The human instinct to stretch – Release your inner cat

Each of us has a built-in solution to the impact of technology on our bodies (think software built into a computer). We all have a built-in instinct to stretch. Your body wants to correct and improve its posture all the time because it wants to be efficient, like a computer. Being efficient is the basis by which the body operates because it will use less energy that way.

If I were a fly on the wall of your life and I watched you all day, you constantly exhibit certain gestures. Not just because of nervousness or shyness, but because your body is trying to correct the tightness it’s working against and get back into proper posture. Your body will do it for you. Really, that is NOT an exaggeration. Each of us has a unique way in which we constantly shake, twitch, contract, or move parts of our body. We do this as an unconscious effort to straighten our body. What you can do is take that intuitive, innate attempt to self-align or self-adjust, that natural course correction, and turn it into a conscious act. it’s a beautiful thing

Random movements are what activate the instinct to stretch, precisely what we do not get thanks to technology. We do this first by learning to shake our body. Shaking your body means exactly that, you learn to shake your body. Just like your pet stretches when he wakes up or gets out of the water, or your child as a baby stretched and unclenched in the crib before moving. Pets and small children do it automatically. As adults, life speeds up and takes over, and for a number of reasons, we lose the habit, the instinct goes numb.

The best way to do this is by shaking your body, and it only takes a minute.

Shaking is a full-body vibratory movement designed to shake off tension and stress much like a swimmer shakes off water when getting out of a pool. Standing with both feet flat on the floor, first shake your legs back and forth independently, with quick, almost jerky movements. Add your hips, arms, and shoulders, and then your head. Now you’re shaking all over. Pretend that you are shivering with cold and exaggerate. Move your arms in all directions: up, down, sideways, and around. Shake your hands very well. This is especially good when using the computer for long periods of time. Let your body take over. Will!

Next, stay still and then bounce your knees up and down quickly in short, jerky motions as if you’re trying to push through the floor. You should feel vibrations and tremors throughout your body. It is like experiencing an earthquake, only you are creating it.

For variety with your moving body, lift and shake one leg at a time. Hold it away from your body: front, sides, and back in various positions. Use your hand to prop up a chair or brace against a wall if you have trouble keeping your balance. This will greatly improve your balance and coordination, keep you relaxed, and help you get rid of the stresses of life.

After you learn to shake your body, your body will take over, and at that point you will be making the movement your own. Every time, every day, you will make your own smoothie as needed, depending on the circumstances. So you won’t shake exactly like I do or anyone else. You will shake as you tremble. After doing it for a few days, it will become second nature, unconscious (instinct alive and taking over again). You will find yourself doing it for a few moments or even a minute or two at various times throughout the day. This is your body’s natural way of keeping loose. In that moment, you will have made it yours.

Building associations is a good way to learn things first. For example, if a person is dehydrated, I suggest that he get into the habit of drinking water after going to the bathroom. Then they have to go to the bathroom again. They will then drink more water and ultimately the problem of dehydration will subside. We all have these little routines that we do throughout the day, like waiting in line or filling up on gas, that provide the perfect time for a few moments of body relaxation. When I’m in line at the supermarket, I just lift one foot off the ground and stay there. This works my balance and coordination while I’m in line waiting for my turn. Those few moments count, and we’re all lining up at one point or another anyway. It’s just a matter of a few seconds here and a few seconds there; everything is cumulative.

I call these “random sizes”, not exercises. It’s simply a movement, directed by your body, that you do right on the spot for a few moments, often while doing something else. It doesn’t matter how you’re dressed, it doesn’t matter what’s going on, and it only takes a few minutes to do. It’s exactly how compound interest accumulates your financial savings. You just do a little bit here, a little bit there and it all just keeps adding up.

If you forget to do it for a day or two, so what? Just pick it up again. Because you will forget, sometimes, at first until it becomes automatic; because you are busy and life takes over.