a Living Well practice
I used to love going to the gym. I felt strong and fit, I loved the rhythm of it, the quiet pride of showing up. Then the gym became something my ex and I did together, and when that relationship ended, my relationship with exercise ended too. I developed a deep aversion to the gym, and to exercise. Thanks a lot, ex who will remain nameless.
And then I grew out of this self-limiting correlation. I stopped waiting to feel like a gym person again. I started creating moments of movement in the spaces my real life already had. Most people call them snack-sized workouts, or exercise snacks. I call them bite-sized. Short, joyful bursts of movement, woven through an ordinary day. No membership required, just you, your body, and putting what sparks joy into action.
And guess what? Science backs me up.
This essay is one of four practices in the Living Well pillar at The Gracewell Studio. If you want the full guide to healthspan over lifespan, mind, body, and spirit held as one whole, start at the pillar here.
Two studies that were never meant to meet
I am a nurse, so I read the research. Two findings have stayed with me, and they come from completely different corners of medicine.
The first is about the body. In a study of more than 22,000 adults who did not exercise at all, just three to four minutes a day of vigorous movement woven into daily life, a fast walk, a flight of stairs, was linked to a meaningful drop in cancer risk (Stamatakis et al., 2023). Not an hour. Minutes, in little bursts of about sixty seconds.
The second is about the mind. A large review that pooled over a thousand trials and approximately 128,000 people found that physical activity eased depression, anxiety, and distress, with benefits comparable to or greater than what is often seen with therapy and medication (Singh et al., 2023). And shorter, more intense sessions worked beautifully.
Now, no one wrote these two studies together. One lives in oncology. One lives in mental health. But I keep them side by side on purpose, because together they say something neither says alone.
Brief, joyful movement is medicine. Tiny doses become something sustainable, the kind of movement a busy or neurodivergent life can actually fold in to keep both mind and body well. That is a game changer.
What a movement bite looks like
Mine usually happens in the kitchen while the kettle boils the water for my coffee.
I put on music, something with a beat, and I turn it up loud and let it wake me up and get me moving. Arms up over my head, hips swaying, knees bending and extending, jumps in place, a lunge to the fridge for my half and half, big dramatic moves that only I will ever see. My heart rate climbs. I break a small sweat. I laugh. I get theatrical. Energy moves through me. Then the kettle clicks, I pour my coffee, and I carry on with my day. That is the whole practice. Sixty joyful seconds, a few times a day.
Here are a few more, if you want somewhere to start:
- Dance while the coffee brews
- Take the stairs on purpose, a little faster than feels natural
- Calf raises at the sink while you wash the dishes
- Jumping jacks between chores
- The container drawer squat: pile every lid and container on the counter, match one pair at a time, then squat to put each set away in the low cabinet
Something is always better than nothing. Choose the ones that feel good. Let your body move how it wants, without judgment. This is movement built for a real life, an honest body, and a mind that does its best work in short, bright bursts.
Keep going
If this is your kind of medicine, the gentle and joyful kind, wander into the Joy Path. It holds small practices that treat delight as the serious wellness work it truly is.
And when you head out for your next movement bite, take something handmade with you. The Happy Go Tote is upcycled denim with leopard on one side and a run of rainbow stripes on the other, one of a kind, made to be grabbed and carried into a really good day. Toss in your keys and your sunglasses, sling it over your shoulder, and take your sixty seconds outside.
a blessing before you go
May you find the kind of movement that feels like joy.
May gratitude for your body and its movement grace your every day.
May sixty honest seconds be enough, because they are.
And may you remember that small, repeated, and loving movement is how real change is built.
Go gracefully. 🤍
Rev. Kristina Soto, RN, BSN
References
Singh, B., Olds, T., Curtis, R., Dumuid, D., Virgara, R., Watson, A., Szeto, K., Connor, E., Ferguson, T., Eglitis, E., Miatke, A., Simpson, C. E. M., & Maher, C. (2023). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: An overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(18), 1203-1209. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2022-106195
Stamatakis, E., Ahmadi, M. N., Friedenreich, C. M., Blodgett, J. M., Koster, A., Holtermann, A., Atkin, A., Rangul, V., Sherar, L. B., Teixeira-Pinto, A., Ekelund, U., Lee, I.-M., & Hamer, M. (2023). Vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity and cancer incidence among nonexercising adults: The UK Biobank accelerometry study. JAMA Oncology, 9(9), 1255-1259. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.1830
