Updated on Jan. 21, 2022
Your Body Tells Your Story
“The human body is a living organism that is in a process of either dying or living and it is exercise that keeps the muscles alive, healthy and youthful.” - Miranda Esmonde White
I would add to that statement that the body is simultaneously dying and living. We are constantly changing on a cellular level. The cells are in a continual state of renewal so much so that we are not even the same physical beings throughout our lives.
Our human body replaces itself
This means that our bodies are like clay or plaster-cine which moulds into the shapes that we intentionally (or more often unintentionally) create for ourselves. When people are sitting all day whether it’s at an office desk, at home or in a car, they are moulding their bodies to become weak, flabby and inflexible.
Most of the time people don’t even realize that what they do has an effect on the shape and tone of their bodies. As they become used to their daily routines they normalize the effects on their physical health, they chock chronic back pain and weight gain up to aging. I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard people say that the reason they can’t touch their toes is because of age. That’s absolute nonsense. Miranda Esmonde White is in her seventies and is healthier than many people in their 20s and 30s.
Your Body Tells Your Story
People who examine cadavers can usually tell by the condition of the muscles and connective tissue what kind of work and how active or inactive people were during their lives. This is how your body tells your story. When people are sedentary for long periods of time, it shows not only externally but internally in the form of congealed and stiff connective tissue.
Gil Hedley, Internal Anatomist and author of Reconceiving My Body talks about how our connective tissue is known as fascia, a kind of wrap that surrounds our muscles, internal organs even individual cells, gets gummed up every night when we sleep or don’t move due to injury.
In his video called “The Fuzz Speech" he talks about how when animals awaken from sleep they stretch which loosens up the facial layers. When we don’t loosen the fascia it congeals and hardens over time. Through examining cadavers he can see by how loose or tight, thick or thin the fascia is, how much a person moved in their lifetime.
Your body is your canvas whether you know it or not. When you become aware of the story it’s telling, you can take control of the narrative. When we feel stiff, sore or are in any pain we need to pay attention. It will tell us what it needs. It will tell others what it has been through.
Just as detectives can piece together a storyline from the evidence at a crime scene, doctors and other health care providers who do bodywork – massage therapists, physiotherapists, Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, Nutritionists, Herbalists etc can see from the evidence inside and outside your body what kind of a lifestyle people live.
In conclusion
It’s up to us to decide what kind of story our bodies tell, not only to the world but to ourselves, our souls. What will your physical legacy be?