On a walk outside yesterday, my son showed me how he and his classmates ran around orange cones during an obstacle course at preschool that morning.
There's a strange poetry in the fact that a preschool obstacle course...
Reveals a secret about healthy movement...
That should NOT be a secret.
God gifted us humans with 3 dimensional motion.
All of our joints,
And all of our muscles,
Always move in 3D.
You can see it in this video.
As J and I are running, our bodies are moving forward/backward, side to side, and rotationally... all at the same time.
And as my brilliant mentor, Gary Gray, puts it...
"When you improve one plane of motion,
You improve all three."
Which means...
You never have to get stuck in a rut of only moving one way.
Especially when it hurts.
Instead...
You can choose a new way to move.
One that doesn't cause pain.
And is easy to do.
Then you can hack the system...
And regain pain-free movement.
Just like an open side street helps you avoid a traffic jam...
Pain-free movement in 1 dimension...
Clears the path for pain-free movement in other 2 dimensions.
Example:
When bending forward from the waist causes back pain...
Moving sideways or rotationally might NOT cause pain.
And repeating movements that are NOT painful...
Can help restore your ability to bend forward comfortably again.
I see it happen all the time.
And it's still a wonder to behold.
"Melissa, this is like magic..."
I've had many clients say... while throwing me a sideways glance.
But I promise, I'm no magician.
This is the kind of magic that is already in your body,
Waiting for you to use it.
No matter how long you've been in pain,
How many injuries you've had,
Or how long it's been since you've danced the boogie.
Don't be fooled by the thought that you have to push through pain...
Or repeat a painful movement...
In order to get better, stronger, or less painful.
The indirect route is usually much easier...
And more effective.
Of course, running sideways might not be the fastest way to get to the finish line.
But then again... it might.
Best regards,
Melissa
P.S. If you've bee hoping for an easier, more fun way to get out of pain and back to your active life, movement-based physical therapy can help.
If you'd like to find out more, simple head over to kinesipt.com/talk and book a FREE discovery call.
I'll call you at the time you choose, and we'll have a chat to see if Kinesi is the right fit for you.
Book your call now: kinesipt.com/talk.