Age Proof Your Body

I’ve been in pain for months.  At least three months. Two weeks ago, when the pain was at its worst, I pulled out all stops.  I went to my tool belt and took my own advice. 

The pain was radiating down my arm and through my fingers.  It was constant and dull - with spurts of shooting intensity, that would wake me up several times a night.  Before doing anything drastic, I wanted to see if I could feel better with my tools.

I had already stopped writing and kept typing to a minimum, I outsourced a bunch of my editing so I wouldn’t be hunched over my computer for hours.  (On a positive note, it made me prioritize what I did spend time on.)  I made all the adjustments, but still...the PAIN…

Instead of searching and honing in on the actual pain, I re-evaluated “me”.  I went back to the basics.

• Fuel my body with nutrients.
• Move my body.
• Rejuvenate with rest. 

Most importantly, I needed to do it in a healing way with

• healing foods
• healing movement
• healing rest. 

It’s been less than two weeks and you know what?  The pain is MINIMAL, almost GONE!

I actually feel great.  I feel strong, energized, inspired, flexible, balanced, and all it took was going back to the basics.

You might be wondering what healing movement and healing rest means?  Think of your daily life.

• You get out of a bed that’s most likely as high or higher than your hips. 
• You walk to the bathroom and kitchen where everything is hip to shoulder height.
• You sit and eat breakfast (or run around like a frazzled person short on time
•  Drive in a car.
• Sit in front of a computer.
• Go to the gym  (where most equipment is in a seated position)
• Head home in a car
• Sit for dinner
• Lounge on the couch to watch TV or read
• Go to bed.  

Does any of that sound familiar?

The scary thing is, our body adapts to our lifestyle. 

Our body is actually molding into the shape of “modern convenience”.  Molding into the shape we take all day long - hunched, rounded, compressed, immobile, restricted, and with lots of unused muscles.  And these unused muscles eventually go soft and weak, creating poor posture and movement patterns, as well as pain and stiffness.

I know it all sounds drastic, but it’s a topic I’m very passionate about because I see our potential, I know what we’re capable of - and it doesn’t mean we have to age in pain and stiffness.  

Gone are the days of low squats or reaching up and above our shoulders on a regular basis.  People used to sit in low squats as a position of rest. They even meditated in this position!  At one point in our life we had limberness and suppleness, but somewhere along the way, we lost the physical sense of youth.  The thing is, our bodies are designed to keep it. Mobility is our purpose!

Here’s my 8 year old doing it right now.  He’s reading. He loves this pose and has done it since a toddler.  This position is so juicy for the joints.  Massaging the hips in this deep hinge.  It wakes up the cells.  It creates flexibility.

From an early age, most of us started with artificial lighting, hard seats, all while following a line leader through the hallways.  We were programmed to keep our bodies stiff, still, compressed, and slouched, with minimal freedom to move.

Since removing the regular need to do movements such as, squatting below the height of our chairs, we began to lose our ability to do so. ( Remember, our bodies adapt to our lifestyles. )

There's good new, though.

Immobility is reversible and preventable.  We can change!

We can change our movement patterns throughout the day. We can change our thoughts around exercise.  We can stop thinking of exercise as something we have to schedule in the day - most likely an inconvenience to most busy people.  We can embrace the inconvenience so we can get better strength, balance, coordination and flexibility.  (Hint - A regular Pilates mat practice can do just that!) 

Just being more aware is the first step.  Get up more! Keep your computer at eye level.  Walk around. Squat down to get things. (Squats are not BAD!)  

Here’s what Aaron Alexander says in his book, The Align Method…

“The keys to a pain free, flexible, and healthy body are continual postural shifts in a variety of balanced ranges of motion.

We have to allow our body to explore full range of motion in order to send signals at a cellular level to strengthen all the nooks and crannies of each joint and surrounding tissue.  We need to make regular exploration of our movement to become a daily habit. Making our everyday movement our fitness plan allows us to be mobile, flexible, and full of vitality at any age.  And we can start at any age, it’s never too late.”

As JFK said, “The right time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining.”  So the time to strengthen and decompress your body is when you have the ability to do so.  And that is NOW.

Get out of the grind.  Stop being stuck. MOVE YOUR BODY! (Preferably in a primal way.)

Incorporate an active movement practice into your daily life and balance it with a rest practice too.  Get down on the floor and back up. Don’t be afraid of movement that has you squatting lower than your hips.  It's a healthy movement for our body. This full range of motion of up and down from the ground serves to rehydrate your hips, strengthens your legs, and re-circulates stagnant fluid from your lower body.

Make “rest time” part of your movement plan.  Lie down on the ground and watch TV - here my 7 year old son is watching tv.  It’s perfectly comfy - it’s actually his favorite position.  (Sorry, it was really sunny, so you can't see his face, but you can see his spinal alignment.)

AND it’s not just for kids, it’s amazing for us too. Get off the couch and onto the ground. We can heal our spines of decompression and stiffness, but we’ve got to change our movement patterns in order to do so.  Our body will adapt, but we’ve got to make the changes for it to do so.

Here’s a little test.  Without using your hands, try to sit down on the ground.  Try not to let any other limb touch the ground until your butt does.  How did you do?  Now try to get up. Cross your ankles and push yourself up without using your hands to support you. Again, how did you do? 

It’s so incredibly important to get up and down off the ground.  If you need support, try to do it as minimally as possible. Again, with proper movement and rest for your body, it will adapt and soon you’ll be able to get up and down easily.

(Have you subscribed to my YouTube Channel yet? A regular Pilates mat practice can help you.)

Soon enough, you’re going to hate sitting in a chair or couch - you’re going to crave your floor time!

And this inactivity goes for standing desks too.  Yes, it’s a step in the right direction, but there are also lots of issues with people standing in static poses.  The spine still decompresses, joints lock out, hips stick out, and we round forward with our heads.

The answer is restorative movement.  

The cells of your body love being moved around in different positions!  It will help your immune system and your lymphatic system. You’ll start to have more energy and feel amazing moving around in your day.  

If you’re struggling with ankle, knee, hip, spine, or mental health, get down on the floor!

In my online mat classes I teach you all ranges of motion.   Make Pilates a daily habit for you and you’ll reap the benefits for years to come.   Daily floor time is restorative on our body helps us massage tissues, mobilize joints, and retune the nervous system. 

Think of it this way, each time you get on the mat you’re adding money into your long term health fund. Visualize yourself literally dropping money into your strength, flexibility, and overall vitality fund every time you activate your Pilates practice.  It is SOOOOOO much more than a workout.  It’s your long term health plan!

My arm gave me trouble the past few months, because I moved away from my daily movement.  Owning my own online business means a ton of computer work. I sat and sat... and sat. I was hunched over my computer and neglected my body needs in order to complete deadlines.  Meanwhile, if I had just listened to my body and taken more restorative time for my body, I would've been more productive AND I would’ve prevented all the pain and immobility.

We have it in our minds that we need to go go go in order to be productive and feel accomplished.  But, by taking the proper care and rest we can actually be MORE productive. And feel great at the same time.   

In my online Pilates membership, I give you a calendar of daily 15 minute Pilates mat routines - designed to move your spine in all directions, get your body down on the floor, massaging all those tight places, and bringing a deep strength and balance back to the body.  A sure way to help you become 100% in control of YOUR body.

If you're interested in learning more, CLICK HERE.

This week's Workout Wednesday is now live.  Get out your half foam roller out and come join me!