In the Name of Movement - What it Means to Me

move·ment

noun \ˈmüv-mənt\

: the act or process of moving people or things from one place or position to another
: the act of moving from one place or position to another

: the act of moving your body or a part of your body

(retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/movement)

I had an awareness recently.  I am meant to move.  My body craves movement and handles stress a lot better when the desire for movement is fulfilled.

Now, this is old news.  I knew this for most of my life.  In the infant and toddler stage, I was an early walker.  I had to be taken for daily walks everyday - regardless of the weather - or else I would be the crankiest girl on the block.  As a child, I just had to be outside... Running, climbing, swinging, handball, skipping rope, cycling, building snow forts... Just name it, I have done it all at least once.  As an adolescent, I moved towards more sports.  I played badminton, excelled in phys-ed, ran cross country and track and field, rode my bicycle for as long as I wanted, and even entered some of the local 5 and 10K races.  I was introduced to yoga and did certain moves to keep limber.  I also started lifting weights and benefited from the strength training.  Adulthood led to more running - working up to ultramarathons, as well as cycling, swimming, more strength training in the form of Crossfit, yoga, and others.  In a nutshell, I have been in movement for much of my life up to this point.

Over the past couple of years, I have gained a new respect and perspective for movement.  The last couple of years were physically and emotionally challenging for me.  I was in a state of dis-ease and there didn't seem to be an end in sight.  I would fall ill, get better, resume physical activity, and then fall ill again.  The cycle was relentless and an accident was the icing on the cake.  My naturopathic doctor and chiropractor stepped in and the intervention began.  I was to drastically reduce all activity.  While I was permitted to perform light forms of physical activity, I had to take a break from the more demanding forms of activity.  What was I to do?  How would I cope?  Would I truly heal?

The recovery process was long and slow.  It was also emotionally challenging.  While the chiropractor worked to balance me through the spinal cord and restore function to key areas of my body, the naturopath worked to restore the chemical balance in my system that was thrown out of balance.  When I finally had my physical done by a medical doctor, I finally gained clarity over what was actually happening with my body and my regimen was adjusted from that point.  I finally began to see hope for what I was going through as my condition began to improve.

My challenge moving forward was to be in movement but balance it with rest.  All of a sudden, I had so many ideas, and as many fears to go along with it all.  So now, instead of charging forward and being movement, I was hanging back in fear.  How was I to get through this and breakthrough the fear that is now holding me back?

I had, and continue to have, motivators that are now keeping me in movement.  First of all, I was introduced to Ido Portal through Kathryn Bruni's website.  Kathryn is a powerhouse in the yoga world and she was inspired by Ido.  When I browsed Kathryn's site, her story made a lot of sense to me.  The story of how movement helped her to cope with her mother's illness and how it helped her to accept that her body was never meant to be that of the stereotypically skinny yogi and dancer really spoke to me.  I too am not a stereotypical yogi - I may be flexible but I am not a pretzel.  I am also not the stereotypical long distance runner - I do not weigh 100lbs or less and actually have some body fat on me - lol.  I also do not bulk up when strength training, nor do I desire to look like the body builder.  The aim is to be strong and functional.  Ido Portal's site and videos showed me some stuff as well.  This is one of my favourite videos that really spoke to me and continues to do so.

Another source of inspiration came through Kyla, who has been through a similar ordeal as I have been with regards to being sidelined.  She provided me with the resources and signs that I needed to read at the time I needed to read them.  All resources somehow pointed to the fact that I need to move in order to cope.  Movement is my life and I need to be in this movement.

Now... How did I take this information and what am I doing with it?  A heck of a lot!  I am now running again. I am back on the yoga mat and trying on new things.  Strength training is also back in.  However, there is a new approach I am taking.  I am mixing things up.  I am sticking with all principles of physical fitness but incorporating different activities each week to meet my requirements.  I have tried Ninjitsu and Capoeira is on deck for martial arts.  I will decide which art form is right for me and keep that in the routine.  Once in awhile, I am indoor rock climbing and bouldering.  This satisfies my strength conditioning requirement.  I have yet to try archery, and swimming will need to be reintroduced.  I am now tasked with coming up with a workout schedule that speaks to me while balancing it with rest and proper nutrition.

Through this whole ordeal, I have learned that it is easy to take the routine, and the given, for granted.  I have taken for granted that I have constantly been in movement and that I can do what others cannot do.  However, I was not in balance.  I neglected the value of rest.  It was this lack of balance that has thrown me off my high horse and caused me to crash and burn.  The lesson for me here is that I must approach movement from a holistic standpoint.  I need to be more in tune, and present, to my body and what it needs.  Thanks to the support I've received in this long recovery process, I am ready to take the lessons learned and my new-found appreciation for movement to the next level...

Game on!