Sitting for long hours, skipping breaks, and neglecting movement may seem like small sacrifices for productivity, but they could be hurting both you and your business.

In this episode, Karen Smith shares why prioritizing movement throughout your workday is essential, not just for your health, but for maintaining energy, creativity, and focus in your business.

You’ll learn practical ways to integrate movement into your routine, how to avoid burnout, and why small physical shifts can lead to big results in your work.

Plus, Karen shares how movement can even become a form of prayer, helping you stay spiritually and physically aligned.

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

How can we honor God in our business?

Honoring God in our business isn't just about our work ethic—it’s also about how we care for the bodies He has given us. By prioritizing movement, we honor Him by staying strong, focused, and ready for the work He has set before us.

One challenge from today:

Being in business often means long hours at the desk or on the go, which can lead to physical strain and fatigue. Today’s challenge is to incorporate small, intentional movements throughout your day to keep your body energized and prevent breakdowns.

More About Karen Smith

www.lifeconnectionsacademy.com

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David:

[0:00] Hello, I'm super excited to have with me Karen Smith, and she is the author of Motivation to Move, plus like seven other books. And she had a crisis at birth at one time, and she almost died. And so after that, she used that as a motivation to start looking into what's wrong, what's wrong in becoming a detective that way. And over the years, when you seek information, you end up learning a lot. And so she wrote the book Motivation to Move. And so today we're going to talk about that and about being good stewards of our body and take care of that. So, Karen, welcome. And to begin with, what is one way you believe we can honor God in our business that other people may not know about?

Karen:

[0:42] Well, that's a great question. You know, we can run out of energy before we run out of time. And so it's really important that we are good stewards of our bodies so we have the energy to do the things that God wants us to do.

David:

[0:55] Very good. Very good. So take three or four minutes and let us know what the journey was, what motivated you to write Motivation to Move. What's the background of that book?

Karen:

[1:07] Well, my girls have danced for over 10 years, and I've just really seen how just really our bodies are made to move. And so I was really wondering, could my body help my heart love God more? And so that was the heart behind the book. But in doing it, I really put in the book all the ways that we can steward our bodies. Because I like to compare our bodies as to a city. And so the city needs to take the trash out. The city needs energy. And so I really looked at what are the ways I can steward my body and make it the best it can be.

David:

[1:43] Okay. Very good. And so over the years, you've put it all in a book, didn't you? Very good.

David:

[1:50] Yeah. Now, this may be a no-brainer, but I'm going to ask the question anyway. In our business, why should we make taking care of our health such a priority?

Karen:

[2:01] Well, just being in business gives our bodies or our cities specific challenges. Just think about it. We're sitting a lot of times. We're looking at screens, and our bodies are made to move. If we don't look at what challenges business brings to our bodies, it will break down. So, for instance, if you're sitting a lot, you need to know what stretches can you do that counteract those muscles that are being overworked and tired because they're sitting.

David:

[2:34] Okay. And so do you have any examples of what we could do? Like I have a desk job and I do get up and go to the production floor and talk to people and things like that, but I don't move around as much as I used to.

Karen:

[2:47] Yeah. So for instance, yeah, like specific, like you want to stretch out your hip flexors, that would be like doing lunges just to really get that muscle stretched. Or, you know, when you go through a doorway, just putting your arm up and stretching your muscles so that because when we're at a desk and we're typing, we're actually usually bent over. So it's really researching what stretches that you can do to help your body recover from sitting so much.

Karen:

[3:18] Also, like we're a lot of times we're near point focusing because we're looking at the computer. So just every 20 minutes taking a break to look in the distance, that relaxes your eye and it will help your eyes not get fatigued or have problems because you're so looking at the screen so much.

David:

[3:38] Okay. No, that's good. I'm guilty. I do it all. Because I get into it. I get into my work and do that. But I get interrupted a lot. So my face goes away from the screen quite a bit too. So I guess they're good interruptions. And so you talked about movement. But how does movement then help your business, help your body, help your spiritual life? You kind of put some things together there in your book.

