not only does investing in others’ opinions end up being costly to your wallet and time, but we miss out on the implanted autonomy of personal movement.
When we focus on chiseling and shaping our body with exercise, we move from being in our body to looking at our body from an outsider’s perspective.
Let’s return back to God’s good design and relearn the language of movement. We may know the basics, like a stiff neck to tell us to lay off the screens, but as Aubrey taught us in the previous post about How to Know When You’re Hungry, this post will teach you how to know when to move (and when to rest)*
*While I am a certified personal trainer, Joyful Health is not a licensed medical care provider and represents that it has no expertise in diagnosing, examining, or treating medical conditions of any kind, or in determining the effect of any specific exercise on a medical condition. Please consult your doctor if you have questions.
Joyful Movement Starts with the Spirit
As I discuss how to transition from traditional exercise to joyful movement in this post, all movement starts with Christ. As we trace a sunbeam up to the sun, so we must trace our source of movement back to the source of life. God first breathed into Adam’s nostrils and his lungs lifted in response. So as God breathes life into us, “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God compares His people as a body, connected by the bond of love and caring for each member under the headship of Christ:
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:15-16
The job of the head is to direct the body’s movements. When thinking about how to move, we must first have the mind of Christ.
Casting our anxieties of questions like “how should I be exercising?” from search engines to the Spirit gives us peace of mind. Even Jesus said he did nothing on his own, but only what He saw the Father do (John 5:19). If you’ve ever wondered or felt guilty about exercise, take a moment to seek God’s face and ask Him sincerely, “How would you like me to move?” Wait for a response. Go on a prayer walk to open the eyes of your heart. Have confidence that when we ask in His name, we will receive. Do not be disheartened, for He will show you the way. And as my personal role in the body is to teach, I hope I can give you a few pointers as well.
8 Body Cues You Haven’t Had Enough Joyful Movement
Now that your heart is light, you can listen to your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Referencing the chart above, we are going to go through the 8 body cues that tell you it’s time to move:
Shortness of Breath in Activities of Daily Living: If you frequently take the stairs at work or carry your kids around out of breath, this might be a signal that you could use more cardiovascular training. Use the Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand Principle and multiply the movements you’d like to get better at. This principle states that when you place your body under stress, you will adapt accordingly. If you jump and create load on your bones, your body will respond in laying down more bone tissue as infrastructure. If you walk up and down the stairs ten times, your body will adapt by creating better blood flow for increased oxygen distribution.
Lethargic: If you have had too little movement, you will generally feel lethargic and have a hard time motivating yourself to get through the day. Regular walks in the sunshine can do the trick here.
Stiff joints, weakness: You know the feeling of getting out of bed when you feel stiff? That is a signal for you to stretch it all out and get balanced. I know I’ve had moms tell me that once they get back to a foundational level of health, they recognize weakness in picking up their babies and see it as a sign to start adding some more strength into their routines.
Insomnia: If you have an excess of energy, it will be hard to go to sleep at night. Just as you can throw little kids in the pool for a day and they’ll sleep like a log at night, exercise will help you sleep, too. But keep reading, because too much exercise can cause poor sleep as well. Knowing the difference can help you get better rest.
Anxiety, irritability: Mental feelings of restlessness can indicate an excess of physical energy. Working it all out can help burn off stress and help your spirit settle down.
Prone to sickness: Movement helps the immunity system stay mobile and distribute white blood cells and other antibodies with ease, so if you’re getting sick often it could be a sign of too little movement.
Constipation: Once again, too little physical movement can disrupt digestive movement. Give your body time to rest and digest after meals (light movements like stretching and walking will not hinder this process), and get in regular movement to keep your bowels regular as well.
Hyperfocus on body image: When we are not in our bodies enough through the act of regular movement, we get into our heads and see our bodies from the outside of how we look instead of from an internal view of what we can do.
8 Body Cues You’ve Had Too Much Movement
Just as we can have too little, we can have too much of a good thing. Rest is half of the movement equation. Here are some body cues for rest:
Increased blood pressure, quickened morning heart rate: One of the telltale symptoms of too much exercise is an overactive sympathetic nervous system. You’ll notice a faster heart rate when you wake up, and possibly increased blood pressure as well.
Generalized fatigue: You feel tired, so tired. Even though you’ve had a good amount of sleep, you can’t shake the mental and body fatigue. Your body needs rest. Keep reading to see how to recover safely.
Heavy limbs, prolonged soreness: Even with intense workouts, delayed onset muscle soreness peaks at 48 hours and then diminishes. If you are still extremely sore or have heavy limbs with proper rest and rehab, this could be a sign of overtraining.
