Daily I find myself imploring my Fallstoppers (Fall Stop…MOVE STRONG™ class participants) to “Organize Your Body!” To help explain what I mean, I ask them to imagine each of their bodies as a tree moving through space. Each tree has a strong trunk that supports its branches. The trunk is strong core muscles. With the support of a strong trunk one is far less prone to dangerous winds and unpredictable conditions.
Two Steps to organizing your body:
1) Stand strong, your feet parallel, shoulder width apart. Wiggle your toes in your shoes and spread the toes wide, feeling the feet firmly placed on the ground. Travel up the body. Feel the legs solid and strong underneath you, the pelvic and abdominal area engaged, your chest open, your shoulders lengthening back. Your neck is long; the top of your head reaches to the ceiling.
2) Take some deep breaths and feel your body upright. Become aware of the energy flowing in your body. Now imagine the body moving as one piece instead of various body parts working independently. It’s a challenge, but be mindful to breathe fully.
Organizing the body allows you to recalibrate, to return to your natural/original alignment and good posture. Once you begin to feel your body better organized, many aches and pains attributed to poor alignment have a way of working themselves out. I have seen so many neck, shoulder, hip and knee problems resolve naturally when the body is properly organized.
The other day in class a woman raised her hand and said, “I think of myself as an incredibly organized person–my files, my accounts, my closets, etc.–but I’ve come to realize that physically I’m not organized at all. Now I work on that part of my life every day.”
When you begin to move like a strong beautiful tree, you begin to feel the power of your own energy. Emulating the longest-living organisms on earth can bring us many more years of physical joy.
Try it!