September 10, 2025 • 23 mins
In this episode of Health, Healing, and Hope, Natiki Hope Pressley explores the life-giving power of movement. From scientific insights to personal recovery stories, she shares why our bodies are designed to move and how even small steps can restore strength, joy, and independence. With reflections on dance, daily routines, and biblical wisdom from David’s uninhibited worship, this episode reminds us that movement is not just exercise—it’s medicine for the mind, body, and spirit.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Hello, hello, hello, and welcomeback to Health Healing and Hope.
I'm your host, Natiki HopePresley, and thank you so much
for being here.
There are so many other placesthat you could be, but you chose
to spend your time with me and Iam so grateful.
Last week we talked about restand resistance.
Rest and resistance, and howrest itself can be a radical act
(00:25):
of self-care and healing.
But today we're gonna move in adifferent direction.
Literally, we're moving fromrest to movement, from being
still to not being still at all.
Today's episode is titled MoveIt or Lose It.
(00:48):
Move It or Lose It.
I know you probably heard thatphrase before and it's true.
Our bodies are designed to move.
When we stop moving, we begin tolose strength, mobility, and
energy, and even hope.
Movement is a mind, body andspirit activity.
(01:11):
But the good news is that it'snever too late to start moving.
It's never too late.
So maybe you used to move a lot,you used to do a lot of exercise
or physical activity, and youhaven't been doing a lot lately.
Okay, now it's time to get backto movement, and I'm gonna tell
you why it's important.
Let's start with the science.
(01:33):
Did you know that according tothe CDC, and I know there's so
much controversy around how muchinformation we're getting, what
kind of information we'regetting, and is the information
we're getting accurate?
But here's what I wanna share,and I honestly believe this to
be the case.
According to the CDC, it saysonly about one in four adults in
(01:54):
the US get enough physicalactivity each week.
25%.
That means that most of us arenot moving nearly as much as our
bodies need.
And I'm gonna repeat that ourbodies need.
This would be something weprobably wouldn't talk about
(02:15):
right now.
If this wasn't a need, your bodyneeds to move.
You were created to move Asedentary lifestyle increases
our risk for things like heartdisease, diabetes, certain
(02:35):
cancers, depression, and evenearly death.
Movement is powerful medicine.
Because when we move, we improveour circulation, which keeps our
hearts and brains strong.
We reduce inflammation, which isthe key to a lot of chronic
illness.
(02:56):
We boost our mental clarity,energy, and focus, and we
protect our independence as weage, as you know, get older and
things start shifting.
For those of you who are youngand you're like, oh, I'm, I'm
never gonna not be able to dothings.
I'm always gonna move and jumpand spin and run and all the
(03:18):
things that you like doing whenyou're young.
Here's some news for you.
You gotta keep moving if youdon't wanna lose it, because
eventually things do change.
Your body does change.
And although your body was madeto move, eventually things start
(03:38):
to deteriorate.
And the way to keep that fromhappening quickly is to move.
It also protects ourindependence, right?
Because eventually when you getolder, you don't wanna have
people tending to you a lotsooner than you need it.
There may be a time when you doneed care, and there's nothing
(03:59):
wrong with that.
I think the problem comes whenwe need care because we didn't
take care of ourselves.
You hear what I said when weneed care because we didn't take
care of ourselves.
Some things you have no controlover.
There's some things it's likethere's nothing that you could
(04:22):
have done, but there are somethings that are in our control.
Movement is one of those things.
Moving is a choice.
We choose to move every day, orwe choose not to move.
(04:44):
So the science is clear,movement is essential.
It helps to fight chronicdisease, including some cancers,
and the statistics are there.
If you're interested and youneed to know more, I'm actually
gonna provide a link in thepodcast to some statistics on,
uh, why there is an incredibleamount of cancer cases lately
(05:09):
and some of the reasons thatthey believe that's happening in
our current, uh, society.
Now let's shift from little bitof science to a little bit more
science, because movement isn'tjust about fitness.
'cause every time somebody saysmovement, the first thing we
think about is exercise.
And oh, were you asking me to goget a gym membership?
(05:30):
No.
Movement is not about fitness orlooking good.
