Healthy Pressure, A load to Carry
When we look at humans in the western world, they generally have very little physical responsibility in their work unless they have more manual labor. This is not inherently detrimental, and is not at all a new phenomena, but it gets more prevalent with technological development.
All creatures, plants and organisms evolve with enough pressure balanced with enough space. We can look at this epoch of human and ecological history in a positive yet critical sense, or dismiss it, shove it under the rug so to speak. But then complaints and critiques of the problems we face with obesity, heart disease, poor health becoming the norm become very naive.
To solve something becoming so widespread, we must not continue to bandaid and temporarily mask the issue, but really look deeper at some of the potential root causes on a collective level and at more communal and personal levels. This post is not to claim a full knowledge of those root causes, but to invite analysis into those we can clearly see. For one, it seems apparent a majority of our culture has a sedentary lifestyle, even if they work out for an hour a day, there are many more hours spent “unworking” that.
From this potential cause, we may have a host of solutions to attempt, and from these attempts, reorient and refine our approach based off their effects. In “Move Your DNA” by Katy Bowman (her website here), we hear her present evidence around how humans evolved and grew strong but enduring and adaptable to various environmental conditions and obstacles. She then argues that we have struggled to achieve better health because we do not move throughout the day, but instead look to move only a few minutes to an hour a day as part of a physical training or exercise routine, which is still detrimental to our health because most of our time is sedentary. If we chose to move more often thru the day, we would feel the benefits much more quickly than an exercise program because the majority of our time would be giving our body the biomechanical feedback it needs. Think of the health difference of an Orca in captivity versus a wild Orca - very easily observable differences, which are well examined in this book.
Perhaps we prefer laziness and decline of health - or perhaps we are doing it in a way that wouldn’t actually work for how we optimally evolved and experienced high levels of wellbeing.
When we choose to incorporate movement throughout our days instead of only a fractional part (one hour is 4% or less) of our days, we give our body the freedom of movement in a spectrum of intensities and effects. From my personal daily into yearly application of a move-throughout-the-day lifestyle, here are some effects of what I’ve reaped:
generally energetic and stable focus
enhanced mood and desire to do things that you enjoy
if done outside, more presence and appreciation of nature and the elements
better & deeper sleep, especially with more sun exposure
less muscle soreness or achiness in fascia
deeper breathing thru day
improved digestion, elimination and intuition around which foods body needs most
Deeper and more sensitive enjoyment of food and the fine pleasures in life :)
Specifically applying this method looks like:
Taking a break from sitting or laying down regularly if work is more sedentary to purposefully practice movements you can do - starting with walking and light calisthenics and stretching. It is not advisable to do something intense after being sedentary, unless your properly warm up and cool down, so stick to things that are easy for you
Movement for its own sake - to keep the body well with lighter, expressive and explorative movements
Missions of developing certain aptitudes like strength, mobility, resilience or obstacle skills - which can have its dedicated time, or be programmed such that you practice these multiple times thru the day (“Greasing the Groove”, a concept by Pavel Tsatsouline) Here we expand our ability by practicing consistently and under a planned routine - which can vary, but needs to be similar enough for our body to establish strength, endurance or mobility as skills that the body can access more easily.
Multiple short walks and stretch times throughout the day
A run, hike, swim, bike, carrying a light or heavy sandbag or backpack once each day
Bodyweight movement that is both functional and for its own expressive sake (some may call it dance, others play, such as how a child may play on a playground)
Weight based movements everyday
Self Massage with hands, thera-cane or Foam Roller to relax the body, connective tissues and muscles
Varying the intensity or duration of these movements and missions based off the state of the body and mind - going at a slower progression on off days and then moving plentifully on days with lots of energy
Prioritizing Nutrition and Recovery adequately before more intense movement, and relatively soon after intense movement
In a culture that checks our phones and devices for almost as much or even more time than we use to spend on our feet and in nature, let’s decide our priorities and shift in that direction. Let’s reclaim a part of these solutions and inherent harmonizing practices of body, mind, nature and ultimately community. We may not see everything solved, but I certainly argue we will see many things shift and be able to adjust our unique approach to our own wellbeing. From that change, we can address more deep issues that still influence our wellbeing negatively.
It takes enough pressure of what is not working to realize and decide to do the work we must put in towards what is working. Even if it is a little bit of progress, it is still progress, and I find in this way, encouraging small victories will help people towards a more integrated and frankly, quite epic movement lifestyle. One where you choose your adventures, instead of hope for them. This positive pressure, as well as the negative pressure of what did not work in our past, can help us grow in wild and wonderful ways. This is best facilitated when we put in the right perspective of gradual progress and generate continual momentum forward.
Getting stronger is actually very enjoyable when it is not something we make ourselves feel guilty for. We get to pace ourselves. Start light and celebrate each step, while carrying enough load to grow and expand.