Karen:

[4:10] Yeah. So part of my book I looked at, could my daily movements be turned into prayer? And so, for instance, I had you take an inventory of how you're moving in my book. And then I looked at those specific movements and made connected specific prayers to them. So, for instance, maybe if you're in a building that has steps, you want to attach a prayer to going up the steps. I use a forgiveness prayer usually because going up the steps is hard and sometimes it's hard to forgive. So I looked at how you can use your daily movements to

Karen:

[4:48] help you pray and draw close to God. And just the whole idea of just really taking an inventory of how much you're moving every day, I think is really good. So you can weave in those movements, maybe take a walk on your lunch break or think about parking farther from the grocery store if you're going to run in and get something quick for dinner, just so you have a few more steps in your day.

David:

[5:13] But it takes longer. Just kidding. Yeah.

David:

[5:18] So what are some common mistakes? I'm not sure how much you've talked to business professionals and that, but what are some common mistakes that you see that they're making in regards to not moving?

Karen:

[5:31] I think it's just being intentional, like a lot of things that keep us healthy, like just breathing deep. Just think about if you're excited about something or for your intent, maybe you're not taking those really deep breaths that you need to, or just staying hydrated. Our bodies need water to function. And maybe you're sitting at the desk and you're not being intentional about drinking water. Um so it's just really looking at are you meeting the needs of your body or maybe it's just like oh i don't have time to make myself something healthy so you just grab something that's processed because i always think about the fuel i'm giving my body to eat to nourish it versus just to eat.

David:

[6:14] Absolutely very much different um in your book you talk about 19 different ways to steward your body Right. And so what have you been able to rank those as one more important than the other? Can you do you know what the number one most neglected one would be?

Karen:

[6:32] Well, I think the first one I started out with is that you're unique. There's never, ever been another person just like you. And so just because something works for someone else, it may not be your key. So really, it's unlocking your uniqueness. And then once you know that, then you can look at how you can best steward your body. I think that, you know, that's why you hear someone say, you've got to try this product. It's like life changing. Well, maybe it was for them, but it may not be for you.

David:

[7:04] Okay. So going down that road, what do you do? You just say, hey, it worked for me, but not for you. So do you just give it a try and see if it works? Is that what you do?

Karen:

[7:15] Um, I think it's a lot of it is just really, um, getting that self-knowledge

Karen:

[7:21] to say, you know, what is your history? Like when I went through my health crisis, I really had to, my body was just so broken down. And so I had to see what I needed to do to build it back up. Like for me, it was like a specific supplement that my brain needed. Actually. Um, it was just very depleted. And so it's maybe you need to visit like someone who's a nutritionist or you're just getting a regular physical, but just kind of getting that baseline of where you're at, what are your strengths, what are your weaknesses, what do you need? And then that's where a coach can come in because someone who's read a lot of books has connections to resources. A lot of times we can't find these answers out on our own, but just connecting with a coach can really make a big difference.

David:

[8:14] Yeah, that's very true. Have you ever heard of a piggy? I worked at a place and there's an engineer who said, oh, that's a piggy. And I'm like, what's a piggy? P-I-G-G. He said, poorly implemented, good idea. P-I-G-I. I'm like, okay. And I wonder how many of these health things are poorly implemented, good ideas that would really be good for you. But I know some people, probably a lot of us get an idea and then just run with it, but they don't completely do the diet or do this or do that. They don't do the whole system. And so of course it doesn't work. I wonder how much of that happens as well.

Karen:

[8:58] Yeah, I've never heard of that acronym, but I love it. And really it's the daily things, the daily things we're doing on a consistent basis that are easy to do, but easy not to do. It's the small things like making, like I said, making sure you're hydrated, make sure you're moving, make sure you're breathing. They seem simple, but all those things cumulative add up if you do them on a consistent basis.

David:

[9:23] Okay. You keep mentioning hydration. How does dehydrated or not drinking enough, how does that affect your productivity during the day?

Karen:

[9:32] Yeah. Our brains are so much made up of water and our bodies. And if we're not hydrated, it will affect your performance. It affects you physically. And it's something that may just slip up on you. You know what I mean? You may not think, but just water is just such a great thing to drink versus anything that's sugary. And I like to add in things in my water. Lemon's great. You can do like water infusions with fruit or cucumbers. I like, but just really making sure you get enough water every day is really important.

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