It's about restoring ourselvesmind, body and soul exercise
also lowers stress hormones likecortisol and increases that, you
know what?
That feel good chemical.
We like that endorphin.
That's why when we take a littlewalk outside, you know,
(05:51):
sometimes when you're upset,something happens.
Somebody says, okay, take, takea walk.
Take a walk.
They're not saying that becausethey're trying to get rid of
you, although they probably are,but.
It also benefits you becauseit's going to help reset you
combination of fresh air orfresher air, right?
(06:12):
And a combination of moving andgetting that body moving and
getting your blood circulating,and also getting those feel-good
chemicals, those hormonesactivated.
Gentle forms of movement, like alot of people like yoga and tai
chi or even just stretching,also help lower our blood
(06:32):
pressure eases our anxiety andgives our nervous system a
chance to reset.
You got mood swings, right?
Some you're not feeling, really,you're not feeling it today.
Take a walk.
Do some stretching or whateveryou prefer, whatever physical
activity you like, you enjoy.
(06:52):
Because if you enjoy it, you'lldo it.
If walking in the park is yourthing, that's your jam.
That's what you should do.
Get up and take a walk in thepark.
It's actually one of the thingsI enjoy doing.
I just love to be around, youknow, trees and grass and as
often as I can.
(07:12):
I think about what happened tome when I was recovering after
my surgery and the chemo and theradiation.
I knew that I had to incorporatemovement as quickly as possible.
As a matter of fact, my doctorwho was a surgeon, told me, came
(07:36):
in my room and she said, youknow, I come in here because I
had to check on you.
My surgery was a very difficultand complicated surgery, so she
wanted to make sure I was okay.
But she also says I needed tocome in and make sure you're
moving and you could imagineafter 17 hours of surgery and
being on anesthesia for thatlong, I came out very foggy.
(08:01):
I had no idea where I was.
I couldn't see, well, I couldn'thear things well.
I saw faces, but couldn't reallymake them out.
I was really, really groggy,sick to my stomach.
So many things were going on.
The last thing I wanna do is getup and start walking around.
But she says to me somethingvery important and pivotal for
(08:23):
me.
She said, you have to move.
You have to tell your body thatyou're okay.
Your mind has to communicate toyour body that you're okay.
And the more you do that, thebetter you will feel.
So I made a decision.
(08:43):
I got up and I walked.
Around that hospital, did thatcircle around the nurses station
three times a day.
For those 10 days that I wasthere, it was imperative.
I was there for 10 days.
I walked three times a day, 30times at least.
I might've walked more, and Imade it a routine.
(09:08):
I knew, okay, I'm gonna walkbefore breakfast.
I'm gonna walk before lunch, andI'm gonna walk before dinner.
None of those things wereappetizing or good, but it was a
good way to remember that Ineeded to walk yeah.
But here's what I wanna breakdown.
This myth, that movement meansyou gotta go to the gym.
(09:30):
And like I said, I know that assoon as someone says you need to
start, working out.
I think that's what we say youneed to work out.
And I wish we'd stopped sayingthings like work out.
I don't even know what thatreally means.
I think we need to say You needto start incorporating some more
physical activity in your dailylife.
(09:52):
You need to start incorporatingmore physical activity in your
daily life.
You need to start incorporatingmore physical activity in your
daily life instead of sayingthings like, you need to work
out more.
I just think it just, it limitsyou.
It's very limiting because assoon as you say workout to me,
(10:13):
I'm thinking, you mean I need togo get a gym membership and I
need to go bench press and dosquats and run around and all
the things that people are doingat the gym.
And honestly, that's notnecessarily something I enjoy.
I like the physical activity.
I just don't really like the gymand not that there's anything
(10:34):
wrong with it.
The gym is fine.
There's lots of equipment thereand all the things I need and
tools are there, but somethingabout going into a place where
there's.
Other people doing that andbeing surrounded by other
people.
Sometimes it's a little bitintimidating and it's not as
comfortable, but I press and Igo anyway because it is a way to
(10:54):
help me discipline myself.
So I know that there's a place Igo, and when I go there, the
only thing I'm doing is physicalactivity.