Poor sleep quality: If you just can’t settle to sleep or keep waking up at night, this could be a sign you’ve overdone it. Take a longer break from heavy exercise and care for yourself with foam rolling, epsom salt baths, walks with long strides, whatever will help ease the muscular tension.
Depression, anger, tension: If your body is overactive, your emotions might come out to protect yourself in the form of depression, anger, and feelings of tension. It’s hard to be at peace with yourself, let alone relate with others, if you can’t physically relax.
Prone to sickness, loss of menstrual cycle: If you find yourself getting more mild sicknesses than usual, it may be a sign that your body needs to slow down. First, our body whispers “rest,” then it shouts with “I’m sick now, let’s shut down.” But please, do not take this as medical advice. Always consult your doctor with sickness. Loss of menstrual cycle is also a prime indicator that you need proper rest and nourishment. Not getting enough calories and rest will put your body into survival mode, and one of the first functions it will shut down are the reproductive systems. If we want to be fruitful and multiply, the right ratio of rest is best.
Diarrhea, constipation: Irregular bowl movements with too much exercise overlaps with too little exercise. This symptom can be harder to assign, but it is a sign that your body needs different care.
Hyperfocus on performance: When you can’t get your mind of doing better, better, better, it might be a good time to take performance off the altar for a second and take a break. Overtraining can also lead to poorer performance results anyways, because your body is breaking down.
If these items fit you, pay attention. It is critical to catch overtraining in the early signs because it will be easier to recover with a few days of rest rather than have to undergo weeks or months off. This article could also help guide you in understanding the signs of overtraining and how you can monitor your activity going forward.
8 Body Cues You Have Enough Joyful Movement in Your Life
Quick to recover: During your daily activities, when you have bursts of movement like running around the house trying to get ready and be on time, you experience your heart rate rising and are able to return to your resting heart rate fairly quickly. Being able to return to homeostasis quickly during stress shows you have improved VO2 Max (your ability to distribute oxygen), a healthy vagal tone (mind-body nerve that runs from your stomach to your brain), and may have a lower resting heart rate (which means your heart doesn’t have to work as hard and therefore will be more sustainable for life).
Energized: When you have the right amount of movement in your day, you are able not only to sleep better at night and have more energy during the day, but you will be more sensitive to other needs like hunger which will help keep you evenly fueled. Your insulin uptake after you eat will be better as well, keeping you balanced instead of on a rollercoaster dependent on coffee in the morning and chocolate in the afternoon. And when you do feel tired, you’ll be able to know when you need a walk for energy, or just a good power nap. And you won’t feel guilty about either one.
Mobile and strong for ADL: You might not even notice this one unless you’ve felt weak from under-exercising or heavy from overtraining, but your activities of daily life will feel almost effortless, joyful, even. You will feel strong enough to “do it again!” with your kids, and won’t even complain when you have to walk farther in a store or do loads of housework.
Well-rested after a night of sleep: The right dose of movement for you will yield optimal sleep quality. While there are many factors that go into a good night of sleep, moving enough (and not too much) can certainly help facilitate your body’s ability to slide into sleep with a calm nervous system, melatonin production, and decreased stress.
Feelings of internal and external connectedness: When you have are able to eat and exercise in a way that your body needs, you will feel the ability to rest and be in your body, connected on the inside and able to connect with others because you are satisfied.
Overall wellness: You may catch a cold here and there, but overall, you feel well. Because of your movement training, you are able to extend yourself outward when you need help, and know how to rest when you need to because you know rest is attached to strength and there is a season for each.
Regular bowel movements: Neither plagued by constipation because you have too little movement or because your body has done too much and can’t handle function well outside of the essentials, you experience regular, unremarkable bowel movements
Focus on life goals: When you’re not moving enough, you tend to forget about what you can do. When you’re moving too much, you can only think about needing to rest but not feeling able to. When you’re moving in a way that supports your life, you’ll be able to focus your energy on your priorities.
Body Blessings Journal
Listening to your body rather than an exercise program or personal trainer may sound like a foreign language. But our hope is that you will begin to notice these subtle cues to move or rest, and be rest assured that you are fulfilling the physical needs and be satisfied in the way God has designed you to be.
If you’d like a faith-based intuitive health journal to track signs like these, we recommend our Body Blessings Course and the corresponding journal is designed to help you cultivate a prayer practice that specifically addresses your view of and care for your body (thoughts and behaviors work in tandem to form new neural pathways), go through the practice for 8 weeks (2 journals) and see how it transforms your body image and thought life concerning your body.
PS: If you have already been tracking and would still like more coaching, check out our bi-annual 12-Week Joyful Health Course!
