Why moving your body is vital to self-mastery

You don't need to aspire to any of these very acrobatic style practices, but if you want to achieve vitality of the body, sharpness of the mind and serenity, you need to move and breath.

This body you have is the vessel that allows you to experience this world. The health of your body very much determines the quality of your life experience. And it's not only about whether you can hike to the top of a mountain to experience an epic view, its also about if you feel good most of the time or if you are in regular discomfort, or worse, pain.

Its not easy to meditate if you are not able to sustain a good posture for long periods, it's not easy to concentrate if you are feeling poorly, and Its not easy to be present or kind to others if you are in pain - even low levels of pain can be very debilitating.

Physical discomfort affects our thinking, emotions and actions.

On a physiological level,  moving keeps your joints lubricated, your muscles toned and flexible, your fascia elastic and your organs stimulated etc.

But it goes deeper than that too.

Movement is about energy!

When we start to really understand the body, mind and breath connection we come to see clearly that all of this is about energy. And I mean this is the not so woo-woo sense and totally in the woo-woo sense.

Let me break it down...

At the end of a long day of sitting at a desk pushing a mouse around, you feel 'tired' - why? You have barely done anything and yet you feel exhausted. Well, that is because your energy is heavy and stagnant. For sure it is a different kind of 'tired' than the tiredness you experience after a good workout, no? 

When we move we are shifting energy around, and if you go deeper, you are even transforming energy. 

Breathing is one of our best tools for sustaining health. Well, its our main source of life in fact. You can go weeks without food, days without water but only a few minutes without breathing. Hold your breath for a few moments and notice what happens to your heart rate...yeah...considering how important it is to keeping us alive its a wonder that there is so little emphasis on it outside of practices like yoga and qigong.

I'd like to stay on track with movement for now but read more about breath work here TK

So what was that about movement and energy? Okay, rub your hands together - feel that heat? Energy. 

This is something you can try as well, after a log day of sitting and when you are feeling really meh, just get up, stretch your arms up and out sideways while you breath in deeply and on your exhale bend forward and swoosh your hands downwards as though you were throwing something onto the floor - do this 3 times. Then either jump up and down 10 times or take a small run up some stairs and then lunge and stretch the front of your hips. Now notice how differently you feel. 

You will feel lighter, more energised and motivated. You will also sleep better.

Ever noticed how children can run, jump, scream, laugh and cry all day and not feel tired at all. Then pass out when they need rest?

Yet you eat more than they do, do less than they do, feel tired all the time and then struggle to sleep...amiright?

Thats because children play and they are deeply invested in whatever they are busy with - they live in the moment and enjoy moving and exploring and learning. This is what we need to get back to.

And this is where I can help 🙂

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