Movement is life

Life is about the beat, it is about movement. Life probably started in the primordial soup with a burst of electricity and enough atoms present to start a cascade off that sets the earth apart from every other planet in our galaxy. Movement is life, to be still is to rot. Notice how the decaying organisms only began their work once movement has ceased.

Movement also beings joy, its gets rid of my body’s energy and gives me that oh-so-needed hit of dopamine. When I do a twist in yoga it feels like I’m wringing out my body, like a wet towel. Getting rid of the excess so I can return to my normal state. Bharadvajasana, that’s what it’s called. I love how the body is all contorted and it just feels so good.

I also love to dance, I grew up square dancing out west, but now I just do it from my own living room. I’ve had a thought about myself for a long time. When I was younger I had a dog, a lovely little black and white thing, but boy did she have energy. Especially when she was little. I needed to take her on a walk three times a day. It was a chore based in devotion to her, but as I got older I realized something. I also needed to have my energy depleted. I couldn’t stay still and when I started running I realized that I needed  more movement in my life, not less. At the time I was working outside mostly, but I would still have energy at the end of a day to run at leas 2.5 miles. Now, come to think of it, 2.5 miles was my warmup, it was only after those steps would my body settle into the movement. In those days I was averaging six mile runs, (9.6 kilometers for you Canadian folx). I loved that distance, long enough to get some serious feel-good hormones from the movement, but short enough that I wouldn’t injure myself.

But now I have moved away from movement like a fool. I don’t know what happened, because it use to take such a prominent position in my life. But as I’ve gotten older it’s harder to find the time to carve out time only for me. And my body is suffering from it. I now have issues with my rib popping out of place. It never used to do that. My flexibility is shot too.

But thankfully I’m enough of a contrarian, stubborn to a fault, that I know I can start moving again. I know it’s important. I know life feels better with more movement. I just got to get back in the saddle again.