What Is Your Movement Language?
- Posted on February 28, 2024
There is a level of euphoria that pervades our minds when our bodies align with the type of movement they are designed for.
Some bodies are built for fútbol, other bodies thrive running. When my body participates in my ballet exercise class, elation descends on me, igniting all my cells with excitement. The movements are difficult and my muscles certainly feel worked out and I notice a tiredness afterwards. But my muscles also feel like a rubber band has snapped back into place, tight as ever. And my mind registers an inner peace, a perfect bliss, happiness.
We all have different levels of awareness of how our bodies desire to be moved. I never noticed my own movement preference until I decided to try this class years ago. Each of our bodies has its own happiness meter with the type of movement it longs to be maneuvered through.
Any and all movement is good. Our bodies are not meant to be still too long or sit around, not moving. I learned the hard way, noticing a deep-down tiredness my body felt, I gave into sitting too much. I am not criticizing myself for needing a rest and sitting is great in small doses. But back when I first started this blog, I was experiencing an empty nest for the first time and I didn’t quite know what to do with myself. Obviously, my first idea was to write and while this is a great outlet, I used it as an excuse to sit around on the couch in the evenings after sitting at work all day. I hadn’t adopted a movement practice into my daily life and I had stopped going to my favorite dance class because I had moved. I was ignorant of the dangerous habit I had established with all of my sitting.
Back pain developed and increased over time and I didn’t know the source. When I went to the doctors, I was never asked about my daily habits and I didn’t ‘do’ anything that would have pulled a muscle. It wasn’t until after I ruptured a disk and had to spend weeks flat on my back recovering that I looked back on my own habits and noticed how my sitting had increased over time, both in my work life and in my home life.
This crisis of my body caused me to reassess my daily habits and I changed them, but slowly, over time, as my recovery was stagnant. I had previously made it a priority to walk on my lunch hour as much as possible but this 1 hour a day wasn’t enough movement if the rest of the day was sitting. And it was tough to add even this good walking habit back in as I still suffered pain. My back recuperation took months. Even after a year my movement was still limited.
I added a standing desk to my work life. I had no choice, especially when I first returned to work. Sitting was painful and therefore limited. Even years later, I sit to eat and stand most of my day. I can feel it in my body if I sit too much.
I began acupuncture. This saved my life and increased my mobility instantly! After some months of this treatment, I was pain free and no longer limited in my movement. Some of my kids moved home for a short time, adding natural movement back into my days. A house full of people has a way of making you move! The kids launched again and I deliberately kept myself busy with hiking, dates and other adventures. Then the pandemic happened.
Being confined to home made me notice that I needed movement all the more and it wasn’t just me. The hiking trails were suddenly crowded and so were the neighborhood sidewalks. We could at lease socialize with our neighbors safely from across the street.
The best thing to come out of the pandemic is that the dance class I used to attend in person before I moved had now become a zoom class! The instructor, Todd, teaches the class for free! In lieu of payment, participants are encouraged to support community-based art organizations that support the arts and other artists. I began attending these classes religiously. My body insisted I make this a priority. I even bought myself a ‘dance floor’ because my space at home to participate is on wall to wall carpet, which is not ideal. I created my dance floor with a combination of a puzzle shaped exercise mat for extra cushioning and a roll of vinyl dance flooring.
Movement is not just for athletes, it is essential to each and every one of us. I am asking you to consider what your body’s movement language is. Take a good look at how you are moving your body and how often. And ask yourself, how does your body long to be moved? Check in with your body, do a little analysis. Maybe this movement preference is something you never considered for yourself, but it could be the very question to answer to increase your longevity and quality of life.
There is a level of euphoria that pervades our minds when our bodies align with the type of movement they are designed for. Some bodies are built for fútbol, other bodies thrive running. When my body participates in my ballet exercise class, elation descends on me, igniting all my cells with excitement. The movements are difficult and…