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Born to move


We are born to move, our bodies can move in so many different ways but due to our habitual routines of life we tend to move them in the same way every day.

We sit in the same position, rest on the same side, carry our bags on the same shoulder, stand with our weight in the same leg, have our favourite position on the sofa, wear similar or the same shoes, walk the same streets, lift the same weight, eat the same food, drink the same drinks…..I could go on….our bodies aren't designed to just move in the same way over and over again. Just like anything in life if you keep using it in the same way over and over again it eventually wears out.

But we also get to a point where the bits that aren't used forget how to be used, the pathways from muscle to brain weaken and that area becomes stiff, tight, it hurts to move in different ways and then we really get stuck into the same old movement, because now that movement is easiest, the alternative is hard, sometimes painful and clumsy.

If we get stuck in this cycle we end up needing help with movement later on in life, we find standing hard, walking even harder and life becomes small, our world shrinks and what we once had vanishes.

Movement isn't just about loosing weight or getting fit, it's about maintaining our ability to enjoy life, appreciate the world around us and doing this for as long as possible.

I met an amazing guy last week, his reason for doing yoga was to stay mobile, I loved this, through mobility our life stays open to possibility, I know when my illness flares my life shrinks, the stairs become hard or even impossible, getting change is hard and life is small.

Each day I make a vow to move in a different way even just for a minute, to explore movement, discover where I'm stiff and find freedom in life.

As you read this adjust your position, sit differently, walk a different route, choose a different pair of shoes or kick your shoes off, change your bag over shoulders, pick the drink up with the opposite hand….all these small changes will leave you more alive, awakening areas of your body that have been sleeping for a while.

Don't tie yourself into a box of how you should behave or move, eventually making your own prison of stiffness and pain, open your mind and body to all the possibilities of movement and don't hold back.

So my task this weekend to you all is to MOVE differently, dance, so yoga, play with the children in the park, climb a tree, just embrace the amazing body that you have, and I promise you as you embrace different movement you start to embrace life, every day tasks become easier, life becomes bigger and the world becomes your oyster once more.


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