I’ve been saying some version of this for years.
Move your body.
Not because you need six-pack abs. Not because your watch says you’re 437 steps behind schedule. And certainly not because you need another damn thing to feel guilty about.
Move because your body works better when you use it.
And the research keeps giving us more reasons to believe that matters.
A large international group of researchers recently published a consensus paper looking at exercise and healthy aging. Their conclusion wasn’t particularly complicated.
Physical activity can help preserve function, reduce the burden of many chronic diseases, and improve health and quality of life as we age. The researchers went so far as to describe physical activity as both preventive medicine and a therapeutic tool.
That’s pretty strong language coming from a bunch of scientists.
But here’s the part I particularly like.
They aren’t recommending one magic exercise.
Aerobic activity matters. Strength matters. Balance matters. Flexibility matters. And the paper specifically recognizes that people respond differently and exercise needs to fit the individual.
Well, hell.
We’ve been saying that at RiversZen for years.
Your Brain Likes Movement Too
Another 2025 study looked at more than 10,000 people using activity monitors and brain imaging.
Researchers found that moderate physical activity measured by those devices was associated with a younger pattern of brain aging. Better fitness measures were associated with it too.
Notice I said associated with.
I don’t think we need to turn good research into a miracle claim.
Going for a walk doesn’t magically make your brain five years younger.
But taken together with the much larger body of research on exercise and brain health, it’s another pretty good reason to get off the couch. A major 2025 review in The Lancet looked at the growing evidence connecting regular physical activity and fitness with healthier brain aging.
Your muscles aren’t the only things benefiting when you move.
I Learned This the Hard Way
When I was 55, I was dealing with diabetes along with a body that had taken a pretty good beating over the years.
I changed a lot.
I changed how I ate. I started moving differently. I walked. I stretched. I practiced yoga. Eventually resistance stretching became a huge part of my life.
My health changed dramatically.
I’m 72 now.
I’m still teaching classes. Still moving. Still experimenting. Still finding things my body can do that I wasn’t sure it could do.
I can’t tell you that movement alone caused every improvement I’ve experienced. It didn’t. And my experience doesn’t prove what will happen to you.
But I can tell you this:
I’m damn glad I didn’t decide at 55 that getting older meant I was supposed to keep getting worse.
Maybe Movement Isn’t Medicine
I understand the phrase.
“Exercise is medicine” gets people’s attention, and the scientific consensus paper actually uses similar language.
But the more I think about it, the less I want movement to become another pill we’re supposed to take.
Movement is more basic than that.
Humans move.
We walk. Bend. Reach. Carry things. Get down on the floor. Get back up. Work in the garden. Dance badly in the kitchen. Chase the dog. Play with the grandkids.
At least that’s the idea.
Exercise is one way we protect our ability to keep doing those things.
Health serves life. Movement does too.
That’s the part I don’t want us to forget.
You Don’t Need to Beat Yourself Up
Nothing in this research says you need to crawl away from every workout.
And you don’t need to do what I do.
Walk.
Lift something.
Work on your balance.
Stretch.
Take a class.
Get outside.
Do Qigong.
Find something you don’t hate and keep doing it.
Then occasionally try something else.
Your body will tell you quite a bit if you pay attention.
The goal isn’t to become a professional exerciser.
The goal is to stay capable enough to keep living your life.
Want to Move With Us?
That’s what we’re working on every day at RiversZen.
Our classes use strength, mobility, balance, Contracted Stretching, Qigong, yoga, Pilates and other things we’ve picked up over the years.
You don’t have to be good at any of them.
You don’t even have to know what half of them are.
Show up. Pay attention to your body. Adapt what we’re doing to where you are today.
You can join our real RiversZen classes live online from anywhere, and the full on-demand library is there whenever live classes don’t fit your day.
Explore RiversZen Online →https://www.riverszen.com/online
For today: Do something that reminds your body it’s still expected to participate in your life.
A walk will do.