Pay Attention to Your Body and Reap the Benefits
By Sandy Schroeder
Neurophysiologists tell us it's important to pay attention to our body's position and movement. It's important to know how the various parts of your body feel and how they are working so we can stay healthy and grow stronger.
Paying attention to the muscles, skin, and joints lets us know how our body is working, smoothly or not. When we monitor our bodies, we can fix things before they create pain or lose their effectiveness.
When muscles ache too much, or joints stiffen up, we may just push ahead anyway, but taking inventory can prevent injuries, improve balance and even reduce stress.
If we don't respond to signals, we increase the chances of twisting an ankle, bumping into things, falling down or simply not exercising at all because we feel exhausted.
Turn Things Around
WellAndGood.com suggests practicing monitoring with a yoga exercise like the tree pose which is a single- leg balance stance. Stand on one foot and picture an imaginary string pulling up through your stable foot all the way to the top of your head.
Concentrate on how you feel and where your body is. Are you standing up tall and maintaining your balance or do you feel wobbly and uncomfortable? Using a chair for balance and practicing every day will make a difference.
Watch Everything You Do
After the tree pose, take a close look at your other exercises.
- Do you tire out easily?
- Do you really feel the effort or just repeat them out of habit?
- Are your muscles straining or performing well?
- Are your exercises helping you move better and feel better?
- Do they lift your spirits too?
Overall, do your senses tell you everything is working or not? You may want to learn more about monitoring and work with a trainer to go further. Start with what you have found out and work on individual exercises and overall schedules.
Skip the boring ones and add some new fun ones. Enlist a buddy or involve your family. Reschedule exercises to fit into the best time in your schedule. Add some totally new activities such as yoga, tai chi, or boxing. Make every exercise that you do pay off and enjoy the difference.
Whatever you do to monitor what's happening to your body will pay off. Just keep going and innovate as you go.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractic at The Joint Chiropractic in Irvine, Calif.