"MOVE" ember - Join our challenge and donate to a worthy cause

The month of Movember (the month formerly known as November) is upon us and Mo Bro’s and Mo Sista’s everywhere are gearing up for yet another epic opportunity to change the face of men’s health by getting conversations going and raising funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health issues. Movember is therefore a conversation starter and a fantastic opportunity for us to show our support and get behind a global foundation that is so committed to the cause and who strives to raise awareness for it.

I considered growing a Mo to show my support for this fantastic cause this year but was reminded by my lovely wife that my past attempts at facial hair displays have not yielded the best results. So reluctantly, I am forced to admit defeat and concur that some of us are left with Mo envy. However, I did not want to let this opportunity pass us by and instead thought of a way for us to still do something positive, get people talking and raise some money for a good cause. So our aim is to embark on a campaign to encourage a Movement Culture and with an incredible play on words, we’ll call our campaign ‘MOVE’ ember. So for those of you, who like me, are facial hair challenged or those Bro’s with permanent Mo’s wanting to help or just Mo Sista’s out there who would still like to get behind this worthy cause, join us and get moving.

I have been inspired by an amazing movement teacher called Ido Portal. He mediates a fantastic facebook group called movement culture. For more information on this amazing guy, visit www.idoportal.com . I went on a movement Internship in Berlin, this past summer. Needless to say, possibilities of movement are endless. If we take for instance Pilates, or Yoga. These are very specialist disciplines. So we encourage you to experience as many movement practices as possible. Join us as we embark on this journey.

For the Month of "MOVE"ember......

We’ll be encouraging 3 specific Movement challenges:

1.    Move for at least 20 minutes a day. Walk, run, cycle. Do a movement class. Try Pilates or Yoga or anything you like.

2.     A Hanging challenge:

The goal is to hang unsupported in a passive relaxed or active shoulder hang .Remember if your shoulders are uncomfortable. You don’t have to lift your feet off the floor. Simply just weight the shoulders. Build towards this goal over the month. A total of 7 minutes per day.

If you have had shoulder problems in the past, or currently struggling with an acute shoulder problem. Please proceed with caution.

  3.   A Squat hold Challenge:

Goal is to get to a full comfortable squat unsupported/supported. This may be challenging so for e.g. if you squat for 1min at a time, then choose to do this 30 times throughout the day. You can do this anywhere. So choose to squat instead of sitting on a chair or standing. Build towards this goal over the month. A total of 30 minutes per day.

If you have injuries, acute pain in the hips, knees or ankle then please proceed with caution.

WHY? Because we can and it’s for a great cause!!

So this "MOVE"ember....

We want to encourage people to live life dynamically and move more. Traditionally, many people spend their working lives sitting for long hours every day or getting caught up in repetitive movements, initiated through their work functions. These repetitive motions can cause muscle imbalances and joint problems. In our clinics, we have many recreational athletes who visit us due to an injury they have sustained. These recreational athletes engage in a sporting activity or frequent the gym for a few hours every week and then allows their ‘weekend warrior’ to emerge on weekends. They push their endurance and exercise levels, occasionally pushing their bodies to the limit through activities such as

triathlons, causing muscle imbalances and stress, to an already struggling body. It’s no wonder that injuries occur and are so common. It therefore stands to reason that the treatment approach to these injuries, must include the correction of those core functional activities which are the root cause of the problem, in the first place. The injury itself is just the symptom!

This month we will be blogging on a range of topics specifically focussed to assist you on your movement journey. We have an incredible resource of amazing clinicians, who will be sharing some of their knowledge and information on their specialities to guide you to a healthier balance between health and fitness, nutrition and wellbeing and keep checking for our site for new Blogs.

We further encourage you to let us know what you want to hear about. If there is any specific info you need, please note this in the comment field on our blog.

Our List of clinicians sharing info this month is as follows:

Fleur Borrelli -  Nutritional Medicine

Mary Grace Anderson – Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy

Kinga Broel-Plater – Executive and Life Coach

Stephen Kleiser – Cranio-sacral and Biodynamic Specialist

Sophie Bevan – Acupuncture

Alison Christorofou and Joseph ‘O Dwyer – Massage Therapy

Leigh-Anne Henning – Pilates

Leslie Abrahams - Physiotherapy and General movement

What do you do next?

1. Link to our Blog or social media sites( Twitter or Facebook) for instructions on what to do, and more information on a range of topics. www.bodiesunderconstruction.blogspot.com

2. Choose your challenge ( Choose 1, 2 or all 3 !)

3. Make a donation to the cause, https://www.justgiving.com/buc

4. Tell everyone about the challenge and encourage them to join you or at least make a donation themselves.

Best Wishes

Leslie Abrahams