Updated on Jan. 17, 2022

Why Movement is Medicine

Before I became an Essentrics™ instructor I was doing the online live-streamed classes from the Essentrics™ website. The instructor was Meg Feeney and she said something I had not heard before which resonated with me on a cellular level. What she said was “Movement is Medicine.” I had never heard that before and it stayed with me for days and weeks later.

It meant that we have the power to heal ourselves, to relieve pain, release tension and repair injuries. Allowing and aiding the body in healing itself is a primal force with which we have lost touch. It is time to get back in touch with the healing power of our bodies.

We can see how the body heals itself from cuts, burns, bruises, fractures, colds, flus etc. So why not tap into the body’s healing power for chronic pain? But how? Through movement. Slow, gentle, circular, and rotational movements mirror the flow and circulation of fluids in the body. This is a natural healing method. No need for pills or external remedies. Most chronic pain is treated with pain killers and opioids which can lead to addiction and even death by overdose.

Essentrics™ uses resistance and relaxation to strengthen and increase blood flow into the muscles, connective tissue, bones, and cells. This technique can cleanse toxins removing dead cells and debris while infusing fresh blood, oxygen and nutrient-rich blood into the muscles. This is the body’s way of removing harmful toxins. Toxins and potentially cancerous cells that are not removed from the body through circulation can lead to disease and death.

I often think about how people take better care of their houses, cars, and other material possessions than they do of their own bodies. If someone let their dishes and garbage pile up, they would be living in filth. Ever seen an episode of hoarders? That is what happens to our bodies if we do not move them.

If someone’s car is out of alignment, they get it fixed, but their knees and hips can be out of alignment for years until finally, the only solution is a knee or hip replacement. If they just put a little attention into strengthening the muscles around their joints surgery could be avoided for millions of people.

When hoarders no longer see the conditions they’re living in – the piles of junk, state of filth and fewer and fewer space to live in, it becomes normalized. The same kind of normalization happens when people are sedentary for years at a time. The stiffness, tightness, limited range of motion and even lack of mobility become the norm as people become conditioned to and accept that this is what has happened to their bodies, as if they have no control over their health.

When we stretch and make space between our joints, we allow fluid to flow in and around our connective tissue which then allows for greater mobility and range of motion. This increases blood flow which brings much-needed nutrients and minerals necessary for cell repair. Movement cleans, strengthens, and keeps our bodies healthy.

Movement is Medicine.