Movement Medicine
So… What’s in a name?
Humans express who they are through how they dress, how they talk, the music they listen to, and above all, the way they move.
There’s no denying the link between an individual’s physical presentation and their psychological state. Have you ever seen a depressed person enter a room with retracted broad shoulders and their head held high? Its unlikely.
They’ll be slumped, rounded with minimal eye contact.
This is just one example of how our body gives insight into who we are, in that very moment in time.
The human body is designed to move, it is programmed to, just like it needs sun. Its ability to function effectively determines how capable you are at navigating your own life.
Its ability to adapt to a stimulus is the reason we see humans achieve great feats like climbing Mt Everest or lifting 500kg.
However, it is through this adaptation that the vast majority of people lose a great deal of function in their body.
A power lifter holds muscle mass, because their body has adapted to short all out bursts of muscular effort. A distance runner, usually leaner, needs to expend energy for a prolonged period. Compare this to the ‘normal’ man, who sits… all day.
Now you’re thinking “but I don’t sit that much!”.
You sit on the way to work. You sit at work. You sit on the way home from work. You sit to eat your meals. You sit to go to the bathroom. You sit to ‘relax’ at the end of the day… the sad reality is, society dictates we sit and it does so from age 5 when you attend school.
From K-6 and grade 7 through 12 a child is asked to sit all day every day in an attempt to train the mind, all while losing the ability to move the body.
Watch a toddler squat… you’ll see how perfect we moved as a species, before the chair.
The answer to the vast majority of ailments, is movement.
Move a little, move a lot… just move… often.
This prevents the body from so readily adapting to the rigid slouched and forward flexed position so often encouraged by the dreaded chair.
Moving often not only drastically improves mechanical faults in the body but often overlooked changes to the internal structures.
The deep breathing instigated by movement, vital for balancing the stress response and hormones, as well as improving gastrointestinal function.
The shockwave sent through the body with every heel strike, whether it be from walking, running or skipping, is vital for lymphatic function.
Everyone knows how difficult it is to live your life when you’re sick or when you’ve injured your back. We often take our body for granted until part of it starts to break down.
So, make the change now, however small it is.
Commit to the exercise bike for 10 minutes a day. Choose to take the stairs instead of the lift. Walk after dinner instead of reading the latest Facebook posts.
Action, movement… Is the best medicine.
