Yoga and Pilates ‘Snacking’: Because A Little Bite is Good.

I’m a big believer that something is better than nothing when it comes to movement.

One movement, executed with intention, curiosity and kindness, is absolutely worth it, even if it only takes a minute to do. 

But how is this possible? you might ask. Yoga and Pilates classes are usually an hour, if not an hour and a half long. Gym sessions too. No one walks for one minute and calls it an exercise session, or does one push up and decides their movement exploration is finished for the day. 

The truth is, when we hold in our minds an expectation of how something should be or look, we always see anything less than that as a ‘failure’ of sorts.

The truth is, when we hold in our minds an expectation of how something should be or look, we always see anything less than that as a ‘failure’ of sorts.

So if you believe that it’s only worth exercising if you can do it for 60 minutes, or if you crack a decent sweat, or you reach a state of ‘flow’, or you beat your previous personal best at whatever your chosen pursuit, then when you don’t do that (regardless of how far off the mark you are), the unconscious (or conscious) declaration is made that you didn’t do enough or that you failed.

Worse still, if you know in advance you can’t meet this made-up standard, then you might decide not to bother at all. I can’t fail if I don’t try - that ol’ chestnut.

Here’s the thing, though - if you only move ‘to exercise’ for five minutes today, whether it be yoga, pilates, running, cross training, dancing, whatever - if that movement is intentional and kind and responds to the need of your body and your being, that is a massively positive thing and one worth celebrating. It matters not one iota that it didn’t last for an hour.

I’m a huge supporter of this idea of ‘movement snacking’ - grabbing opportunities to move mindfully whenever we can, without feeling like it isn’t enough just because it’s fits into a small window of time. 

It’s certainly true that getting to a longer class or having a longer movement session is amazing - it gives us the opportunity to

BUT - and this is a big but, so it’s going in caps - IT’S NOT AN ALL OR NOTHING SCENARIO. 

Yes, a longer movement session is fabulous, but that doesn’t make a quick bite of movement any less fabulous. 

We really must stop putting obstacles in our own way for moving with more ease and intention, and time is perhaps the one excuse we all layer on daily.

You have enough time to move with intention, you simply have to be kinder with the way you judge what is ‘enough.’

With this in mind, here are four simple movements inspired by Yoga, Pilates and Somatic Exercise that you can easily ‘snack’ on during the day to feel more mobile and comfortable. Enjoy!