Flexibility

The well-being of your structural body is determined by your daily choices.
Your ancient body template is designed for movement throughout the day.
Oxygenate your cells with deep breathing, ideally outside in nature.
Envision all that you want to do in your precious body, and feed its joy in being alive.
Create strength by engaging your core torso muscles, and your extremities.
Balance strength with flexibility so you can respond to your environment with ease.
— Miriam’s Health Guides

This is the 3rd message from my Health Guides. They want you to create strength and flexibility in your body, regardless of age or health status. What follows are some ideas that I have added to expand upon their succinct message.

The well-being of your structural body is determined by your daily choices.

The Health Guides seem to have a theme running here, as you may remember from their first two messages. Every choice you make has an impact on your health on some level of your being! Today’s message can help you support your body structure in better ways if you look at it from a fresh perspective.

Your ancient body template is designed for movement throughout the day.

When you think about humans who lived in earlier times, there was almost continuous physical activity needed to survive and to thrive. The body moved to gather food, create shelter and necessary tools, travel, interact with the environment, and celebrate, whether alone or in community. In modern times you have seen how athletes have adapted their body movements to match the requirements of their specific niche of activity. The body is amazingly flexible, and it loves to move! Yet it is too easy these days to be the observer, watching the movements of others that you are not able to accomplish in your own body. How can you begin to increase the activity of your body in your daily life? Start wherever you are now, and help your body free up its joints and circulate its blood through more movement.

Oxygenate your cells with deep breathing, ideally outside in nature.

Any breathing practice is good, yet it is even more beneficial if you can combine movement, breathing, and the natural world. If you need to start by sitting outside and breathing in the life-force of nature, that is a good beginning. Breathe consciously, inhaling fresh air and vitality, and exhaling old thoughts and feelings that do not serve you. Add in conscious walking, paying attention to your breathing as you swing your arms in counterpoint to your steps. Imagine that your body is oiling its joints as you move, and your cells are taking in the oxygen that enters your lungs with each breath. Keep it easy, relaxed, and as enjoyable as you can. You are making new choices that add up as your body re-learns to breathe and move outdoors.

Envision all that you want to do in your precious body, and feed its joy in being alive.

Your body pays attention to every image and message you send its way. Cherish every moment you have in your body, and do your best to support it. The more you can imagine enjoying your body, and seeing it move easily in your mind’s eye, the more you can nurture that joy in your daily life. Whether you are young and active, or in your elder years with stiff joints, your attitude and self-talk to your body can make a huge difference. It’s never too late to learn new ways of moving, to start dancing again, or to create new habits that help your body feel better.

Create strength by engaging your core torso muscles, and your extremities.

It’s easy to spend a few minutes tightening and toning your muscles. You can do it in any position, with any muscle group, simply holding the contraction of those muscles for as many breaths as you can. You can pull your abdomen back toward your spine when you are driving or sitting at a desk. You can strengthen your arms by leaning and pushing against a wall. You can practice your squatting technique when you sit down in a chair. There are numerous videos on YouTube to help you find quick and easy ways to create strength in your various muscle groups. Look around your home and come up with ideas of how you can use walls, doorways, counters and cupboards to increase your muscle tone and activity. A few minutes spent in strengthening your body, several times throughout the day, reawakens your body’s desire and ability to move.

Balance strength with flexibility so you can respond to your environment with ease.

Your joints are designed to move, and you can increase your range of motion in each joint by learning how to use it as designed. Your shoulders and hips are ball-and-socket joints, while the elbows and knees are hinges. Your wrists and ankles have their own complex ways of moving, while the fingers and toes are for flexing and extending. Explore the flexibility that comes when you use proper motion in each joint. Then the strength that you build will protect and align the joints, and your ability to move with ease will expand within you. No matter what age you are, your body can become more comfortable with motion, breathing, and activity, so that you can enjoy living in your responsive body again.