Most of us know we need more exercise, both for our physical and mental health. Even more subtle than this, basic movements can become important for us. Partially due to our sedentary lifestyle, partially due to more awareness of how nuero-divergence can impact our mental wellness, getting acquainted with “heavy work” as self-care could help both restlessness, focus and issues of stress and irritability.
Heavy work is defined by any activity that pulls on the body. This helps with emotional regulation by stimulating the proprioceptive system, or sense of body awareness. Most of us get enough of this input in our daily lives. Others who don’t may actually seek movement that provides this feedback. For kids, this could result in “inappropriate” things like jumping and crashing into things, aggression or hyperactivity. For adults, seeking certain activities when you are upset or stressed might be due to the need for body input. If yard work and housecleaning are your outlet when you are under pressure, this might be the reason.
Heavy work naturally creates a lot of input between the body and the mind. Carrying groceries, pulling weeds, mopping, shoveling snow—these are everyday activities that create a “rewarding” experience for mind and body. Awareness around these needs help us embrace even the most basic work as a benefit for our mind and body maintain a healthy connection.
Giving children opportunity for these activities may be more important if they are disconnected from their body, either from neural functionality or perhaps just from a more sedentary lifestyle. Swimming, jumping on a trampoline, pulling or pushing a wagon with a sibling in it, tug-o-war with the dog are just a few ways that kids can find this helpful input and regulation.
In novel environments or different situations there may still be available ways to help your child stay regulated and have an outlet for their “hyperactivity”. Pushing a cart at the grocery store might give them both chance to help you– and themselves. Having them load and unload the groceries is another example of heavy work. For times when they are forced to sit, roping resistance bands around the chair legs can encourage them to push and pull with their feet. These are natural tendencies that kiddos with Attention Deficit Disorder may already be seeking with their body, for other kids it may not feel as needed or wanted.
Remembering the interconnection between our mind and body can create value around things that we often feel are “extra” or even distractions from our work and play. Vacuuming, mopping, sweeping the driveway or carrying a load of laundry are integrated moments that benefit our stress response. The keeping of a house is in fact keeping ourselves.
Some regulation activities that counselors and occupational therapists have used for emotions and stress can be highly rewarding for an overworked nervous system. Progressive muscle relaxation, the act of tensing joints and muscles and then fully relaxing, result in a full body and mind release. Using this several times a day under significant stress can help build a calmer “norm” in your body. For less obvious and publicly acceptable versions, try hand pushes, pressing your palms together as hard as you can and then releasing.
If you are feeling restless, bored, stuck in your head and just plain irritable, let this be your opportunity to ask: When did I move last? Your body may be expressing its need for some sort of interaction with the world. A natural result will be allowing your mind to take a back seat and rest.
Here’s to a more mindful week and perhaps even a new appreciation for some weeding and yardwork. To embodiment, inhabiting your life and living more fully present: enjoy your “Heavy work”!
