The more toys we have, the easier it is to get around, and yet we don’t seem to be moving much? Even as I type I am stuck sitting in front of the computer. Our quest for advancement in the world has really caused us to be more lazy instead of active. The paradox of everything being at our fingertips is we don’t have to move. I always believed the goal of technology and advancement was to give us more freedom, but instead we are enslaved by it. Most of us work from a desk, we sit for hours in the car trying to get to work in traffic that barely moves and then sit at home all night as we are exhausted from working all day. Obviously too this is a big factor in the obesity crisis, but it goes deeper than that.
Nature hates stagnancy, life is movement. If the Gazelle doesn’t run the Lion gets dinner. Do you ever drink stagnant water? no, “running” water. What happens if the blood stops moving in our veins and arteries? we die, and the examples are endless. One of the key mantras in Chinese Medicine is “When Qi and Blood are plentiful and flowing smoothly, there is no illness”. In fact the whole goal of Acupuncture is to get everything flowing in the body again, stagnations cause illness. This not only goes for our physical state, but our mental well being also.
One of the theories behind the development of alzheimer’s is that once we are set in our career, we really don’t challenge our brains for a good 40yrs? so it regresses. That’s why they say its great to learn a new language, as it activates so many different areas in the brain. Doing the same thing day in and day out for decades on end is stagnancy in another form. Hence the popularity of crosswords (I love Sudoku personally), your mind as well as your body needs to be exercised regularly to stay healthy.
Modern research has shown that even going out and doing a 30sec sprint each day changes how your body stores and metabolises sugars, making your whole system more efficient. Instead of sitting on the couch watching TV, sit on the floor and stretch, lengthen your muscles, this improves your general circulation further preventing blockages.
We are constantly bombarded with so many different diets, fads, exercises regimes etc to supposedly try and improve our health. But it really all comes down to our perspective on life as a whole, this is what shapes everything from our eating habits to our work ethic. Just take a cue from nature and remember, its all about going with the flow, movement is life.
