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?
2. Choose
your challenge ( Choose 1, 2 or all 3 !)
4. Tell
everyone about the challenge and encourage them to join you or at least make a
donation themselves.
Best Wishes
Leslie Abrahams
