Do you want to feel AWESOME? Maybe you’re dealing with aches, pains and mobility issues. Well, “nutritious movement” is a tool to consider in the pursuit of optimal health. What in the world is “nutritious movement”? Katy Bowman, M.S. describes it beautifully, “Your body needs many dietary vitamins and minerals to maintain its physiological homeostasis, and it requires a variety of mechanical nutrients (loads that create cellular deformations to facilitate cellular processes) as well.” That’s a lot to unravel, but the idea is to work towards getting your entire body moving more. We’re all familiar with saying, “sitting is the new smoking”, while I agree with this statement, I would add that any static position held for an extended period of time has a negative impact. Our body adapts to the positions in which we place it; and the excessive sitting in our lifestyle influences muscle length in a way that can lead to back pain, headaches and decreased mobility.
This is applicable not only to the athletes you see on television or on the field, but it may be even more important for those with balance issues, the weekend warrior with a bum knee, the pregnant woman with sciatica or the video game obsessed child with poor posture. Developing habits to incorporate throughout the day, especially with our sedentary lifestyles, can move you in the direction of reducing pain, being more mobile and even feeling happier.
My own light bulb moment came recently when I finally questioned why it was so uncomfortable and nearly impossible to sit cross-legged on the floor. This should be a movement pattern all humans can easily accomplish, yet there I was. While my progression into this is a work in progress, over the course of a year I can move in and out of this position with much better control and comfort. The human body thrives on dynamic movement, and my years of sitting in a chair didn’t give my body the nutrients it desired. The great news is that I’m convinced this can be changed. CHANGE is a scary word for some, but my goal is to provide you with practical and thought-provoking action steps to make this manageable. Stay tuned!
Elemental Health 