9 Natural Movement Principles To Live By

By Elly McGuinness

The practice of natural movement can help everyday people and athletes alike to move better, and feel better. It can be practiced at any level of fitness and in many different spheres of life. In this post, I’ll share my thoughts about natural human movement as well as plenty of practical tips to help you integrate natural movement principles into your lifestyle. 

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What is natural movement?

Natural human movement is all about being able to move well in everyday life and in all the activities and sports you love to do. It’s about moving your body with ease in a wide variety of ways that are applicable to the real world.

When you move naturally (the way your body was designed to move), you’ll likely feel more freedom and less pain and stiffness. Moving well and naturally allows you to participate in and enjoy a wide range of physical activities. 

You can practice natural movement in your everyday life and through your physical training choices. Natural movement can help you achieve better body awareness, alignment, muscle recruitment, and mobility. It can also reduce the stress placed on joints, release and strengthen connective tissue, and form part of a holistic pain management solution.

natural movement -tug of war bootcamp activity

What has happened to natural movement?

The way many of us live our modern lives has had an adverse impact on our ability to move naturally. Modern lifestyle comforts such as soft sofas and big fluffy pillows may have been designed with good intentions. However, they’ve diminished the necessity for us to maintain natural postures and, in turn, move naturally.

Even the use of certain gym equipment can contribute to our unnatural lifestyles. Think of an exercise machine that has a comfortable backrest so that you don’t need to fully engage your core muscles. It is also designed to take you through exactly the same path of movement each time, irrespective of your unique body.

I’m not saying that exercise machines can’t play an important role in fitness because they can and do have their place. What becomes evident, however, is that an overreliance on modern-day comforts means that natural postures and movements are being forgotten. It’s easy to lose your ancient movement skill set when you never use it anymore. 

Combine this with modern lifestyle factors, such as sitting in one place for prolonged periods, and it becomes obvious why natural movement may not come naturally.

natural movement -tyre flipping in bootcamp session

What are the basic natural movements?

There are countless techniques and natural movement variations. When you think of natural patterns of movement, think about adaptable movements and functional fitness in the real world. You may have heard of the primary (or primal) movement patterns. These are compound, multi-joint exercises and they can be thought of as natural movements.

You probably have some variations of them in your strength training exercise program. The seven primary movement patterns are squat, lunge, push, pull, press, twist, and gait (walking, running, and sprinting). Some professionals may list “hinge” as a primary movement pattern and leave “press” (as in, overhead press) off the list.

primal movement patterns-baby squatting

So If you are wondering “Is bench press a natural movement?”, yes it is. It uses the “push” movement pattern. In saying that, a seated chest press also follows the same pattern. It is still a primary movement, although it has the potential to become less natural. When you use a chest press machine it is unlikely you are recruiting your stabilizing muscles in the same way and you’re being forced to take a very specific movement path.

Other natural movement skills include locomotive skills like crawling, climbing, and jumping. Lifting and carrying are also natural movements. As mentioned, there are countless natural movement variations and combinations.

natural human movement -rock climbing-Elly

9 Important principles of natural movement to live by

You can reap the benefits of exercise and keep natural movement in mind. The following principles will help you to get reacquainted with natural movement. It’s time to move well and enjoy better overall health and fitness.

1. Move often

Get started on your natural movement journey simply by moving more often. The value of incidental exercise and being active in general should not be undermined. This gets us out of prolonged static postures that may negatively impact our natural movement abilities.

Ideas to move often include:

  • Walking or biking short distances instead of driving
  • Having active catch-ups with friends
  • Taking the stairs
  • Walk and talk meetings with colleagues
  • Setting a periodic alarm to remind you to get up from your desk
principles of natural human movement-walking in park-Elly

2. Change your movement approach gradually

If you have been following me for a while, you will know I’m a big fan of the small changes approach. Whether you’re adjusting your dietary plan or your exercise program, it is easier to build habits from small changes. Start by including a few restorative movements into your exercise program or your day in general.

3. Include natural movement patterns in your exercise program

Take a look at your current exercise program and decide what you might be able to swap for a more natural alternative. Are you ready to transition from a machine to a free weights exercise? Does your program include all of the primary movement patterns? If not, include an appropriate variation of each. You might consider removing exercises like bicep curls altogether unless they are in your program for a very specific reason. 

primary movement patterns-push-lady doing single arm cable chest press

4. Mobility training

Mobility training is more than having a flexible body. It’s that sweet spot that covers an awesome range of motion and the strength to complement it. There are many ways to include mobility training in your plan. From dynamic stretching to myofascial release, choose an approach that appeals to you and feels easy for you to start with.

[Find out more about myofascial release in “9 Best Myofascial Release Tools to Reduce Muscle Tension” and “How to use a Trigger Point Ball Effectively”].

