I’ve never understood how people can roll out of bed and immediate sit at a desk and start working. Going back to the early days of my first career as a lawyer, I found that I functioned better on the days when I made time for the gym before I showed up at the office.
Over a dozen years ago, I formalized that practice with my “Fitness First” ritual, making morning movement a non-negotiable part of my day.
I had realized that starting my day with a workout helped me “plug in” my brain so I could focus better.
The Energetic Connection
This is apparent on an energetic and metaphorical level.
Flow creates flow. A flow state in my morning workout “gets the juices flowing” to overcome mental stagnation, activate creative thinking, and unlock the spigot of creativity so I can tap into my best ideas.
Fluency initiates fluency. Movement creates fluency in the joints, which allows the body to fully express itself through all available ranges of motion. The articulation of the physical body translates to verbal or written articulation of ideas.
Stability supports expression and ideas. In the metaphor of the body as a house, ideas are the province of the “Third Floor.” Whether you’re expressing those ideas verbally, through writing, or sign language, expression of those ideas is the province of the “Second Floor.” But without a solid foundation the First Floor, both of those floors collapse.
The First Floor is the hips and legs — the tools we use to initiate movement and ground in our embodiment.
As author Bonnie Tsui writes in The Atlantic:
Movement loosens something within all of us. Physical practice is not just a break from sitting at a desk—it is explicit and essential, an extra twist to open the tap, allowing for a freer flow from the faucet of thought.
There’s a permeability between the practices of writing and moving; one discipline informs the other. In that meeting, everything expands.
In her article, Tsui recounts tales from various writers who rely on movement as the catalyst for their best work. But it would be a mistake to believe that movement only helps “writers.” All “thought” work benefits from movement.
It’s no accident we describe our most productive and articulate states using the language of movement.
Humans were designed to move.
The Science
Science supports the intuitive knowledge of our language and metaphors.
The body and mind are not separate entities; they are inextricably linked. Science has shown that movement doesn’t just change our bodies; it also changes our brains.
Just as handwriting activates different brain regions than typing, moving while reading or listening activates a unique mode of learning.
As I learned when researching why movement is so effective for treating ADHD issues, exercise is proven to boost neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline. This neurotransmitter boost immediately improves our ability to pay attention.
In addition, dopamine has an analgesic effect, which helps overcome one of the biggest barriers to effective work: physical pain.
Movement has also been associated with both better creative cognition and an increase in the originality and fluency of ideas.
Unlock Your Best Work By Unlocking Your Body
If you are struggling to access your deep creative well, staring at a blank screen is unlikely to help. The ancient yogis taught that a stiff and rigid body creates a stiff and rigid mind.
Instead of staring endlessly at the flashing cursor that’s taunting you, take its cue: get up and move.
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