Hi All,
It’s November! Can you believe it? One of my lovely clients who was in her 80’s at the time once said, “it feels like I’m having breakfast every 10 minutes!” which I though was really funny but also a bit scary.
So before motoring right along as most of us do, perhaps allow yourself time to decompress and process whatever it is that needs processing.
Just to recap, in my previous newsletter I wrote about “pandiculating”- a natural form of reaching and stretching. A simple way of incorporating more reaching into your day would be to place frequently used items on higher shelves. Notice when your reach up where you have movement restrictions and are you able to maintain an elongated versus a buckled spine?
My next recommendation is “brachiation” which means hanging, suspending and swinging from one grip hold to another.
Brachiating is a wonderful way to decompress your body and develop grip strength BUT, here’s the thing, despite contention about human origins, there are numerous discoveries made by evolutionary scientists that we ought to take into consideration before you start monkeying around in the gym.
I’ll touch on just a few:
Firstly, species such as gibbons, orangutans, spider monkeys and chimpanzees can hang and swing all day because they have curved finger bones.
Human finger bones however are straight hence, humans are only moderately good at this skill.
Secondly, the architecture of the human shoulder is not as well suited to brachiation nor is it as mobile as the shoulder architecture of our swinging friends, so care there.
The 3rd consideration that has been studied extensively, is the difference between human and primate semi-circular canals (these are located in your inner ear and help you keep your balance).
Our semi-circular canals are structurally configured to walking and running in contrast to most modern apes who have a heightened sense of orientation for brachiation.
The last consideration is slow adaptation. The corrective training process I teach is incremental and tailored to meet the needs of the individual. Now is a great time of year to tune up and tone up so you can get the most out of life and enjoy the things you love to do this summer.
I am able to take on new clients be it individuals or organisations – an initial consultation is always complimentary, no obligations and I’d like to offer free classes for referrals that come my way.
Yours in health and movement,
Fem.