Non Movement & the human body
A dear friend of mine has been in the hospital for a month and counting and the non-movement of his body makes me think about so much in regards to movement and the human form. I see visual things happening to his body from not moving at all, swelling, edema, and a host of other things I will not go into. I understood before on a different level that non movement has an effect on the body but now I understand on a much more profound level. It effects everything and I mean everything, your organs, all your bodies systems, ie, circulatory, respiratory, etc. There is a word I learned in my studies of anatomy called “homeostatsis”, it’s about all the bodies systems being in balance and harmony with each other and right now my friends body systems are not. When one thing goes out of whack, it affects the other systems and so on. One month of non-movement and a plethora of things have been happening to his body.
My friend loves movement and is quite the yogi and I know he wants to move, but can’t right now. The simplest of things has to be done slow, and he has to build back up his strength and remember its only one month. A slow and steady, daily routine of what we might consider the simplest of movements is not simple for him and for that matter I see that every movement we take is not simple at all. In fact each and every single thing we do with our bodies is a beautifully orchestrated thing with a host of participants. The, musculoskeletal, respiratory, circulatory, lymphatic, nervous, and then some all participate in the movement, it’s not simple at all. I just thought it was simple because I never studied it or thought about it in such a way before. I now understand not only because anatomy, human movement are something I study at length but because now I see so clearly through my friends experience and my experience with him.
There are so many people who don’t move for emotional reasons, but here is the thing you have a choice, my friend has lost his choice. I make excuses at times, we are all human but with a wonderfully functioning amazing body that works, I think differently about it now. One day during a blizzard we were having in NYC, the day after almost 2 feet of snow, and people having a hard time getting to the hospital, I thought I can walk! I put on my snow boots and did it and while it was hard, I told myself the things I mention above, and feeling so grateful to have a body that is working for me. Our bodies are amazing, delicate, intricate, vast, and unbelievable structures of wonder and as long as mine is working, I am going to try and do right by it. I am in no way suggesting that I am going to be some perfect role model, I am however going to try and be more grateful for the working body I do have. I think we are all “guilty” of doing things to our bodies that are not good for it, but I will forever think about it differently because of this experience. I have a level of gratitude and humbleness on how delicate, yet strong it is. As my friend starts to get better and work on getting his body back to homeostatis, I am thrilled to help, participate, be his cheerleader, a shoulder to cry on and whatever he needs. I feel privileged to be part of his process and recovery and since yoga, PT, anatomy, all types of healing modalities are in my wheel house, I am ready, willing and able!