I'm not talking on the phone,I'm not doing anything else.
But movement can be other thingstoo.
It can be dancing.
If you like to dance, do that.
Dance in your living room.
Dance while you're gardening inyour backyard, and chasing the
(11:17):
dog.
It's the daily steps you takethat keep your body alive in
your spirit.
Joyful.
Here's a little secret when I'mhome alone.
I put on some music and I dancedlike nobody's watching.
You know why?
Because nobody's watching.
I let loose.
I enjoy the freedom thatmovement brings, and in many
(11:38):
cultures, movement has alwaysbeen a way to connect to joy, to
celebration, and even prayer orpraise.
I think of praise dancers inchurch, African drumming and
dancing, and communalcelebrations or ceremonies.
Or a family reunion where, youknow, music brings everybody to
the dance floor, you know, IEthe electric slide and things
(12:01):
like that, and your boots on theground and et cetera, et cetera,
Movement connects us to ourcommunities and to our cultures.
And it's healing, but it's alsorestorative.
When there's too much to containon the inside, expressing that
outwardly through dance is agreat way to do it, david in the
(12:25):
Bible, he danced his clothesoff, so to speak, dancing before
God outwardly sharing his joyand his gratitude.
And that's in two Samuel six 14and 22.
If you wanna read further.
(12:47):
But David reminds us thatmovement is not just exercise,
it's worship, expression, andfreedom.
His dance is an act ofgratitude, an act of surrender,
a declaration that honoring Godmattered more than appearance,
pride, or opinion.
But just like David, we'reinvited to move in ways that
bring us closer to God, closerto Joy, closer to hope, closer
(13:11):
to peace.
Sometimes it's going to the gym.
Sometimes it's just dancing inyour living room.
Sometimes it's taking a walk,but it's doing something that is
going to be good for you,something that benefits you, no
(13:33):
matter who's watching.
Let me ask you a question.
Where in your life are youholding back out of fear of what
others may think?
I love that.
A lot of times you go to gymsand it says, no judgment zone
right or no judgments, and I'mglad they do that because I
(13:53):
think it helps to remind us thatwe're not here for anybody else.
You're not here to look atanybody to see what anybody else
is doing, how much they're benchpressing, how much they're
running or how hard they'reworking, or how much they're
sweating.
You're there for you.
It doesn't matter what anybodyelse is doing.
(14:14):
How could movement, physical,emotional, or spiritual, help
you step into freedom and joy?
Like David, could you just say,you know what, I'm home quiet.
Let me turn on some music andjust move around.
Whatever song motivates you.
Whatever you listen to that getsyou on the dance floor.
(14:37):
You know that song when you usedto go out to clubs and things
like that, and it didn't matterwhat you were doing, you could
be talking to somebody.
It's like, yeah, how you doing?
What's been going on?
And you're like, oh my gosh,that's my song.
And then you're.
You're on the dance floor.
That's it.
I gotta dance to this song.
Well, maybe there's a song thatdraws you.
(15:00):
So if the word exercise feelsintimidating, shift your
perspective.
Ask yourself this question.
What kind of movement brings mejoy?
Because let's make it practical,right?
You don't have to go to the gym.
I think that's what I'm reallytrying to emphasize.
You don't have to go a certainplace instead of standing still
(15:21):
in line at the supermarket.
Maybe you just bring yourheadphones to the supermarket
and you just dance.
I've done it.
Dance with my cart.
Pushing my shopping cart and I'mdancing or standing in line and
I'm moving.
And honestly it wasn't because Iwas trying to like, oh, I need
(15:43):
to get my steps in today.
It really was because I was inthe space where I just wanted to
enjoy myself.
I needed to find ways toincrease my joy, a way to keep
my spirits lifted, a way to keepmy energy up.
To keep my mood stable and itwas helpful.
(16:05):
Bring your headphones andinstead of complaining and
wondering, well, how many peopleare online and what line is
shorter, and, oh, why don't theyhave enough people at the
register?
Instead of doing that, put yourheadphones on and get to moving.
I know people are watching.
Okay, let'em watch.
(16:26):
You might encourage them to dothe same.
That's something I call movementsnacks.
