This one is what I struggle with the most. I’m not a naturally active or sporty person. I would prefer to lounge around lazily any day. I’m also a very happy home bunny. I need a very strong motivation to leave my home and go outside.
So to me movement can never involve going to the gym and exercising. After decades of forcing myself into this frame, I know it just won’t work. The moment we frame movement as exercise, we narrow it down to something scheduled, effortful, and often guilt-ridden. Movement, as I see it now, is not about performance, fitness or discipline. It’s about keeping the body alive, responsive, circulating and adaptable. It’s about preventing stagnation.
Modern life has removed movement from living. We sit to work, sit to travel, sit to rest, and then feel we must “add” movement back in as a separate task. That separation is at the heart of the problem.Movement should be natural in the same way that we evolved. You don’t put a baby tiger in a tiger gym to teach how to do the tiger things, and then place the tiger in the jungle, expecting it to know what to do. It’s in its nature, it learns in its natural environment to move and chase and hunt. But as humans, we have been separated to so far from our natural environment in which we evolved in for millions of years.
Stillness as a modern health risk
Prolonged sitting and physical stillness are now recognised as independent risk factors for chronic disease. Not because sitting itself is evil, but because the human body was never designed to be still for such long uninterrupted periods. When movement disappears, circulation slows, lymph stagnates, joints dry out, muscles weaken and insulin sensitivity drops.
What’s striking is that even people who are otherwise “healthy” can suffer these effects. You can eat well and sleep well, but if your body spends most of the day motionless, systems begin to shut down quietly. Stagnation is not neutral. Biologically, it signals illness, scarcity or ageing. It is now well known among the scientific circles that being stagnant all day is as dangerous as smoking cigarettes. This is why movement matters even when nothing else feels wrong.
Movement as circulation and clearance
The body relies on movement to circulate more than just blood. The lymphatic system, which plays a major role in immune function and waste removal, has no pump of its own. It depends almost entirely on muscle contraction, joint movement and breathing.
When movement is frequent and varied, waste products are cleared from tissues efficiently. When movement is limited, waste accumulates. This contributes to inflammation, pain, stiffness and fatigue. Over time, this internal stagnation makes healing harder and illness more likely.
Movement doesn’t need to be intense to do this job. Gentle, regular movement is often more effective than occasional extremes.
Why walking outdoors matters
Walking is one of the most underestimated forms of movement. It’s rhythmic, repetitive, low stress and deeply regulating for the nervous system. When done outdoors, especially in natural environments, it does even more.
Spending time walking in forests and green spaces exposes us to fresh air, natural light, uneven terrain and microbial diversity. This combination supports circadian rhythm, immune regulation and mental calm. The nervous system interprets natural environments as safe. Stress hormones drop. Breathing deepens. Muscles relax into natural patterns. This is biology responding to an environment it evolved in.
Forest exposure and the immune system
Research on forest environments shows that time spent among trees can influence immune markers and stress levels. Phytoncides released by trees, combined with sensory quiet and slower movement, appear to support immune resilience. More importantly, forest walking removes us from the overstimulation that keeps the nervous system on high alert.
Healing doesn’t happen when the body is constantly scanning for threat. Nature helps switch that scanning off.
Movement embedded in living
For most of human history, movement wasn’t optional or scheduled. It was built into life. Carrying, squatting, reaching, walking, bending, stretching, climbing. These movements maintained joint health, balance and coordination without anyone calling it exercise.
Today, many people move only when they deliberately “work out”. The rest of the day is static. This creates a mismatch the body struggles with. Joints stiffen. Muscles lose coordination. Balance declines.
Embedding movement back into daily life restores what the body expects. Getting up regularly. Sitting on the floor. Walking while thinking. Carrying groceries. Gardening. These movements matter more than any single session of intense effort.
Recovery and resilience
One of the most consistent findings across health research is that people who move more recover faster. This applies to illness, surgery, injury and ageing. Movement supports circulation, immune function, mood and metabolic regulation. It also preserves muscle mass, which is critical for recovery and long-term health.
Importantly, this doesn’t mean pushing through pain or exhaustion. It means appropriate movement. Gentle when needed. Stronger when possible. Always responsive.
The body heals better when it feels used, not abandoned.
The nervous system and movement
Movement is one of the most effective ways to regulate the nervous system. Slow, rhythmic movement calms the stress response. It tells the brain that the body is capable, mobile and safe.
This is why walking often clears the mind better than sitting and thinking. Why gentle stretching can reduce anxiety. Why movement supports sleep later in the day.
Stillness without prior movement can feel uncomfortable or even painful. Movement prepares the body for rest.
Ayurvedic morning movement
Ayurvedic traditions place great importance on morning movement, not as exertion but as preparation. Gentle flows, stretches and sun salutations are designed to wake the body gradually, stimulate circulation and align breath with movement.
Sun salutations in particular are not about fitness. They are about rhythm. Forward folds, extensions, grounding and rising mirror natural patterns in the body. Performed slowly and with attention, they help transition from sleep to activity without shock.
This kind of movement sets the tone for the day. It reduces stiffness, improves digestion and supports mental clarity. When mornings start with movement, everything else tends to flow more easily.
Why intensity is not the goal
High-intensity movement has its place, but it cannot compensate for chronic stillness. Occasional intense effort layered on top of an otherwise sedentary life often increases stress rather than resolving it.
The body responds better to frequent, moderate, varied movement than to extremes. This approach preserves joints, supports longevity and keeps the nervous system regulated.
Movement is a conversation with the body, not a demand.
Movement and ageing
Ageing accelerates when movement variety disappears. Loss of balance, flexibility and coordination predict decline more reliably than loss of strength alone. These qualities are maintained through diverse, everyday movement, not isolated training.
The goal is not to stay young. It’s to stay adaptable.
Movement as a health pillar
Movement supports every other pillar. It improves sleep. It calms the mind. It stabilises blood sugar. It reduces inflammation. It supports immunity. Without movement, the body becomes rigid, both physically and metabolically.
This is why I don’t see movement as optional or cosmetic. It’s foundational. And it doesn’t need to be complicated. The body wants to move. We just need to stop preventing it.
TLDR: Key Points
- Prolonged stillness increases disease risk independently of other factors
- Movement supports circulation, lymphatic clearance and immune function
- Walking, especially outdoors, is one of the most effective forms of movement
- Natural environments calm the nervous system and support healing
- Movement embedded in daily life is more powerful than scheduled exercise
- Regular movement improves recovery from illness and injury
- Gentle movement regulates stress and supports sleep
- Ayurvedic morning flows prepare the body and mind for the day
- Variety and frequency matter more than intensity
- Movement preserves adaptability and slows functional ageing
- The goal of movement is to prevent stagnation, not chase fitness more.
- Food is not a short-term fix or a diet. It is long-term infrastructure for health, resilience and repair.