Why Can’t You Move Like You Want To?
Oct 06, 2024
Have you ever tried to squat or lunge or perform anything on one leg only to discover that you couldn’t squat or lunge or perform anything on one leg? Have you ever wondered why? Did you dismiss it because you’re more “mature” in years and have settled on the notion that you don’t move as well as you used to because you’re older, and that’s the natural course of things? What if that’s not the reason? What if you can’t move the way you want to or use to because your body doesn’t trust you?
I think that is likely the answer. You’re designed to move fluidly with strength throughout your entire life, even after the age of 29! Intuitively, you know this. It is nonsensical that the best years of our lives are relegated to the first one-third of our lifespan. Age is not why we find ourselves less mobile and capable as we navigate through time. Often, our ability to move like we did when we were younger is affected by our brains' failure to trust our bodies' execution.
Why?
Well, usually, it’s because we haven’t been using (moving) our body as it was designed. In the absence of movement, we generate “silence” or no information—there is no communication to build a trusting relationship between our brain and our body.
You have to understand that when we move often, we communicate with our brain and let it know where everything we are moving is. We develop wonderful connections that allow us to express power, strength, finesse, fluidity, control, stability, balance, and so on. When we don’t move often, we are essentially not communicating with our brains. OR worse, our message is “I don’t need the qualities of expression that I’m not using.”
It’s not age that weakens and limits us. It’s neglect. The “silence” of neglect ruins the trust relationship between our brain and our body. The brain is so concerned about self-preservation and allowing us to see tomorrow that it will refuse to let us move in certain ways if it deems it unsafe for us to do so.
If you can’t squat all the way down to the floor without holding onto something stable, it’s because your brain doesn’t trust you. If you can't lunge all the way down without shaking and teetering and almost falling, it is because your brain doesn’t trust you, and it is trying to shake you out of the movement you are trying to do. If you can’t stand on one foot, it is because your brain knows that you are way more stable on two feet. It doesn’t trust you enough to let you express your body how you think you should or how you suddenly want to express it.
If you had been lunging all along or if you had been properly breathing, your brain would trust your body to execute the movements you wanted to make. If you lack a physical quality, it’s only because you have not been supplying the brain with the needed information for executing that quality.
You’re not too old; you’re just not a good communicator. But here is the great news! You can't reverse your circles around the sun, but you can learn how to communicate better with your brain through intentional movement. You can engage in your design at any time and Press RESET on your nervous system and begin providing your brain with the conversation and information it craves. You can always turn away from neglect, you can care enough to move and create a loving and trusting relationship between your brain and your body.
Breathe nasally with your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
Move your eyes, head, and body often and deliberately.
Engage in your gait pattern in some fashion (rolling, rocking, crawling, walking, skipping, etc.…).
It is so easy to do all of these things at one time. Simply close your lips, go outside, set your eyes and head on the horizon, and take a walk.
Or, get down on your hands and knees, close your lips, put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, hold your head up on the horizon, and explore crawling around on the floor.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just find ways to do these three things. This is how you open the lines of communication and create a trusting relationship between your brain and body. This is how you Press RESET on your body and, ultimately, your life. When you can freely express yourself without hindrance, you can live your life to its fullest potential at any age.
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