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Monday, June 8, 2015

Body Talk....The Art of Communicating with Your Body, Mind and Spirit

The World is focused on Communication, Interaction, Social Media....

We want to talk and be heard.... and bear our thoughts and souls to the World....  or anybody we Friend or who Friends us.

And yet, most of us have missed and never engage in the most important communication of all.....

Listening and Talking to Ourselves.... Our Being..... Every component that makes us who we are.

Many of us sit at computers 8 - 10 hours per day and our body - muscles, joints, tendons, skin, organs - become unresponsive, sedentary, numb.

To relieve the stress of our daily lives and work loads, we comfort ourselves with Food, Tobacco, Alcohol or Drugs.

And so we put more weight and more load on our Body.

And we lose the Mind - Body Connection.

That connection that sends signals back and forth between the Physical World and the Mental World.

When we exercise, we light up that Highway from Intent to Action.

Doing a simple body weight squat initiates a Symphony of Signals from the Mind to the Muscles and back again.

Add a load in the form of a barbell or dumbbells to that motion and eventually the Muscles feed back to the mind the approach to Muscle Discomfort, Stress and then approach to Failure.

If looking in a mirror while exercising (which I recommend for the following reason), the eyes see the leg muscles straining, separating into different muscles to provide stability and thrust.  The hands grip the bar, the elbows drop below the bar to the rib cage and the shoulders hunch to provide a platform for the weight.  The breathing is in concert with the exercise - an inhale on the descent and an exhale on the ascent.

The benefits of this Communication are immeasurable.

The muscles are taxed, circulation is increased to the affected muscle group, the heart beats faster, the lungs exchange more oxygen to the blood and the Mind is engaged in managing all these actions and in determining how far we go.

Focus, Concentration, Intensity - the Mind is engaged in visualizing the execution of the exercise and the Body follows.

The end of the exercise session is reached at some point.

But that is just the beginning of the Communication.

The Body has been stressed and it needs rebuilding and restoration.

The Body responds by releasing endorphins to provide pain relief and relaxation to the Muscle and the Mind.

The Body will tell you what it needs..... if you just listen.

Protein in the form of Lean Meats..... Good Carbs in the form of Fresh Vegetables, Slow Release Starches, Nuts and Seeds.... Good Sugars in the form of Fruit.

Let me ask you this.... How do you feel when you eat a Healthy, Nutritious Meal immediately after working out?

On the flip side, how do you feel when you hit the bad carbs and sugars after you work out?

And finally, your Body says it is time to Rest.

Your Body needs Restorative Sleep which rejuvenates the Body and refocuses the Mind.

When you wake and feel that slight stiffness in your muscles and you get up and stretch and feel the strength and suppleness in your body, you realize that your Mind - Body connection is Alive and Well.

Body Talk.... it's a Language we must all master.

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