EVERYONE NEEDS A certain amount of muscle strength and flexibility to get through daily life. The sooner the exercise program begins, the better. If you have a baby in your life, start now with a minute or two of exercise with each diaper change. It all adds up as do calories. Because of the position in the womb for nine months, a baby is 
born with three posture anomalies: round back, flaccid abdominals, and tight hamstrings. His / her little muscles need to be stretched and strengthened. If you don’t know how to start, Bonnie Prudden’s book, How to Keep Your Child Fit from Birth to Six, will walk you right through the process.
Sometimes babies have muscle pain which expresses itself in a lot of crying when the baby is dry and fed and there is no apparent reason for the distress. Here is a link to my blog, Babies Have Muscle Pain Too. Or click here to watch baby exercises!
Your six to twelve year old is not starved for food, but he and she are starved for action. Kids suffer from stress too and it accumulates in their muscles as does your stress. The best way to offset tension is with physical activity. When daily activity is a habit they will sleep better, eat better, learn easier and be in a better mood. Go to the Y, go to the park, go for a walk, a bike ride, or to the shore…and leave your phone OFF.
Your teens seem to be suffering the most from muscle tension and mental health problems like depression, loneliness, and social angst exacerbated by COVID and a paucity of resources to deal with them. Hunched over devices for hours at a time discourages good posture, encourages overuse of muscles and does absolutely nothing for key posture muscles and oxygen intake, key to good brain power. Now more than at any other time family walks, bikes, hikes, swims, and active outings are needed.
“Your body is your piece of sculpture. It’s the only thing you really own. Make it wonderful.” Teenage Fitness, by Bonnie Prudden.
Following one of our Weekend Myotherapy workshops, we received an email from a participant that read in part:
“Every night now we ‘exercise with Bonnie’ as the kids say. The neighbors are beginning to wonder what’s going on in our house as they see us all bouncing around the living room for 40 minutes each night. It’s a great stress reliever and ‘family connector’ at the end of the day.”
How to Keep Your Family Fit and Healthy is a good start. Take the hand of someone in your “family” and get started now. “The body is man’s greatest tool and there’s just one to a person. There’s no end to where it can take you.” Teenage Fitness, by Bonnie Prudden.
Exercise doesn’t cure everything but being fit helps greatly with self-esteem. It doesn’t cost anything to walk or run. DON’T RUN ON THE ROAD. It ruins your leg muscles. Run on the trails, beach and track. Some parks have par course so you can run safely and stop for various exercises to strengthen and stretch.
GET STARTED. TAKE THE FIRST STEP.
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If you have questions or need help, email me at enid@bonnieprudden.com.
For more information about Bonnie Prudden®, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®, workshops, books, self-help tools, DVDs, educational videos, and blogs, visit www.bonnieprudden.com. Or call 520-299-8064 if you have questions or need help. Enid Whittaker, Managing Director, Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy®