THE BIGGER PICTURE: There are so many ways to move! And it is essential that we do so.
For those of us with jobs that leave us at desks, behind computers or standing in one place, we are effectively immobile. Increasingly, we are stuck in our heads to the detriment of our bodies. Not only is our physical health at risk, but so too is our mental wellbeing.
We each need at least 30 minutes of energetic physical exercise a day. Yes, each day. Not three times a week, but as a daily requirement for good health. And, that's active exercise. Heart rate up, sweat flowing, breath deep and fast, muscles challenged - our whole body participating, internally and externally.
There are many reasons why vigorous exercise is important. The most commonly publicised is our need to strengthen our heart muscle. With extra blood pumping, more nutrition can reach our tissues and a greater volume of wastes can be removed. This process also assists our overall metabolism, making us more efficient at creating energy having spent it.
However, we also need to move our bodies to strengthen those muscles that support our skeletal frame. We need our muscles strong so that they can hold us together in the correct shape.
This, in turn, allows our organs to sit in their rightful places and function to the best of their abilities. To add to this, and most importantly, our lymphatic system - the system pivotal in removing excess fluids and toxins from our tissues - relies very much on physical, muscular movement to pump the lymph through. Thus, vigorous exercise is vital to good health.
Let's be honest. Most of us are not getting enough exercise. In order to solve this problem, many people have invested in gym memberships.
Some have even figured out how to make time to go. Few would go daily. There are, however, many more inspiring ways for us to move ourselves. The most accessible and enjoyable (in my opinion) has got to be dancing.
Dancing definitely gives us the opportunity to increase our heart rate, as well as develop strength and explore our flexibility. It goes one step further than simply looking after our physical selves, however.
Through dance, we get the opportunity to engage with beats that inspire us and express our individual creativity. We involve every aspect of our being in a positive way. We can do it by ourselves or with others, and it needn't cost us anything. Far too many people, however, are afraid to let themselves move. We are afraid of our bodies - what they look like, how they carry us and how they will be judged by others. We are afraid that our dance isn't good enough, that others will reject us, or that we will end up feeling humiliated. A great number of us look for some form of alcoholic anaesthetic to get ourselves out onto the floor. Right when you want to have your full sense with you to enjoy the moment fully, you can't bear to feel or notice much. It's really sad.
Far too often, dance is used as a mask for sexuality, and this puts us all under pressure. Where dance should be a creative expression like painting, singing, writing or making something, it has been reduced to a sexual game. As such, many of us are left out or isolated from something that should be a wonderful thing that humans do together to celebrate.
In truth, dancing involves a lot from ourselves. It is a risk - to believe in something, appreciate our bodies and how they engage with a rhythm of beats. It requires a permission to be an individual. It might just be too tall an order for someone just looking to move again after a long period of stillness.
Yet, when we get to dance, we really get to have fun with movements. We get to be a part of that which inspires us, and show it with our hips, feet, shoulders and arms. And there are many ways to achieve it - in the privacy of one's living room, together with a few friends or on one's own.
If the goal is 30 minutes cardiovascular activity a day, then surely a private evening dance is a good way of having it. There is no need to wait for good weather, buy special clothing or even stretch in advance.
All one needs is a small radio.
Finally, there is no doubt that we feel better when we move than when we are still. Moving gives us a sense of strength, power and courage that helps us to make more useful but difficult choices. Interestingly, it also brings us peace and stillness.
Often movement is the only way to achieve stillness in one's life. It's only with regular physical exercise that one's mind gets a chance to rest, recover and even contemplate to deeper levels than it can when it's engaged in daily tasks.
Movement can give us a time to meditate, rejuvenate and relax - in ways we can never achieve in the bath or on the couch watching TV.
Regardless of how you choose to move, making the decision to do so will undoubtedly make your life better.
Shalini Sinha practises life coaching and the Bowen technique in her clinic, Forward Movement.