Moving Mindfully
Chiropractic recognizes that life is the expression of intelligence through matter. One of the ways we see and experience this is through movement. A major sign of how healthy we are is how well we move.
Movement requires mobility, strength, and endurance. Mobility is the coordinated ability to move through the body’s natural ranges of motion. Mobility is not flexibility. Flexibility shows that joints have some elasticity, but often without the added stability of coordinated and strong movement patterns, which characterize mobility.
Your body responds to what you ask it to do consistently.
Mobility and strength will only happen if you ask your body for them by having a movement practice. Pilates, yoga, walking, swimming, and climbing are great examples of full body movement practices. There are plenty of others.
A movement practice is essential to the health of the body. Chiropractic is essential to the health of the movement practice.
The way that I practice chiropractic is by looking at how well the central communication network of the body (the nervous system) is working. This system underlies and coordinates all function in the body, including movement. Movement is both a sign of and a way to improve overall body health/challenge.
Endurance. Movement happens in time. Over time, both during activity/exercise and sustained periods of suboptimal posture (think: sitting in a chair), muscles fatigue. When it comes to movement, it will always be better to do less repetitions properly than more repetitions with poor form. Reinforcing good form and mechanics will lead to more strength, more endurance, and decreased risk for injury.
Questions to ask about your movement practice:
Do I have the necessary range of motion for this activity/task/exercise/asana?
Do I have the necessary strength to perform this activity/task/exercise/asana correctly?
Am I taking cues from my body about fatigue and how it affects questions 1 and 2?
Answering “no” does not mean you cannot or should not move. It does mean you need to modify what you are asking your body to do in a way that honors your current capabilities. Consistent and intelligent effort will yield results. Listen to your body - move, have fun, be mindful.