The Balance of Movement

A few weeks ago, my wife bought me a gift of a set of training sessions at our local gym. I confess that I have never been interested in lifting weights, etc. Though I read about the value of cross-training every week in one of the many running and fitness magazines that my wife and I bring home, it just hasn't captured my imagination. I'm a runner after all. I want to be moving, to be outside, and to be choosing my own direction. Me? A control freak? Never!

So it has been quite the revelation to give myself over to the experience of working with a trainer and discovering how much I enjoy it! Much of the work we do is strength building, and also brings in a balance component. So, I'm not just listing weights, I'm lifting weights balanced on a Bosu ball.

It was as I was warming up on the treadmill one morning, when my trainer, Scott, (who insists that I walk, not run—Grr!) commented to me after I wobbled slightly as I took the long, loping strides that he encourages me to take: "That's OK," he said. "The more you are moving your body, the more able you are to adjust to sudden changes."

I would have stopped dead in my tracks, except that doing so would have catapulted me off the treadmill. Sure, that's a good laugh to everyone else, but the bruises are mine! I notice those moments when I hear a piece of information that seems especially important. In those moments, I envision the information as a pizza (I know, weird, but I worked in the pizza industry for almost ten years), and I slide it into the hot oven of my consciousness to cook for a while.

This morning, it came out nice and crispy and ready to "eat." Sure, the more I move my body, the more flexible I am. But not just physically flexible, but emotionally and mentally too. And, more available to Spirit as well.

Yet, often the way that we respond to problems in life is to stop moving. We become more sedentary, sitting and mulling. We become more rigid in our thinking as a reflection of that, too; we become attached to being "right," to holding onto our position. And as we do so, we become less available emotionally, and we close ourselves off from God, who, after all, has thrown this spanner into our carefully machined lives, right?

Even if the two seem unrelated, I offer you that physical movement is the FIRST thing to do when you run into difficulties. Even if you reckon you have to think out a problem, or have someone validate your feelings about it before you can move ahead, move ahead first. Literally.

Get outside and walk, run, cycle, swim, jump up and down, or even take a ride on the swings at the park. Physical movement will move the energy that is stuck in you, return you to a more flexible state of mind, and blanche you emotionally. And it can open you to the inspiration of Spirit.

As Curtis Mayfield inspired us, "Move on up, and peace you'll find."