It’s increasingly apparent that leading a sedentary life is bad for the health.

When I say “the health” I mean yours and mine. But women’s health in particular. The statistics suggesting just how bad inactivity is- especially for women- are grim.

Now I recognize that this is not exactly news to any of us.

Movement is necessary.

Since the pandemic began, we’ve been introduced to a lot of online programs. We also have spent more time in our jammies and slippers.

I used a site strategically-named Fitness Blender to get in enough supervised push-ups, squats, and lunges.

With the return to a more conventional workweek, we have even fewer opportunities to stay active.

In the spirit of helping us to maintain a healthier body and mind, Melissa Painter’s women-founded Breakthru has developed an immersive, interactive app.

Breakthru: Movement Microbreaks for the Modern Workday are 2-minute long movements guided to inspire a mood.

A User’s Guide on How it Works

1. start by picking the mood you are looking for- confident, joyful, energized or centered. Each mood is accompanied by a color – the experience is interactive and multi-sensory, with spatial sound.

2. push away from the computer and follow the guide, created by motion capture from movement experts whose expertise ranges from akido, tai chi, physical therapy, yoga and dance.

There’s no right or wrong way to play- the movement of your body affects the sound and the visuals! Each mood contains a series of different break options – there is a world of movement behind each mood option, each of which hold an entire series.

Breakthru invites you to set custom reminders and allows you to see your history. It also uses interactive feedback – machine vision (AI) – so the movement of a user’s body changes the sound and visual.
You can set team challenges, send appreciation to a colleague, use Breakthru as an ice breaker in meetings, win streaks, and unlock new breaks over time.

For more information on Breakthru visit their site.