With every new thing I learn about this amazing machine we all get to move around in, I’m even more in awe of it. The complexity of the human body is an inspiration to scientists and poets alike. Of course, we all know to give it food, water, and sleep. But, what else can we do to nurture our bodies? The answers are limitless.
The first thing I’d like to talk about is gravity vs. time. Gravity keeps us secured to the ground as it continually pulls all things down. We each get to decide how we choose to hold ourselves up against it. Until recently, the focus on this subject has been on the aesthetic side. Now, in modern sports medicine there has been a beautifully bright light shining on prevention and exercise correction. When an injury happens, be it falling, because of lifting something incorrectly, or even a slight twist of the ankle, our minds find the path of least resistance to continue the functional movement, AKA Relative Flexibility. It immediately finds a way to work around the injury to keep the body moving. Such as you wake up with a stiff neck and struggle to look behind you. Without noticing you turn your upper body to see and let your neck remain stiff. At what point do you remember to start using your neck again?
From birth, our brains are working to learn the best way to hold us up and move us around. Straight up and down with right to left used equally. However, when something goes wrong, a wrench is thrown into the machine, and the brain changes the movement of the body to overuse the parts that are not injured. The problem is, the brain does not train itself to go back to the way it moved before. No more straight up and down with right to left used equally. Suppose you twist your right ankle in your 30s, and start favoring your left to compensate. Your ankle heals, but you don’t think about using it any more than need be. Stepping heavy and long on your left foot and short and light on your right, has become the new normal. Because of this, into your 40s your hips are uneven. Later still, one hip wears out and needs to be replaced.
The brain’s job is to protect the body. If you’re stressed, it pushes the tension in your neck down your spine, where it is stronger, to keep your neck available to hold up your head. The brain is busy keeping the body going. Without our work, it will not reset. The good news is we can do the things that need to be done to re-align.
In his book “Becoming a Supple Leopard”, Dr. Kelly Starret says “Your tissues are like obedient dogs. With consistency and time, they will come around….” The challenge is not whether correction of the body’s imbalance is possible, it’s whether you are willing to do the work. The longer it gets put off, the more work it’s going to take, but it’s worth it. Remember your fittest point in life? How great you felt. What was different then? Do you believe that it was only youth that was on your side, or was it movement? Without moving, we lose movement. This time we live in has answers to so many questions readily available to us if we know where to look. With more findings every day. It is the time to start moving freely. With a commitment to working hard and a readiness to learn you can be strong for life and able for life.
Keep Moving.