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I am sitting in the office of a physical therapist and realise that I am talking more about my daily life than about exercising. Work is exhausting, and when I finally get home, the sofa is much more inviting than the front door. Exercise feels like something that requires a reservation and a plan.
Fysioterapeutti Suvi Laitinen kannustaa lisäämään arkiliikuntaa omaan elämään sopivilla tavoilla.
Physical Therapist Suvi Laitinen does not talk about gym routines or goals. She wants to know my habits of being active in my everyday life. Do I take the stairs or the elevator, do I walk to the neighbourhood shop, do I get up from my chair every now and then?
“Everyday physical activity includes everything you do throughout your day. It doesn’t have to be a specific hobby,” says Laitinen.
Under professional guidance, the focus shifts to all the small choices we can make: walking up a single flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator, going for a ten-minute walk around the block, or doing the shopping on foot.
“You don’t have to aim for the moon. Small streams make big rivers.”
Increasing physical activity like that, without going out of your way to achieve it, often makes one feel much better. According to Laitinen, it improves coping abilities and sleep quality. I leave the office without an exercise plan, but with a decision firmly made up. Today I will take the stairs, at least for that one flight.
Tips for getting started with exercise and opportunities that fit into everyone’s daily routine can also be found in the Vantaa and Kerava Wellbeing Services Portal, which brings together accessible exercise services and groups in the area. Have you taken advantage of it yet?
Check out what is on offer: vake.fi/en/wellbeing-services.
The author, Elli Laine, is a regular couch potato whose physical activity consists mainly of walking the dog and the occasional attempt to get excited about something new.