Designed to Move

The human body is a perpetual motion machine.  From birth to death we are in constant motion.  Some motions like the beating of our hearts, the expansion and contraction of our lungs, and cellular activity that enables our digestive, immune and other systems, is involuntary, running on autopilot.  The musculoskeletal structure of our bodies is driven primarily by our voluntary nervous system.  As such, we have a lot to say about the amount and quality of the stimulus we provide to our bodies.  The kicker here is that these two systems interact and are interdependent.  The voluntary side, by enervating the muscles, which move the bones, energizes the involuntary systems; in turn, those sustain the voluntary functions by distributing oxygen and deploying white blood cells and making other vital contributions.  If we eliminate the movement of either the voluntary or involuntary functions, both are imperiled.

We are, in fact, largely eliminating the movement of the musculoskeletal system every time we sit down in front of the TV, get behind the wheel of a car, or spend our work or school day at a desk.  All of our other systems, dependent as they are on musculoskeletal motion, can’t go it alone.  They are not designed that way and the stress on those systems is enormous.  We have got to move the body or we lose it.   Once the body is deprived of the ability to move, extraordinary measures are necessary to keep its systems going.  Sadly, it is a losing battle.  A shriveled body means shriveled and inadequate systems—respiratory, circulatory, digestive, immune, etc.

Let’s take a look at digestion for a minute.  When you ate breakfast this morning, your digestive system went to work.  The egg and toast eventually made their way through the small and large intestines.  But how was this accomplished?  Gravity plays a big part in the digestive process but gravity alone isn’t enough.  When you walk, run, bend, and twist during the course of the day, breakfast is being pushed toward its final destination.  The digestive process is roughly 70% mechanical—dependent on motion, the rest is attributable to chemistry, gravity, and diet.

Nutritionists urge us to eat more fiber to decrease “transit time” between intake and elimination because the quicker the waste products are moved through the body, the less risk there is of toxic residues leaching out into the internal organs.  Decreased transit time reduces the risk of colon cancer.  But fiber, or lack of it, is just one element of the problem.  Transit time increases as the body’s movement decreases.  It is one of the reasons doctors want hospitalized patients out of bed as soon as possible.

There is mounting evidence that the high incidence of colon cancer in the U.S. is not exclusively a matter of diet (a subject for another blog).  People living in other less developed countries consume more animal protein and fats than we do; yet their colon cancer rates are lower.  Is the reason attributable to genetics, other cultural food choices such as onions, garlic, or red wine, OR that they haven’t succumbed completely to the “good life”?  They still walk.  They rake leaves instead of using a blower.  They swing an axe instead of firing up a chain saw.  They wield a shovel, they don’t ride a backhoe.  For our part, we are not moving enough.  As a result, our motion-dependent systems from digestive to circulatory, respiratory to immune are breaking down.

 

Make today the day you decide to improve your health.  My website, http://loveinmotion.me/ is full of information on ways to create mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.  If you have pain or physical limitations that make it difficult for you to “move”, I urge you to review the information found at the “Pain Free Posture” tab on my website.  Let me help you re-learn how to move with renewed energy and ease for a longer, happier, healthier life!

*This material is based on excerpts from The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion, by Pete Egoscue.