Welcome to the game-changing book of the year: Built to Move, by Kelly and Juliet Starrett.
Well, for me anyway.
Since I read this book last April, my step count has increased, my mobility has improved, I’m sitting less and standing more, my relationship with food has shifted, I’ve gained a lot of muscle, and my general aches and pains are not so general anymore. I know that those of you who read this over the summer during our second quarterly alumni virtual book club (that’s a mouthful) would probably agree: this book really does an amazing job of giving you the best basics to focus on if you want to stay mobile and resilient as you age.
A little background about where I was at before this book: I fell walking my dogs a year ago. My boisterous and poorly trained puppy tripped me and now that I’m in my late 30s, it took me longer to heal than normal. I’d been dealing with some kind of ache or chronic pain for the majority of the last 1.5 decades. Perimenopause and menopause are on the horizon. I’m getting nostalgic for the 90s and y2k. I’m not getting any younger and I was starting to worry that I won’t be the durable adult I want to be. And on top of that I couldn’t figure out how to plan a day that consistently includes movement in all the ways I know I need (mobility, strength, walking, cardio, yoga, stretching) while also running my private practice, working with INCA, and parenting. It’s a lot and the overwhelm put me in freeze more often than I’d like, resulting in me feeling tired and doing nothing.
Built to Move is written by a physical therapist and a movement pro and centers around 10 assessments and introduces 10 physical habits that you can incorporate into your every day life. While this might sound like a lot, most of these are practices that are easily sprinkled throughout the day into things I already do. For example, now I sit on the floor to watch TV in the evenings after a short mobility sequence. They make it simple and attainable! The book even provides a way of eating that doesn’t prescribe to diet culture and is based on what to ADD to your diet (think protein and plants). When I add it to a mindset that is anti-perfection, I have a really wonderful goal to aspire to everyday that feels balanced and never deprived or extreme.
I think one of my favorite changes I’ve made are purchasing “zero shoes” that have flexible soles and really increased my step count. When it’s not 100 degrees here in Tucson, I really make an effort to go on multiple short walks every day. It keeps me moving throughout the day, improves my sleep and mental health exponentially, and gives me some natural breaks outside in nature, which we know are so important. Because of the shoes, I rarely have foot pain and I’d probably contribute a lot of the decrease in other aches and pains to it too.
My complaints of the book are fairly minimal. I’m not sure about the vitamin D and babies story they shared and if it is truly evidence-based. If you don’t like talk of weight of any kind, please know that they do touch on it. I really do prefer the health at any size approach, I didn’t find it to be overbearing as a part of the message. Also, I’d argue that stress management and relief should be included, but Kelly and Juliet are really focused on mobility, and maybe that’s reaching a bit and a topic that should be its own book.
If you’re looking for a good self-improvement book around aging durably, I highly recommend checking this out and sharing it with your clients. The assessments provided are ones that you can go back to a few times a year as benchmarks for improvement, which the scientist in me really appreciates. There’s even a 21 Day Challenge in the back of the book. Plus, most of these goals are simple enough to sneak into every day life, like doing the Old Man Balance Test every time you put on your shoes for a walk. And we all know that little goals add up big time for clients!
(Helpful hint: find a habit tracker for your phone or planner to keep track of it all and built momentum.)
How to Join the Alumni Book Club
If you’re interested in joining the INCCP Alumni Virtual Book Club, we select a new book each quarter to discuss in the Alumni Connection course via Canva (https://academy.integrativenurse.coach/).
Use your student log in to access the course and head over to the discussion section. We’d love to see you there and hear your thoughts on our current selection.
Our 4th quarter pick for 2023 isReal Self Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness, by Pooja Lakshmin, MD.