[Discover other mobility training techniques in “Everything you need to know about voodoo flossing for mobility” and “Percussion in massage with a massage gun | How percussive therapy works”].

5. The power of play

Kids move their bodies naturally when they play. Playing has a huge host of benefits for both kids and adults. Be mindful of your body’s current limitations and gradually incorporate play into your life. Play games with your kids, play at the playground, or find other ways to play. Some types of fitness, such as acro-yoga, include elements of play. Start gently, move your body, and have fun!

natural human movement-playing games in bootcamp

6. The benefits of going barefoot (or almost barefoot)

Take your shoes off to help your body to move more naturally. Shoes can inhibit your ability to move naturally. Many shoes are rigid, reducing movement, strength, and flexibility in the foot muscles. Combine that with a thick sole that reduces sensory feedback and a raised heel that alters our natural posture, and it becomes evident how shoes can adversely affect natural movement.

So take your shoes off and practice walking barefoot regularly. When it’s not appropriate to go totally barefoot, consider barefoot shoes. If you’re wondering, “What are barefoot shoes?”, this article about the benefits of barefoot shoes is a great place to start.

7. Sit on the floor

Find ways to avoid that comfortable modern furniture that’s not so great for natural movement. Sit on the floor and play with your kids. Sit or lie on your stomach on the floor and watch television or play board games.

Start with a short amount of time and gradually build up. If it hurts to sit cross-legged on the floor, sit on one or more cushions. Doing so will help reduce strain on your back. You can also put a cushion under the outside of each thigh to help.

8. Quality comes first

Quality movement should always be a priority in your fitness sessions. Focusing on good-quality movement will help reduce the likelihood of injury. It may mean you need to check your ego at the door, but doing so enables you to retrain poor movement patterns. A few key points to help you focus on good quality movement include the following:

  • Decrease speed and load
  • Simplify your exercises
  • Focus on correct alignment
primal movement patterns-pull-lady doing seated row in exercise studio

9. It takes time to correct faulty movement patterns

Finally, give yourself ample time to correct faulty movement patterns and move more naturally. If you have been moving the same way for many years, it will take a long time to move differently. A corrective exercise specialist or exercise physiologist may be able to share personalized ideas for corrective exercises based on your areas of tightness and weakness.

Natural Movement Resources

primal movement patterns-lunge

Natural movement courses and workshops

MovNat® is the leading provider of education about natural movement. They offer natural movement certification for professionals and inspiring options for everyday enthusiasts.

Their online courseNatural Movement Fundamentals, focuses on building movement freedom from ground movement to climbing. You can also opt to join a MovNat workshop or an immersive retreat in nature. Other online courses include MovNat® Mobility and MovNat® Metabolic.

If you’re looking for a great natural movement workout to get started, try their free beginner-friendly 4-week program. The 4-week training plan is full of simple workouts and useful tips to help you adopt a more natural approach to movement. Each MovNat ® workout focuses on a specific aspect of natural movement to develop skills such as lifting, carrying, throwing, climbing, and catching.

Books about natural movement

Written by MovNat ® founder Erwan Le Corre, “The Practice of Natural Movement: Reclaim Power, Health, and Freedom” helps to reconnect the modern-day mover with the natural body movement skills we were all designed to do. 

Long-time fan of MovNat ®, and a natural movement guru in her own right, Katy Bowman has published her own book, “Move Your DNA: Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement.” It includes 40+ corrective exercises to help you address your problem areas and get you moving better.

Join the barefoot movement

If you’ve been following my posts for a while, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of barefoot shoes and going completely barefoot when appropriate. As an ambassador for and long-time fan of Xero Shoes, I’ve got several resources to help you learn more about barefoot philosophy.

If you’re wondering “Are minimalist shoes good for you?”, start by reading about the benefits of minimalist shoes in this post.

Whether you’re looking for barefoot boots or cute yet highly functional sandals, Xero Shoes has a great range of both casual and performance-specific natural-movement-friendly footwear. If you’re interested in finding out about some of the specific options they have, you can check out some of my reviews below.

Nutritious Movement

Katy Bowman (the author of Move Your DNA) has a wealth of resources and tips to help you move better and feel better. Built on the premise that movement is for EVERY body, Katy Bowman from Nutritious Movement offers everything from a virtual studio membership to Move Your DNA weekends, as well as highly valuable tips and advice on her social media channels.

The Movement Movement podcast

Hosted by Xero Shoes co-founder Steven Sashen, The Movement Movement Podcast breaks through the mythology and confusion about what it takes to do the physical activities you love. Created to help you move better and have more fun, the podcast covers topics such as running tips, nutrition, mind-body fitness, performance secrets, and more.

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these recommended service provider links, like an insurance broker, or a travel agent, I may earn a commission – at no extra cost to you. [For my full disclosure, please see my DISCLAIMER page].

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Elly McGuinness

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