Just a few minutes while you'restanding in line you know you're
just taking a walk.
Just, I need to take a quickwalk, a 10 minute walk or
stretch while your coffee'sbrewing.
Marcian Place, white watchingtv, you know, like Netflix and
(16:50):
chill.
Maybe not Netflix and chill,maybe Netflix and move Netflix
and stretch.
I'm starting some new stuff.
And swap sitting down for longtimes too.
Sitting a little bit andstanding a lot more.
Park further away.
Take the stairs in the airport.
(17:11):
Don't just jump on theescalator.
Pair your movements withsomething you already do.
Stretch after brushing yourteeth, or take a short walk
after every meal, or like I didin the hospital before breakfast
or after breakfast, however youwanna do it, but find ways to
incorporate it into your dailyroutine.
(17:31):
Even if you're moving only fiveto 10 minutes a day can make a
significant difference.
When I was in the hospital I hadto walk, but once I left the
hospital after those 10 days, Iknew I had to keep moving
because this is my opportunityto fight, to get my life back,
(17:54):
to be able to do the things thatI used to do.
My legs started to get sore andsometimes I just felt the
tingling and the neuropathy andmy, my feet and my hands.
I had to make significantchanges if I wanted to get my
life back.
(18:15):
And not to say that I wasn'tmoving as much before, but I
clearly wasn't moving enough.
Yeah, maybe you're moving.
Sometimes.
Maybe you go to the gym everyonce in a blue moon.
Maybe you walk here and there.
But what I'm talking about isnot just doing a little
(18:37):
something every once in a while.
I'm talking about a lifestylechange, and you don't have to
change your life to change yourlifestyle, but changing your
lifestyle will change your life.
I don't even know what I justsaid, but I I, if you heard it,
(18:57):
write it down and send it to mebecause I don't remember it, but
I know that making some smallchanges can make a really big
difference.
That's another one, y'all.
I, I'm, I'm on fire today,y'all.
Im on fire.
But let's pause for somereflection.
Ask yourself this.
(19:17):
Where in your life are youfeeling stagnant?
And how could movement, whetherit's physical, emotional, or
spiritual, help shift thatenergy?
But here's your journal promptfor the week.
Track how your body feels beforeor after movement.
(19:38):
Write down like not only thephysical changes, but also your
emotions.
How do you feel?
I'll tell you this.
One of the things that I reallylove about.
My movement routine, especiallywhen I do things early in the
morning, I get a chance to gooutside or go somewhere and do
(20:01):
something in the house and movesome form of physical activity,
I feel like at least I'vededicated the morning to the
things that I need.
It makes me feel like I'mputting myself first, if that
makes sense.
Right.
There's, I put God first, andthen there's me, and then
there's everybody else.
And when I do things out oforder, I do feel a little bit
(20:22):
out of whack if I get up in themorning and the first thing I'm
doing is trying to see ifeverybody else is okay and I
haven't checked in with me, Ihaven't done anything for me
except just put my feet on theground and stand up.
And once I do that, I'm ready tonow help everybody else when I
do that.
(20:46):
Things are just outta order.
You are priority.
You're important.
What do you need to do for you?
I'm asking you to incorporatemovement.
We talked about rest.
I was asking you to be stilllast week.
Now I'm asking you not to bestill this week.
(21:06):
But I'm saying you need both.
There's times to rest andthere's a time to move, and you
have to do both, and you have toincorporate both in your
lifestyle.
Remember, small steps matter.
Little changes, like I said,make a big difference.
(21:27):
But as we wrap up today'sepisode, I wanna remind you that
our bodies were made to move.
And movement is medicine,movement is healing.
Movement is certainly a bridgeto healing.
Just like rest is also a bridgeto healing.
Don't wait until illness forcesyou to move.
(21:50):
Don't wait until like me, youhave to use movement to recover
from illness.
You can start now.
Start with what you have, whereyou are.
I know a lot of you bought thoselittle products that you saw on
TV and maybe you've got an Aband or you one of those
(22:12):
medicine balls, or you gotsomething in your house, maybe
you got a yoga mat that you justrolled up somewhere.
Whatever it is, use it.
Thank you so much for joining metoday.
