Green Moves
Movement Expert Angus Clark says outdoors and exercise go hand in hand. Why not get out there and make the connection!

Keeping well through movement doesn’t have to be based around Spartan disciplinary regimes. A balanced and healthy metabolism is more likely to result from simply following a few key principles and your own sense of inspiration. At this time of year you can find inspiration everywhere.
June is one of my favourite months and offers a really good opportunity to get out there, breathe good air and feel inspired. It’s no coincidence that respiration and inspiration are almost the same word. Creativity and health are entirely linked and nature’s creative force is a fine guide. I just have to step out of my back door to feel the force of new growth, smell the fresh leaves, see the beautiful flowers, hear the birds sing, and enjoy the light in the sky.
If you’re a tai chi or qigong player you may like to work with set moves. But if you’re in a mood to improvise, or don’t know any set moves, or are unsure where or how to start then you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s easy - we just need some themes to play around with.
For inspiration, make a point of going outside. Take a stroll to the park, into your garden. Go to the sea, the moors, the woods, a hilltop. If it’s difficult to get outside then open the window, let the sun in, smell the air and hear the birds.
And if you don’t think that you have time, then look for ways of integrating – how to bring movement into your life and your life into movement. I exercise in the mornings when I take my dog for a walk and it brings fresh energy and inspiration for each new day.
It’s always good to start simply so we’ll begin with walking. It’s surprising how energised you can feel just by changing the way you walk. As you stroll along, feel how your frame, your bones, SUPPORT you. Imagine that you are supported all the way up into the sky, (like a tree that grows towards the light) from the bones in your feet, all the way through your body and out through the top of your head.
RELAX THE MUSCLES around your bones. Start with the hands and move a wave of relaxation up your arms, through your neck and head, down your main body and in to your legs and feet.
BREATHE deeper as you walk and allow your arms to begin to swing naturally and freely. Feel your shoulders and back relax and open and allow a good rhythm to develop with your arms. Feel each outbreath as an opportunity to relax your muscles and continue to EXTEND YOUR FRAME.
Let your stride lengthen then stop for a stretch on a really long step. You’ll find that you can get different stretches in your legs by changing the angle of the back foot. Parallel to the front foot gives a calf stretch; 45 degrees to the front foot gives a stretch in the groin area. The different stretches stimulate the different meridians in the legs and release more vital energy into your life. You can improvise with each side and with
leaning your spine, breathing deeper and lifting your arms.
Back to walking again and feel how your feet contact the ground. Notice how the walking massages your feet. FEEL THE CONNECTION to the ground through your feet as you walk. Feel the link between the centre of the earth, our gravitational epicentre and your feet. Perhaps take off your shoes and socks.
Now let’s have a look at a different kind of stretch that focuses on extending AWAY FROM YOUR CENTRE. Take a good breath in. Reach one arm up into the sky. With the arm up, extend the opposite leg, let your breath out and feel how your arm and leg are moving in opposite directions. See if you can get a sense of where the
‘centre’ is. Have the sense that your body opens naturally up from here. This gives the organs more space and fresh air. They love it. It makes them feel happy and refreshed – and they’ll repay you with more vital energy.
If you are on a beach or there’s good grass or heather under your feet, then have a go at the same natural stretching lying on the ground. Follow the same simple formula – relax, breathe, extend, rest. It can be a lot of fun and you may be surprised just how effective it is in replenishing your energy and sense of wellbeing.
Another thing I really enjoy is exercising with the help of the natural environment – a tree or rock, for instance. Trees are fantastic. You can improvise with by swinging from a branch and allowing your spine to extend; you can reach, lean and stretch your arms, legs and back in an unlimited set of possibilities. You can sit back to back, (well, back to trunk) or just stand in the presence of a tree; feel the force, build the relationship.
Always follow the same principles of RELAX, BREATHE, EXTEND AND REST. I haven’t tried this one but a couple of my friends like to hang upside down from trees by their legs!
I wish you happy explorations!
If you would like more guidelines and an easy to follow set of moves from tai chi and chi-gong then you may be interested in Angus’s new DVD ‘Move For Your Life’

Angus Clark is Head of School and Senior Instructor at the School of Living Movement. You can contact him by email angus@livingmovement.com or call 0845 125 9731. For more on courses and classes please call, email or visit the website. www.livingmovement.com