Move well; be well. Let’s look at some different attributes of movement. Joints, muscles, skin, lymph all require movement to function properly. Let’s start with an overview of what movement seems to mean to our governing system, the parts of our bodies that are alway on, and monitor the messages about every process in our bodies…..our nervous system. and then consider a pretty direct route to cuing up those happy messages to it via dynamic joint mobility. Movement = well being. Our bodies are designed to run, walk and to move at speed. Our bodies are apparently designed to support running more so than even walking. Move It or Lose It. Our physiology works on a move it or lose it principle. Don’t move our muscles, function degrades; don’t use our bones, bones degrade, don’t move the joints, joints degrade. Movement means strength, fitness, digestion, respiration, skin tone, joint health, heart health, everything health. Everything about our being responds best to movement. Movement therefore seems to mean a big neurological thumbs up. If we are able to move, we’re good to go, to flee, to hunt or to gather. On the other hand, if our nervous system either perceives or receives a threat of any kind, movement is what pays. Sore shoulder means reduced range of motion. Shoes too tight means the joints are compressed and less able to function as designed. Get properly fitting shoes with good support, do some foot mobilization work and power is restored to the system. It starts with the feet. They are our connection to the earth. They are our bodies structural foundation. Much like a house or building, if the foundation isn’t strong, unbalanced or weak the building will lean and finally fall. We see evidence of this immediacy all the time. Go to pick something up, our muscles don’t wait to turn on to support that position; they do so right away, courtesy of the nervous system. We are about to go on stage to give a talk, and our heart rate accelerates right at that moment pumping more blood to our peripheral limbs; likewise hormones are released to prepare for flight to deal with the perceived threat of our anxiety. That response happens as soon as we perceive the moment of threat – which may be long before, right before or during the event. A huge part of that immediate adaptation is the speed at which information travels through the nervous system. Most fibers are sending info at 300 miles per hour. Not moving = multiple problems. Movement is so basic, so fundamental an indicator of well being, that “not” moving is a sign of illness or duress. Our movement is reduced seemingly in proportion to the degree of perceived or actual threat to the system. Our movement is reduced if we have: a sprained or broken limb, stiffness, a gut ache, a head ache, if we feel depressed. Likewise, we think of aging as a process of movement deterioration. The aged are often slower, less mobile, suffer from movement debilitations – or are entirely bed ridden, just like the acutely ill. We are, despite our highly developed brains, embodied beings. Our modern lives, however, have moved us to a place of sedentary living. Automatic everything, home delivered food, push button lifestyles, cell phones and computers……they all put our bodies at rest too much. As a result, we don’t move enough. We sit at desks; we sit in cars, trains and planes. Get up and move! Walk more. Ride a bicycle. Do bodyweight exercises. Stop the excuses and take charge of your body. You will only have one of these incredible machines!