Читать книгу Calisthenics X Mobility - Monique König - Страница 18

As I see it, an overwhelming problem today lies in the fact that we don’t move enough or that our movements are overly one-sided. Not to mention that we have the ability to use our body to perform movements that should be easy to execute for a normal locomotor system, such as the following:

• Sitting cross-legged

• Squatting

• Hanging from a bar for at least 30 seconds and even up to 60 seconds

• Bending over

• Jumping to a knee-high surface

• Running backward

• Circling each arm in two different directions while standing

These movements aren’t a valid test of your biomechanics. Apart from any scientific and evolutionary rationales, they’re movements that, in my opinion, are part of normal functionality.

Our modern daily lives require us to use our body less and less. The lack of mobility and loss of body awareness take on a disastrous toll as early as elementary school.

As an elementary-school teacher, Monique can tell you a thing or two about that reality. In elementary school, students certainly sing a lot of songs, and alongside early musical instruction, reading, writing, and math remain, of course, a very important part of our lives.

But with elementary-school PE classes already being cut and only the advancement of the “intellect” being made a priority, we’ll soon live in a society overrun by academics, with everyone suffering from joint pain.

Of course, this is a very one-sided picture, and in my opinion, we won’t experience such a grievous societal change like the one portrayed in the Disney movie WALL·E. Nevertheless, we can’t ignore exercise and health. A person can be extremely educated, but if she’s unable to move her body, she’ll neglect a large portion of her potential.

Physical work greatly supports mental work, as many studies on learning and exercise show. This aspect represents the biggest deficiency–or, rather, the greatest imbalance–in our education system, since the only physical ability we’re taught from kindergarten all the way to high-school graduation is sitting.

In a society in which the education system ignores physical development and the healthcare system prioritizes disease control over preserving and promoting health, we have no choice but to become proactive.

Our body constantly alternates between buildup and deterioration. At some point deterioration will win, but we decide the speed at which this process advances and the quality of life with which we age. Do we aspire to wheeled walkers and being in constant fear of being trapped–of falling and not being able to get up again on our own? Not being able to do even half a squat to get up from the toilet without help or not having sufficient arm and core strength to be able to break a fall and prevent a hip fracture?

Or do we aim to age with a resilient body that allows us to play with our grandchildren and be strong enough to master everyday challenges and live autonomously until the final day of our existence?