If this episode encourage you,please share it, subscribe and
(22:34):
join our community, and staytuned for next week's episode.
I'm looking forward to sharinganother shared story with you
next week.
Until then.
Be well be strong, be you.
Hello, hello, hello, and welcomeback to Health Healing and Hope.
I'm your host, Natiki HopePresley, and thank you so much
for being here.
There are so many other placesthat you could be, but you chose
to spend your time with me and Iam so grateful.
Last week we talked about restand resistance.
Rest and resistance, and howrest itself can be a radical act
(00:25):
of self-care and healing.
But today we're gonna move in adifferent direction.
Literally, we're moving fromrest to movement, from being
still to not being still at all.
Today's episode is titled MoveIt or Lose It.
(00:48):
Move It or Lose It.
I know you probably heard thatphrase before and it's true.
Our bodies are designed to move.
When we stop moving, we begin tolose strength, mobility, and
energy, and even hope.
Movement is a mind, body andspirit activity.
(01:11):
But the good news is that it'snever too late to start moving.
It's never too late.
So maybe you used to move a lot,you used to do a lot of exercise
or physical activity, and youhaven't been doing a lot lately.
Okay, now it's time to get backto movement, and I'm gonna tell
you why it's important.
Let's start with the science.
(01:33):
Did you know that according tothe CDC, and I know there's so
much controversy around how muchinformation we're getting, what
kind of information we'regetting, and is the information
we're getting accurate?
But here's what I wanna share,and I honestly believe this to
be the case.
According to the CDC, it saysonly about one in four adults in
(01:54):
the US get enough physicalactivity each week.
25%.
That means that most of us arenot moving nearly as much as our
bodies need.
And I'm gonna repeat that ourbodies need.
This would be something weprobably wouldn't talk about
(02:15):
right now.
If this wasn't a need, your bodyneeds to move.
You were created to move Asedentary lifestyle increases
our risk for things like heartdisease, diabetes, certain
(02:35):
cancers, depression, and evenearly death.
Movement is powerful medicine.
Because when we move, we improveour circulation, which keeps our
hearts and brains strong.
We reduce inflammation, which isthe key to a lot of chronic
illness.
(02:56):
We boost our mental clarity,energy, and focus, and we
protect our independence as weage, as you know, get older and
things start shifting.
For those of you who are youngand you're like, oh, I'm, I'm
never gonna not be able to dothings.
I'm always gonna move and jumpand spin and run and all the
(03:18):
things that you like doing whenyou're young.
Here's some news for you.
You gotta keep moving if youdon't wanna lose it, because
eventually things do change.
Your body does change.
And although your body was madeto move, eventually things start
(03:38):
to deteriorate.
And the way to keep that fromhappening quickly is to move.
It also protects ourindependence, right?
Because eventually when you getolder, you don't wanna have
people tending to you a lotsooner than you need it.
There may be a time when you doneed care, and there's nothing
(03:59):
wrong with that.
I think the problem comes whenwe need care because we didn't
take care of ourselves.
You hear what I said when weneed care because we didn't take
care of ourselves.
Some things you have no controlover.
There's some things it's likethere's nothing that you could
(04:22):
have done, but there are somethings that are in our control.
Movement is one of those things.
Moving is a choice.
We choose to move every day, orwe choose not to move.
(04:44):
So the science is clear,movement is essential.
It helps to fight chronicdisease, including some cancers,
and the statistics are there.
If you're interested and youneed to know more, I'm actually
gonna provide a link in thepodcast to some statistics on,
uh, why there is an incredibleamount of cancer cases lately
(05:09):
and some of the reasons thatthey believe that's happening in
our current, uh, society.
Now let's shift from little bitof science to a little bit more
science, because movement isn'tjust about fitness.
'cause every time somebody saysmovement, the first thing we
think about is exercise.
And oh, were you asking me to goget a gym membership?
(05:30):
No.
Movement is not about fitness orlooking good.
It's about restoring ourselvesmind, body and soul exercise
also lowers stress hormones likecortisol and increases that, you
know what?
That feel good chemical.
We like that endorphin.
