Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman

How cold affects muscles, blood flow, and cardiovascular risk—plus practical ways to keep moving safely indoors and out. 
Biomechanist Katy Bowman and biologist Dr. Jeannette Loram explore how cold air and cold water affect muscle function, blood flow, heart rate, and blood pressure during exercise. They unpack how vasoconstriction increases cardiovascular demand, and why activities like snow shoveling and cold-water swimming carry specific risks. The episode also offers practical strategies for continuing to move safely outdoors throughout the winter months.
Even when winter keeps many of us indoors, movement doesn’t have to disappear. Karri Bowen-Poole of Smart Playrooms joins Katy to discuss how indoor spaces can be designed to encourage movement for kids, teens, and adults. They share ideas for simple, versatile equipment that supports strength, coordination, and play, explain why visible and aesthetically pleasing setups matter, and describe how rotating movement tools over time helps sustain interest as needs and abilities evolve.
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
00:14 Discussing Cold Weather and Its Impact 
01:19 The Dynamic Collective 
03:07 Practical Tips for Exercising in Cold Weather 
03:43 The Importance of Balance, Slip Training, and Other Winter Exercise Tips 
10:45 Cardiovascular System, Cold Weather, and Snow Shoveling 
21:52 Cold Water Immersion and Its Effects 
29:46 Listener question: Hallux Limitus and Foot Issues 
36:02 Introducing Smart Playrooms 

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED
Katy’s 2025 Advent featuring Venn Designs Air Chairs
Smart Playrooms x Move Your DNA equipment picks
Smart Playrooms setting up a teen room
Smart Playrooms Sport Court section

CONNECT, MOVE & LEARN
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS:
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 15% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting.
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

As we wrap up 2025, we’re doing a shortened version of our annual recap—part reflection, part intention. Katy and Jeannette share their biggest movement wins, smartest health decisions, and one-word themes for the year, then look ahead to what they’re prioritizing in 2026 (strength, power, simplicity, and efficiency). 
Then we distill the past year’s episodes into a clear set of movement rules for 2026 including: movement works locally (not just systemically), the 5 S’s of aging (strong, steady, straight, supple, swift) and the reminder that there will always be something else… move anyway.
If you only listen to one episode to catch up on the year and set your movement intentions for the next, make it this one.

Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
06:25 Katy and Jeannette review 2025 and look ahead to 2026
20:40 The Dynamic Collective
22:36 Movement Rule Number One: Movement works locally, not just systemically
32:05 Movement Rule Number Two: You should be getting the 5 S's of aging
38:46 Movement Rule Number Three: It's not the mode, it's the load
43:13 Movement Rule Number Four: The upward climb – why you need to exercise more as you age
51:29 Movement Rule Number Five: Hearts are like hip joints, or why you need to do more for your heart than just cardio
56:01 Movement Rule Number Six: There will always be something else – move anyway
LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED
My Perfect Movement Plan by Katy Bowman
I Know I Should Exercise But... by Diana Hill & Katy Bowman 

CONNECT, MOVE & LEARN
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS:
Venn Design: Beautifully upholstered ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 15% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT.
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Katy offers an aging reframe: in middle age, you are not “over the hill”—you are actually at the bottom of a valley, and staying strong and healthy means choosing to go uphill on purpose. Katy and Jeannette unpack the difference between chronological age and biological aging, why modern life may be speeding up the aging process, and how movement and exercise positively influence the cellular “hallmarks of aging.” They explore why exercise needs to increase with age (even when life gets busier and energy feels lower), and how reframing discomfort can make consistency possible—so you can extend not just your lifespan, but your healthspan, too.
Katy also speaks with Pack Matthews of Ikaria Design (creator of the Soul Seat) about “active sitting” and why our rest positions matter as we age. Pack shares his personal origin story—using floor-sitting and dynamic postures to counter arthritis. They also preview the upcoming Soul Seat Mini for the smaller people in your life and explore its role in dynamic classrooms.
Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
00:03:00 — Flipping the visual: “over the hill” → “in the valley”
00:04:00 — The Dynamic Collective
00:06:00 — Chronological age vs biological aging & lifespan vs healthspan 
00:08:35 — What may be accelerating aging: obesity, diet, sedentary behavior, stress
00:12:00 — How “biological age” is measured + hallmarks of aging
00:18:00 — Why exercise must increase with age: choosing uphill (progressive overload)
00:36:00 — Listener question: handedness across humans, animals, and even plants
00:47:00 — Interview: Pack Matthews (Ikaria Design) on the Soul Seat + active sitting 

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED
Handedness in Animals and Plants
Ikaria Design 
Soul Seat Instagram 
Soul Seat Facebook 

CONNECT, MOVE & LEARN
Movement Advent 2025: 24 Ball Exercises to Balance Tech Stress
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS:
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 15% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT.
Venn Design: Stylish ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting—featuring in our 2025 Movement Advent!
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Katy & Jeannette dive into the question: can movement really change your DNA? Using clear analogies—like libraries, recipes, and sticky notes—they unpack what DNA is, how gene expression works, and what we really mean by epigenetics (the “on top of” changes that influence which genes get used). They explore how exercise can turn the “volume up or down” on metabolic genes, pro-inflammatory markers, and stress protein genes, and how many of these changes involve altering the arrangement and access to DNA within your cells.
Using another accessible analogy of spider webs, they explore how forces on cells (through mechanotransduction) act as a powerful, non-chemical “nutrient” that can literally move your DNA and alter epigenetics and gene expression. This is why exercise and everyday movement not only have systemic benefits but also site-specific effects—and why the distribution of movement throughout your body matters just as much as how much you move.

Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
00:00:23 “You can’t change DNA”: Katy’s green-room story with a physician who insists DNA is fixed.
00:03:33 What is DNA? Jeanette’s library-and-recipe analogy explaining DNA and gene expression.
00:06:11 Genes as volume controls: How exercise turns gene activity up or down rather than rewriting DNA.
00:12:02 Chromatin & compacted DNA: Archival library shelves as a metaphor for genes you rarely “reach for.”
00:18:54 Mechanotransduction & spider webs: How movement plucks the cell’s “web” and signals the nucleus.
00:25:36 Epigenetics explained: Sticky notes, covered keyholes, and how markers sit “on top” of DNA.
00:29:28 Epigenetic memory & trained vs. untrained leg study: Why movement has site-specific effects.
00:32:17 Listener Question (sponsored by Movemate): Do organs such as the brain, liver, and kidney need specific movements?

BOOKS & RESEARCH MENTIONED
Move Your DNA book by Katy Bowman 
Epigenetic profile of trained vs untrained leg  
Walking & blood circulation to the brain
Physical Activity, Gut Motility & Constipation

CONNECT, MOVE & LEARN
Movement Advent 2025: 24 Ball Exercises to Balance Tech Stress
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS:
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus. Take 15% off until Dec 7th with code MOVE
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Venn Design: Stylish ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting—featuring in our 2025 Movement Advent!
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 15% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits

Katy and Jeannette explore why proper recovery is just as important as your workouts. They explain how short-term recovery between repetitions or intervals restores homeostasis—the steady state of your cells—allowing you to continue a training session effectively. Over the longer term, recovery after vigorous activity supports tissue repair and adaptation, helping your muscles and connective tissues strengthen. Without sufficient recovery, training plateaus can occur, and your risk of illness may increase. Finally, they discuss rest as an essential part of recovery and share strategies such as cross-training, stretching, and massage to support the body’s repair and adaptation processes.

Katy talks with Jim Leuty of My Happy Feet Alignment Socks, a simple and effective recovery tool that gently stretches and realigns toes while you rest! Toe-spacers are part of the recovery routine for performers like Taylor Swift, who dance in high heels—and they’re helpful for everyone, particularly if you spend long hours on your feet or struggle with bunions or foot pain. Jim also shares his newest products, including kid sizes and complete foot care gift kits.

Enhanced Show Notes and Full Transcript
1:34 — Introducing the Dynamic Collective Sponsors
3:14 — What Is Recovery? Short-Term vs. Long-Term
6:29 — Post-Workout Fatigue: Understanding What’s Still “Off” in Your Body
9:19 — Rest vs. Recovery: Why They’re Not the Same
13:12 — How Recovery After Vigorous Exercise Supports Adaptation and Strength
17:17 — Intensity, Training Plateaus, and the Importance of Variability
26:31 — Strategies to Boost Recovery: Sleep, Cross-Training, Massage, and Stretching
30:01 — Listener Question: How Does Altitude & Plane Travel Affect The Body?
39:44 — Introducing My Happy Feet Alignment Socks
41:03 — Socks vs. Toe Spacers: What’s the Difference?
46:19 — Real Results, Testimonials, and Taylor Swift’s High-Heel Recovery
49:09 — Gifting Foot Care Items and New Products

ITEMS, BOOKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED

My Happy Feet Alignment Socks 
International orders My Happy Feet Global 
Super Foot Care Kit 
Simple Steps To Foot Pain Relief by Katy Bowman
CONNECT, MOVE & LEARN
Join Our Newsletter: Movement Colored Glasses
Follow Katy on Substack
Try Katy's Virtual Studio Free for 7 days!
MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS:

Ikaria Design: The Soul Seat® offers height-adjustable, multi-position sitting—get 10% off new chairs and desks with code DNA10.
Movemate: Active standing boards with smoothly articulating wooden slats. Designed to keep you moving without interrupting your focus.
Smart Playrooms: Beautiful playroom design and movement-rich equipment—save 10% on monkey bars and rock-wall items with code DNA10.
Peluva: Five-toe minimalist shoes that move like you do—take 15% off with code NUTRITIOUSMOVEMENT.
My Happy Feet: Toe-spacing socks that gently realign toes for comfortable recovery—take 20% off with code MYDNA.
Venn Design: Stylish ball-shaped Air Chairs that encourage dynamic sitting—enjoy 20% off Nov 17–26 with code MOVEMENTREVOLUTION.

Thoughts/questions email us at [email protected]
Your Voice on the Podcast: Read The Credits