Try the Body Electric Challenge

I just ran across NPR's Body Electric Challenge series that they launched in November, 2023.  It's really what I needed to motivate myself to do something about my unhealthy work habits.

As a desk-jockey-by-day/dancer-by-night, I spend a lot (REALLY A LOT) of time sitting behind a computer.  My fingers get a great workout; my body doesn't.  What's worse, my work-from-home arrangement means that the are no cube-buddies around to prompt me to get out of my chair and move between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM.

I decided to do this challenge, because I can feel the negative effects of my sedentary workdays, building up in my aging body, and it doesn't bode well for the future.

This series is an interactive investigation into the relationship between our technology and our bodies...and how we can fix it.

Visit the NPR Body Electric Podcast site to listen in on the episodes:

• Start Here → The Body Electric Challenge
• So much sitting, looking at screens. Can we combat our sedentary lives?
• When human met desk: a toxic relationship for the ages
• The story behind soaring myopia among kids
• Stressed out? It might not just be in your head. How your muscles affect your mood
• Overwhelmed by doom scrolling? Time to check in with your body
• Over 20,000 joined the NPR/Columbia study to move throughout the day. Did it work?
• Tips for building movement into your life—and how to stick with it
  
• New research sheds light on what Zoom does to our brains
• How short gentle movement breaks transformed one woman's health

Then see if you can find ways to move your body, at regular intervals, during your workday -- ideally, every 30 minutes!  It could be a few minutes of Yoga; it could be some wall-Pilates; it could be some plies, tendus or battements holding onto the back of your work chair; it could be going for a short walk down the street and back; it could be turning on your favorite dance tune and gyrating like a crazy person.

I'm starting to feel better already.  I'm betting you will too!  Have fun!  Move your body!  Every little bit counts.