From Amanda's very early writing (1990s to early 2000s), shared as it was originally written.
Yes! Yes! and Yes! We have never been taught to listen to it. Rarely does pain suddenly burst into your body - unless you are hit by a truck! We are always given a series of warning signs. But not taught what the warning signs are. So here they are..
The warning signs your body gives you when you are about to do damage are burning, tingling, tightness, stiffness, numbness, heaviness, dragging, pulling or discomfort. By the time you feel pain, it’s usually too late. The damage is done and you have to undo it and then restore the normal state of the tissues.
If you are tuned into the burning, tingling, tightness, stiffness, numbness, heaviness, dragging, pulling or discomfort and become aware of any of these the second (or minute) they occur, you can almost always do something to eliminate them. Easily.
Most of these warning signs occur because we hold our bodies in one position for two long. This generally reduces the blood flow through the muscles and tissues, particularly if the muscle is being used statically. That means that the muscle tightens and stays tight to perform the activity. It cuts off its own blood supply. And soon you will feel the warning signs. Often you will be unaware that you even experience these signs until someone brings them to your attention.
How long is too long? More than about 20 minutes is too long. Some research done at the Australian National University a couple of years ago demonstrated that muscle fatigue started after about 20 minutes of use - even though it was not obvious to the user. Your whole limb didn’t start shaking with fatigue, but after 20 minutes, there were definite signs of fatigue within the muscle and if you kept working or using the muscle in the same way you would soon feel the warning signs.
This means that after 20- 30 minutes of performing any activity , no matter how fantastic you feel, you should stop for a second and stretch to relax the muscles. Allow them to recover by restoring their blood supply.
If only people realized the importance of the warning sings and the control it gives them over their body and its aging and wellbeing. Your body talks to you all the time and gives you countless opportunities to balance it and preserve it. Our society is just not geared to this way of thinking - we just keep using and abusing our bodies until they go ‘bung’! And then we complain. We often take better care of our cars than our bodies.
How many people would let their car become so dirty that the paintwork is affected? Or continue using the car never giving it a service, until the engine seized up and had to be replaced? Or waited till the tyre was so thin it blew up rather than replacing the tyre when it was looking worn? Not many people are that ignorant of cars and safety. Yet we treat their bodies very differently. We just expect our bodies to keep on keeping on with no attention or service or maintenance.
Unfortunately, our bodies don’t work that way. They need to be taken care of on a preventative basis. They need special treatment to stay flexible, young, vital and energetic. The majority of people claim they don’t have time to do the things they know they should do (like exercise, rest, play, meditating, sitting and doing nothing); when it’s really a matter of priorities and organization! If people understood the extra time they have when they are fit (1.5 hours more per day usually cos you need about that much less sleep when you are fit); that they would have more energy and vitality; they would feel younger; their bodies wouldn’t ache or hurt any more; they could play sport again etc etc.
However, at least there is a way you can know when you have reached your body’s limit and you HAVE to do something to restore the balance. That way is listening to the warning signs. And when you are aware of them, stop and ask yourself ‘what do I need to do right now to restore my body balance?’ You will usually know the answer and then take a few moments to do whatever you need to do.
The most usual things you will need to do are:
• stretch in the opposite direction from the one in which you were just using your body
• relax your body or just relax for a couple of minutes (or perhaps hours!)
• do some more dynamic exercise
• deep breathe
• lighten up
• laugh more
• go outside and feel the sunshine
• jog on the spot for a minute
• move more often - keep changing the way you are using the muscles by changing tasks or activity
The more you tune into your body, the more amazed you’ll be at how easy it is to make yourself feel active, energetic and younger.
Warning signsA GoreA Gore