That's why when we take a littlewalk outside, you know,
(05:51):
sometimes when you're upset,something happens.
Somebody says, okay, take, takea walk.
Take a walk.
They're not saying that becausethey're trying to get rid of
you, although they probably are,but.
It also benefits you becauseit's going to help reset you
combination of fresh air orfresher air, right?
(06:12):
And a combination of moving andgetting that body moving and
getting your blood circulating,and also getting those feel-good
chemicals, those hormonesactivated.
Gentle forms of movement, like alot of people like yoga and tai
chi or even just stretching,also help lower our blood
(06:32):
pressure eases our anxiety andgives our nervous system a
chance to reset.
You got mood swings, right?
Some you're not feeling, really,you're not feeling it today.
Take a walk.
Do some stretching or whateveryou prefer, whatever physical
activity you like, you enjoy.
(06:52):
Because if you enjoy it, you'lldo it.
If walking in the park is yourthing, that's your jam.
That's what you should do.
Get up and take a walk in thepark.
It's actually one of the thingsI enjoy doing.
I just love to be around, youknow, trees and grass and as
often as I can.
(07:12):
I think about what happened tome when I was recovering after
my surgery and the chemo and theradiation.
I knew that I had to incorporatemovement as quickly as possible.
As a matter of fact, my doctorwho was a surgeon, told me, came
(07:36):
in my room and she said, youknow, I come in here because I
had to check on you.
My surgery was a very difficultand complicated surgery, so she
wanted to make sure I was okay.
But she also says I needed tocome in and make sure you're
moving and you could imagineafter 17 hours of surgery and
being on anesthesia for thatlong, I came out very foggy.
(08:01):
I had no idea where I was.
I couldn't see, well, I couldn'thear things well.
I saw faces, but couldn't reallymake them out.
I was really, really groggy,sick to my stomach.
So many things were going on.
The last thing I wanna do is getup and start walking around.
But she says to me somethingvery important and pivotal for
(08:23):
me.
She said, you have to move.
You have to tell your body thatyou're okay.
Your mind has to communicate toyour body that you're okay.
And the more you do that, thebetter you will feel.
So I made a decision.
(08:43):
I got up and I walked.
Around that hospital, did thatcircle around the nurses station
three times a day.
For those 10 days that I wasthere, it was imperative.
I was there for 10 days.
I walked three times a day, 30times at least.
I might've walked more, and Imade it a routine.
(09:08):
I knew, okay, I'm gonna walkbefore breakfast.
I'm gonna walk before lunch, andI'm gonna walk before dinner.
None of those things wereappetizing or good, but it was a
good way to remember that Ineeded to walk yeah.
But here's what I wanna breakdown.
This myth, that movement meansyou gotta go to the gym.
(09:30):
And like I said, I know that assoon as someone says you need to
start, working out.
I think that's what we say youneed to work out.
And I wish we'd stopped sayingthings like work out.
I don't even know what thatreally means.
I think we need to say You needto start incorporating some more
physical activity in your dailylife.
(09:52):
You need to start incorporatingmore physical activity in your
daily life.
You need to start incorporatingmore physical activity in your
daily life instead of sayingthings like, you need to work
out more.
I just think it just, it limitsyou.
It's very limiting because assoon as you say workout to me,
(10:13):
I'm thinking, you mean I need togo get a gym membership and I
need to go bench press and dosquats and run around and all
the things that people are doingat the gym.
And honestly, that's notnecessarily something I enjoy.
I like the physical activity.
I just don't really like the gymand not that there's anything
(10:34):
wrong with it.
The gym is fine.
There's lots of equipment thereand all the things I need and
tools are there, but somethingabout going into a place where
there's.
Other people doing that andbeing surrounded by other
people.
Sometimes it's a little bitintimidating and it's not as
comfortable, but I press and Igo anyway because it is a way to
(10:54):
help me discipline myself.
So I know that there's a place Igo, and when I go there, the
only thing I'm doing is physicalactivity.
I'm not talking on the phone,I'm not doing anything else.
But movement can be other thingstoo.
It can be dancing.
If you like to dance, do that.
Dance in your living room.
Dance while you're gardening inyour backyard, and chasing the
(11:17):
dog.
