December 13, 2023
“Mobility is a kind of wonky term that refers to something quite beautiful: the harmonious convergence of all the elements that allow you to move freely and effortlessly through space and life. Everything is in sync—your joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, nerves, brain, and the vasculature that runs through the body.” - Kelly & Juliet Starrett, Built to Move
I recently started an audiobook called Built to Move by Kelly and Juliet Starrett. In the first 10 minutes of listening to it, I realized it will be a good one; it was already providing language for things I'd been feeling through my own movement practices. The book professes that your brain exists to help you move, using the example of how a young sea squirt has a brain and a nervous system until It becomes stationary - it then eats its own brain! Fascinating, right? The Starretts suggest that mobilization practices can help you live more agile and pain-free lives. I believe it.
This post is not a book review because I haven't finished the book yet. Instead, I want to address how I've personally been feeling about mobility.
I've been doing yoga consistently for 3 years at this point. I consider myself a beginner, but clearly notice a difference in the weeks that yoga is missing from my movement regimen. Yoga has made me incrementally flexible, has reduced joint pain, increased my range of motion, and also improved my posture. I have learned to breathe better, and use breath as a tool for stress management. A deep awareness of how my body is fully connected to itself from head to toe has arisen through yoga, and also allowed me to practice blurring the lines between my own body and my environment to enhance the feeling of connectedness with the world... everything is connected. I won't even talk about the mental and emotional support that I seem to derive from yoga - let's stick to the mobilization aspect of It.
Through a daily yoga practice (sample of one!), I've been coming to some of the same conclusions that the authors have the book have come to within their professions and research.
My preferred form of exercise is strength training. I love my daily walks - now up to 3 miles a day. I don't enjoy cardio, but I know it's important, so I do what I can - currently, I'm getting back into using our Peloton bike. Stationary bikes are my least favorite equipment, but I enjoy the Peloton classes a lot, so that helps.
I'm not actually ever training for any sporting event or anything - I'm training for life! I love strength training, but It can put a lot of strain on your muscles, if you don't take the time to lengthen the muscles you contract. Because I like to strength train, I have had back or knee Injuries that needed time to heal in the past. Since I've been doing yoga - more than just once a week as prescribed by some strength programs - I've found that I Injure myself much less, have much less pain. I also somehow have more endurance, which surprises me because I don't do a lot of cardiovascular exercise. Prior to having a regular practice I used to think of yoga as recovery only, but now I can confidently say that yoga actually makes me better at my other movement practices. Strength training programs I follow tend to be more functional training programs that allow me to do what I need to do for life better (carrying toddlers, laundry baskets, etc.), and yoga simply enhances my ability to live, while connecting within myself.
You might notice that I refer to "exercise" and "workouts" more as "movement practices." This is intentional. When we talk about exercise or workouts, I think we constrain ourselves to think that's "work" or where we have to "exercise" our will to perform those activities. When you think of them as movement practices or a movement regimen, it might make it simpler for you to continue with them- your body actually wants to move. It was "built to move." Our sedentary Iifestyle Is not what we're built for - there's so much more you can do when you know and test your body's ability to move.
Built to Move says yoga, pilates and other forms of exercises are essentially extra curricular to longevity if you diligently practice mobilizations. They provide a 10-step process to increase your mobility, and some of the tips are surprising, but fun nonetheless. Two of them are even Breathing and Walking! They are accessible tips for all ages.
As I'm listening to this book, I keep thinking about my dad's recent illness and him having to regain enough muscular strength to stand up straight. I'm certainly going to be sharing some of these mobilization exercises to him as he works through his own health journey, and hopefully is able to get back to full independent mobility.
The human body is a beautiful thing. We don't appreciate our bodies enough, especially us women. Women's bodies are not only objectified in this world, we are conditioned to think of our bodies as problematic, see and condemn our flaws In the mirror, particularly as we age. I have done this most of my life, and still do It sometimes, but I now have the tools to get to a better place when my mind and body aren't aligned. If you take care of your body, it will take care of you in old age. I wish I'd thought more about mobility as I built my movement practices over the years, and I wish the practices themselves had been more than about fitness and more about health, and more than about aesthetics. Well, at least I'm here now. I'd love for you to come along: give your body the respect and gratitude it deserves, and show it love by moving it regularly and deliberately so that It can support you long into the latter years of your life.
For reference, I use the Libby app for audiobooks, which Is a completely free app that connects to your library. It's one of my favorite apps ever, and has been the one app I have used for audiobooks.