Becoming

Categories: Blog Feb 26, 2017

I've learned a few things about myself since I started making YouTube videos of the OS Movement Snacks. For example, I have a really long neck. People write in and tell me so. True story: I was teaching an OS workshop with Geoff Neupert in Atlanta, GA and one of the attendees interrupted the the head nod portion of the workshop and said, "Yeah, but you have a really long neck." Apparently, I'm a giraffe. Anyway, I never knew that until people started pointing it out. Now they point it out a lot! Also, a I've now been called Gumby. I seem mobile to people. Which is funny, because I'm really not that flexible. At least I didn't use to be.

And that's the point! I didn't use to be mobile. There was a time when I could not touch my opposite elbow to my opposite knee easily; it was a strain. There was a time when I moved very stiff and disjointed, I could barely even touch my toes. There was also a time when there was no flow in me or from me unless I was going to the restroom. All the movements I make on YouTube weren't even a dream. They were far from me. There was also a time when doing the things I loved hurt, like sprinting. I loved it, but it didn't love me.

I was limited by what I could not do and I was frustrated by what I did not know. I'm telling you this to encourage you. If you don't move as well as you think you should, that can change. If you have nagging issues, aches and pains, they can go away.

OH! Speaking of aches and pains. I must tell you something that may set you free from mental warfare. A friend of mine, Don Reagan, was giving a presentation on his struggles and lessons in learning how to help people who were in pain. He said a sentence that really woke me up: "Pain does not mean tissue damage." That sentence really blessed me because at the time, I needed to hear it. You might need to hear it too. Pain does not mean tissue damage. It may simply mean you hurt, and something needs to change.

Anyway, things can change. All it takes is a decision to engage and show up. That's it.

Do you know when I first started leopard crawling, I was good for about 30 steps? That's it! I don't know how many crawling steps are in a mile, but it is a great deal more than 30! I also know no one ever told me I had a long neck until I could move my neck like a Pez dispenser. It was the ability of mobility I gained from having my original strength restored that enabled people to "see" my giraffe-like resemblance.

I wasn't always Gumby.

Right now you may be limited by what you cannot do. But you know what? You're not limited by what you can do. The things you can do today will lead to the things you want to do tomorrow. You could also very well be frustrated by what you do not know. Let me help you: Your body can change. Your mindset can change. Your abilities can change.

Don't allow your limitations and frustrations to keep you from becoming. Don't let them box you into to an existence of withdrawing when you were meant for a boundless life of engagement. Start where you are right now and do what you can do. The deepest breath you can take might be the first breath that begins the process for removing your back pain. The smallest head nod you can make might lay the foundation for restoring your ability to be able to put on a pair of jeans without having to sit down on the bed. Simply rocking on the floor may restore your ability to bound up the stairs of your home rather than simply avoiding them.

Remember, pain does not mean tissue damage. Age does not mean old. Limitations do not mean lost abilities. Move where you can today to become how you want to be tomorrow. Know your body can heal; it can regain its mobility and strength. You can feel good again. You can...

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