Move Like a River: A Trail Tool for Reclaiming Movement

There’s a kind of movement the world celebrates:10k steps. Gym routines. High-intensity everything.The kind that tracks, measures, and optimises.

And then there’s another kind. The kind your body remembers. The kind it asks for—quietly, beneath the noise. A stretch after waking. A slow walk under trees. A deep exhale with arms overhead. The kind of movement that says, “I’m still here.”

This is the movement I’m interested in.

Not the kind that pushes, but the kind that returns. That reclaims the body after stress. That helps trauma move through instead of getting stuck.

Because healing is physical. And sometimes, the only way out is through the body.

The Wilderness Within

When I watch animals move, it’s never performative. A fox doesn’t jog for cardio. A deer doesn’t stretch to impress. They move when they need to—shaking off stress, rolling in the dirt, bounding through fields not because it looks good, but because it feels right.

That’s how movement is meant to be: responsive, instinctive, healing.

But so many of us were taught to override those instincts. We sat still when we wanted to move. We pushed through when our bodies were exhausted. We learned to treat the body as a project, not a home.

Movement became punishment, not pleasure.

So let’s start again.

Trail Tool: The 5-Minute Wild Body Scan

You don’t need a yoga mat or a plan. You just need a body that’s willing to listen.

Find somewhere quiet (or outdoors, if possible). Stand, sit, or lie down—whatever feels most honest.

Then ask:

1. “What part of me wants to move right now?”

2. “What would feel good—not impressive, just good?”

3. Let that part lead. Stretch it. Shake it. Sway. Walk in a slow circle.

4. Breathe into that movement. Let it evolve—or stop—without judgment.

You’re not trying to achieve anything. You’re just letting your body remember that it’s safe to feel again.

Movement as Medicine

In trauma work, we talk a lot about “completing the stress cycle.” That means letting the body do what it wasn’t able to do at the time of the original overwhelm—fight, flee, shake, cry, run, exhale.

Movement helps. Not always in big ways.Sometimes just a stretch. A walk. A gentle rocking. A wild dance alone in your living room. This is the wilderness within you, asking to be heard.

It doesn’t need to be structured. It doesn’t need to be pretty. It just needs to be yours.

If you’ve been stuck in stillness—not by choice, but by shutdown—this pillar might be your starting point. Reach out if you’d like support reconnecting with your body in a safe, attuned way.

With warmth and wildness, Sarah x

BACP & NCPS Accredited Psychotherapist

Rewild your mind. Come home to yourself.