It's the daily steps you takethat keep your body alive in
your spirit.
Joyful.
Here's a little secret when I'mhome alone.
I put on some music and I dancedlike nobody's watching.
You know why?
Because nobody's watching.
I let loose.
I enjoy the freedom thatmovement brings, and in many
(11:38):
cultures, movement has alwaysbeen a way to connect to joy, to
celebration, and even prayer orpraise.
I think of praise dancers inchurch, African drumming and
dancing, and communalcelebrations or ceremonies.
Or a family reunion where, youknow, music brings everybody to
the dance floor, you know, IEthe electric slide and things
(12:01):
like that, and your boots on theground and et cetera, et cetera,
Movement connects us to ourcommunities and to our cultures.
And it's healing, but it's alsorestorative.
When there's too much to containon the inside, expressing that
outwardly through dance is agreat way to do it, david in the
(12:25):
Bible, he danced his clothesoff, so to speak, dancing before
God outwardly sharing his joyand his gratitude.
And that's in two Samuel six 14and 22.
If you wanna read further.
(12:47):
But David reminds us thatmovement is not just exercise,
it's worship, expression, andfreedom.
His dance is an act ofgratitude, an act of surrender,
a declaration that honoring Godmattered more than appearance,
pride, or opinion.
But just like David, we'reinvited to move in ways that
bring us closer to God, closerto Joy, closer to hope, closer
(13:11):
to peace.
Sometimes it's going to the gym.
Sometimes it's just dancing inyour living room.
Sometimes it's taking a walk,but it's doing something that is
going to be good for you,something that benefits you, no
(13:33):
matter who's watching.
Let me ask you a question.
Where in your life are youholding back out of fear of what
others may think?
I love that.
A lot of times you go to gymsand it says, no judgment zone
right or no judgments, and I'mglad they do that because I
(13:53):
think it helps to remind us thatwe're not here for anybody else.
You're not here to look atanybody to see what anybody else
is doing, how much they're benchpressing, how much they're
running or how hard they'reworking, or how much they're
sweating.
You're there for you.
It doesn't matter what anybodyelse is doing.
(14:14):
How could movement, physical,emotional, or spiritual, help
you step into freedom and joy?
Like David, could you just say,you know what, I'm home quiet.
Let me turn on some music andjust move around.
Whatever song motivates you.
Whatever you listen to that getsyou on the dance floor.
(14:37):
You know that song when you usedto go out to clubs and things
like that, and it didn't matterwhat you were doing, you could
be talking to somebody.
It's like, yeah, how you doing?
What's been going on?
And you're like, oh my gosh,that's my song.
And then you're.
You're on the dance floor.
That's it.
I gotta dance to this song.
Well, maybe there's a song thatdraws you.
(15:00):
So if the word exercise feelsintimidating, shift your
perspective.
Ask yourself this question.
What kind of movement brings mejoy?
Because let's make it practical,right?
You don't have to go to the gym.
I think that's what I'm reallytrying to emphasize.
You don't have to go a certainplace instead of standing still
(15:21):
in line at the supermarket.
Maybe you just bring yourheadphones to the supermarket
and you just dance.
I've done it.
Dance with my cart.
Pushing my shopping cart and I'mdancing or standing in line and
I'm moving.
And honestly it wasn't because Iwas trying to like, oh, I need
(15:43):
to get my steps in today.
It really was because I was inthe space where I just wanted to
enjoy myself.
I needed to find ways toincrease my joy, a way to keep
my spirits lifted, a way to keepmy energy up.
To keep my mood stable and itwas helpful.
(16:05):
Bring your headphones andinstead of complaining and
wondering, well, how many peopleare online and what line is
shorter, and, oh, why don't theyhave enough people at the
register?
Instead of doing that, put yourheadphones on and get to moving.
I know people are watching.
Okay, let'em watch.
(16:26):
You might encourage them to dothe same.
That's something I call movementsnacks.
Just a few minutes while you'restanding in line you know you're
just taking a walk.
Just, I need to take a quickwalk, a 10 minute walk or
stretch while your coffee'sbrewing.
Marcian Place, white watchingtv, you know, like Netflix and
(16:50):
chill.
