Wednesday musings, 1/6/15: Building strength from the inside out
A couple of months ago, a long time client of mine looked at me and said, “you make us strong from the inside out, don’t you?” I thought about it for a moment, and said, “yes, I guess I do.”
Strength can be acquired many different ways. Typically what happens when we decide we want to start a workout program is we begin lifting weights, or running, or practicing yoga without too much concern for how our body does these movements. For many people, this works out well. Body awareness returns as the activity is continued, we adapt to the new demands we are placing on ourselves, and we get stronger. What if, in addition to the workout activity we want to embark upon, we carved out 10 minutes to sense how different parts of our bodies moved? We identified how the shoulder blades can move independently, where different parts of the back are located in space when we come to our hands and knees, and how moving our neck affects the entire rest of the spine? This type of gentle, focused exploration can do wonders to improve body awareness and movement quality. It can also begin to allow you to tap into a different strength that allows you to be “strong from the inside out.”