Be Soft on Your Psyche: The Psychology Behind Sustainable Movement and Rehab
Long-term commitment to health is rarely built through pressure. More often, it grows from a place of kindness, curiosity, and flexibility—especially in seasons of life that are busy, unpredictable, and demanding.
The way we speak to ourselves plays a far bigger role than we usually acknowledge. Phrases like “I need to” or “I should have” may sound disciplined, but they often create an internal atmosphere of obligation and guilt. While this can sometimes push action in the short term, it rarely supports consistency or enjoyment over time.
A softer approach—using language such as “Let’s try this” or “That’ll do”—shifts the focus. These phrases encourage curiosity rather than judgement. According to both lived experience and current psychological research, thoughts shape behaviour. When self-talk is compassionate and exploratory, intrinsic motivation naturally follows. Action becomes something we choose, not something we owe ourselves.
Compare this to the opposite path: one filled with pressure-laden words like need and should. This road relies heavily on external motivation and a sense of duty. When the task is missed—as inevitably happens in real life—guilt quickly fills the gap. Over time, this cycle becomes demotivating rather than supportive.
Nothing lasts forever—not even the healthiest routines.
Last autumn, I shared a period of morning habits that had organically taken shape. I was waking at 5 a.m., baking bread, reading while it cooked, enjoying good coffee, then heading outside into the early darkness for barefoot movement followed by 15 minutes of meditation. The routine didn’t start from discipline; it began from a friendly, self-supportive place. Over time, it naturally grew.
Eventually, that early wake-up no longer suited my reality.
I co-sleep with my youngest daughter, and she began to notice when I wasn’t there. She started waking earlier, and with her, the entire house. Most of those morning habits fell away—apart from the bread making. Not because of failure, but because life changed.
Fast forward to now. Zoey is six months older. We still sleep together, but she no longer wakes when I get up. Over the past few days, I’ve returned to exploring movement again—without expectation, pressure, or rigid structure.
One recent morning, I stepped into the garden at sunrise and revisited a movement practice shared by Robbie O’Driscoll, whose work centres on self-exploration and autonomous movement. The movement followed the arc of the sun across the sky—a simple, full-body rhythm. I moved for five minutes and then said to myself, “That’ll do.”
No guilt. No mental negotiation. No “I should have done more.”
Meditation and movement together lasted less than 18 minutes, yet they were entirely mine—self-directed, guilt-free, and grounding. That short practice left me with a genuine desire to explore more in the future, just as it did last year. The difference this time was the absence of pressure. And soon after, the girls woke up and the morning shifted into a completely different rhythm.
From Movement Practice to Rehabilitation
This same mindset applies directly to rehabilitation work.
In my opinion, the most effective rehab strategy is little and often, rather than trying to force three fixed rehab sessions per week into an already crowded schedule.
As a parent of two young children, balancing work and family life, I know how difficult it can be to protect set rehab slots in the diary. When those sessions are missed, people often internalise it as a personal failure—“I didn’t stick to the plan.” Motivation drops, confidence erodes, and rehab becomes something heavy rather than supportive.
A more sustainable approach is to integrate rehab into daily life.
Do a few reps here and a few reps there throughout the day. Reach a reasonable level of fatigue in the working muscle, then move on. Over the course of a week, the volume accumulates. More importantly, this approach shifts power back to the individual. You are no longer trying to comply with a plan—you are building a habit that fits your reality.
This method reduces guilt, increases consistency, and builds confidence in your ability to take care of your body—even on busy days.
For a simple visual explanation of this concept, this short video captures the idea clearly:
https://youtu.be/TTnSzEcQ8zo?si=Wlmjk3VN6B7MAMIH
Looking Forward
Creating your own movement or rehab practice is a deeply individual process. While I currently prescribe movement and rehab exercises as a coach, I increasingly believe the future of effective coaching lies in helping people discover what works for their body, their psychology, and their life circumstances.
Softness over force. Curiosity over guilt. Autonomy over obligation.
These are not compromises—they are the foundations of long-term change.