Maybe not Netflix and chill,maybe Netflix and move Netflix
and stretch.
I'm starting some new stuff.
And swap sitting down for longtimes too.
Sitting a little bit andstanding a lot more.
Park further away.
Take the stairs in the airport.
(17:11):
Don't just jump on theescalator.
Pair your movements withsomething you already do.
Stretch after brushing yourteeth, or take a short walk
after every meal, or like I didin the hospital before breakfast
or after breakfast, however youwanna do it, but find ways to
incorporate it into your dailyroutine.
(17:31):
Even if you're moving only fiveto 10 minutes a day can make a
significant difference.
When I was in the hospital I hadto walk, but once I left the
hospital after those 10 days, Iknew I had to keep moving
because this is my opportunityto fight, to get my life back,
(17:54):
to be able to do the things thatI used to do.
My legs started to get sore andsometimes I just felt the
tingling and the neuropathy andmy, my feet and my hands.
I had to make significantchanges if I wanted to get my
life back.
(18:15):
And not to say that I wasn'tmoving as much before, but I
clearly wasn't moving enough.
Yeah, maybe you're moving.
Sometimes.
Maybe you go to the gym everyonce in a blue moon.
Maybe you walk here and there.
But what I'm talking about isnot just doing a little
(18:37):
something every once in a while.
I'm talking about a lifestylechange, and you don't have to
change your life to change yourlifestyle, but changing your
lifestyle will change your life.
I don't even know what I justsaid, but I I, if you heard it,
(18:57):
write it down and send it to mebecause I don't remember it, but
I know that making some smallchanges can make a really big
difference.
That's another one, y'all.
I, I'm, I'm on fire today,y'all.
Im on fire.
But let's pause for somereflection.
Ask yourself this.
(19:17):
Where in your life are youfeeling stagnant?
And how could movement, whetherit's physical, emotional, or
spiritual, help shift thatenergy?
But here's your journal promptfor the week.
Track how your body feels beforeor after movement.
(19:38):
Write down like not only thephysical changes, but also your
emotions.
How do you feel?
I'll tell you this.
One of the things that I reallylove about.
My movement routine, especiallywhen I do things early in the
morning, I get a chance to gooutside or go somewhere and do
(20:01):
something in the house and movesome form of physical activity,
I feel like at least I'vededicated the morning to the
things that I need.
It makes me feel like I'mputting myself first, if that
makes sense.
Right.
There's, I put God first, andthen there's me, and then
there's everybody else.
And when I do things out oforder, I do feel a little bit
(20:22):
out of whack if I get up in themorning and the first thing I'm
doing is trying to see ifeverybody else is okay and I
haven't checked in with me, Ihaven't done anything for me
except just put my feet on theground and stand up.
And once I do that, I'm ready tonow help everybody else when I
do that.
(20:46):
Things are just outta order.
You are priority.
You're important.
What do you need to do for you?
I'm asking you to incorporatemovement.
We talked about rest.
I was asking you to be stilllast week.
Now I'm asking you not to bestill this week.
(21:06):
But I'm saying you need both.
There's times to rest andthere's a time to move, and you
have to do both, and you have toincorporate both in your
lifestyle.
Remember, small steps matter.
Little changes, like I said,make a big difference.
(21:27):
But as we wrap up today'sepisode, I wanna remind you that
our bodies were made to move.
And movement is medicine,movement is healing.
Movement is certainly a bridgeto healing.
Just like rest is also a bridgeto healing.
Don't wait until illness forcesyou to move.
(21:50):
Don't wait until like me, youhave to use movement to recover
from illness.
You can start now.
Start with what you have, whereyou are.
I know a lot of you bought thoselittle products that you saw on
TV and maybe you've got an Aband or you one of those
(22:12):
medicine balls, or you gotsomething in your house, maybe
you got a yoga mat that you justrolled up somewhere.
Whatever it is, use it.
Thank you so much for joining metoday.
If this episode encourage you,please share it, subscribe and
(22:34):
join our community, and staytuned for next week's episode.
I'm looking forward to sharinganother shared story with you
next week.
Until then.
Be well be strong, be you.
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