When I work with folks, we talk a lot about adaptation.
After all it is more than in part the process of adaptation that has caused the situation that they are in to occur.
And it is the process of steering their body to adapt in a very particular way that has the chance at changing their situation for the better.
Now while we all have an incredible amount of potential to steer the direction that our bodies grow and evolve into, the process not only requires certain things to be taken on both intentionally, diligently and in perpetuity… such as exercise… but also certain things to be avoided.
More often than not, the things that need to be avoided are both products and aspects of first world living.
You see, another thing that I find myself talking a lot to folk about is how our modern lives are more than a bit out of step with how we evolved to thrive, and how this is negatively impacting our health and well-being.
In many ways, as a species we have continually sought to make our lives more convenient.
And while the advances of the agricultural, industrial and most recent technological revolutions have allowed us to live more comfortably, and by and large for a longer span of time than the majority of our ancestors, the convenience that they have increasingly provided at each iteration has often times come at a cost.
Mainly, it being our overall health and well-being.
If you want to understand a bit more about this, then I recommend you read a brief article about just that HERE.
Essentially, it seems we need more than a bit of challenge, strife and struggle in order to stay well… And quite often I find myself having a variety of colorful conversations about how problematic the cushy lifestyle of modern, suburban American can be.
Because of these regular conversations, a couple of years back I filmed a series of videos showcasing a handful of some common modern conveniences that I consistently find contributing to folks being less than their most comfortable and capable self.
These things include the shoes on out feet, the surfaces we sleep on, the screens we use, the mirrors we view, and the way we walk.
For the how and why these things have at times such an impact on us, read on…
THE SHOES ON OUR FEET
There are few things more worthwhile sparing no expense when it comes to investing in than the things that connect us to the ground. The shoes on and under our feet being that which connects us to the earth when upright, it goes without saying they have the ability to either improve or impede our comfort and well-being.
And while it is fairly simple to understand what makes a good shoe… and if you are interested in that I encourage you to click HERE… it is also simple and at times heart breaking for some folks to understand how problematic a certain style of shoe that deviates from these parameters can bel
What I am speaking to are flip flops.
Now, why are they so problematic?
Because it is impossible to walk in an ideal heel to toe manner while wearing them.
Instead, in order to keep them on and still move forward, you will need to a minimum shuffle… and at worst waddle.
And while a little bit of shuffling or waddling here or there is not entirely a terrible thing, it is absolutely not the way in which you want to amble your way through the majority of you day.
For more on this, and all the negative effects, you can either read a brief article that goes into exactly that HERE… or, you can view the far more in-depth video HERE.
THE SURFACES WE SLEEP ON
Just like the shoes on our feet have the ability to help or hinder our comfort and capacity in the upright moments of our day, the surfaces we sleep on have the ability to either support or interfere with allowing sleep to be as restorative as it ideally can be.
And, as all of us know and experience… we all need consistent and restorative sleep as close to each and every night as we can possibly get.
Quite literally, our health and longevity depend on it.
Now, when it comes to the type of surface that we will do best to sleep on, it absolutely comes down to whatever is comfortable. However, there are some available surfaces that while they may be found to be comfortable to some, they truly do not serve them when it comes to their sleep… and their waking days around it.
The most notable of these types of surfaces would be memory foam.
Why is memory foam so problematic?
Because instead of asking us to conform to its general shape, as the surface of the earth always has, memory foam is both willing and capable to conform to the shape of us.
Much like a bad friend, memory foam does not give us the honest feedback that we often need each and 24-hour cycle. Instead, like that bad friend, it simple enables our poor behavior.
For more on why this can have some significant negative impacts on your health and wellbeing, you can either read a brief article that goes into exactly that HERE.
Or, you can view an in depth video about the topic HERE.
THE SCREENS WE USE
Just as at no point in the history of humanity have we slept on a surface like memory foam, at no point in our species history have we spent as much time as we do in front of the very thing you are using to view this article.
Screens… they seem to inhabit quite a bit of our lives these days.
And while in our modern day they provide an undeniable freedom to discover, learn, connect and for the vast majority of us earn a living… they ultimately narrow our vision, and destroy our connection to our physical bodies and the world around them.
While that last sentence may seem a bit extreme, I have yet to meet an individual that spends the majority of their days in front of a screen with intensive and prolonged focus that disagrees with it.
Despite that, screens are likely here to stay, and all of use must absolutely learn to work with them… albeit though as minimally as possible.
For more on this, you can either read a brief article that goes into exactly that HERE.
Or, you can view and in depth video on the topic HERE.
THE MIRRORS WE VEIW
Now is not that mirrors themselves are in any way a problem… they are not.
The problem is the effect that mirrors can have on us when we use them heavily with exercise.
Essentially, we tend to use them far more than what is helpful when it comes to building an athletic capacity, and in doing so we tend to miss out on building the bodily sense and awareness that is required for us to be steady, strong and physically capable individuals.
After all, it is not just muscles, hearts and lungs that we are training with any given exercise… we are also practicing a movement, which needs to be sensed well in order to be performed well.
And while a mirror may give some helpful visual feedback of where your body is when you are performing any given repetition or routine, ultimately a mirror is not going to be present when that same exact movement is being used at any other time in your day or life.
In many ways, just as prolonged and intensive screen time can negatively impact the awareness of yourself and your surroundings, prolonged and intensive use of mirrors when exercise can negatively impact our bodily intelligence with those very same movements being trained.
For more on this, you can read a brief article on just that HERE.
However for a more in-depth look, feel free to watch the video HERE.
THE WAY WE WALK
No, what I am speaking to here is not the actual manner in which you walk… although if you do want to read an article or view a video about that very thing you can absolutely do that HERE and HERE.
What I am talking about is the device that far too many in our modern day tend to use in order to get some level of steps in… this being a treadmill.
Essentially, treadmills are terrible.
No, treadmills will not likely poison you, and they are not likely to give you a terminal illness by simply stepping on them.
But they do rob you of many crucial benefits that walking and running can give us all.
How exactly do they do this?
A lot of it though has to do with gait being largely visually driven…and a treadmill completely interferes with that.
This is because the main visual driver of gait is the sense of the world moving past us as we move forward in it.
This is the normal experience of upright human gait.
In fact, before treadmills, this experience was all we knew when it came to walking or running.
We go forward, and the world moves past us.
Now this experience of the world moving past us as we are moving forward within it is called Optic Flow. In fact, it has been heavily studied, and it turns out that this is extremely important for us all to experience every day of our lives.
Why?
Because the perception of the world moving past us as we are moving forward in it seems to be one of the more significant ways in which any and all of us can relax.
As human beings we have deep breaths to calm ourselves, and long walks to shake it out…and sort it out.
Essentially, I am here to tell you that in our screen filled, tunnel visioned, environmentally controlled modern day first world society…treadmills are the last thing you want to be doing when you are trying to care for yourself.
Now, if you want to understand more on this, you can read a short article that goes into exactly that HERE, or view an in depth video on the topic HERE.
THE BIG TAKEAWAY
For the majority of these things that I have listed above, you will do best to simply limit your use of them.
Mainly this applies to the shoes on your feet, and the mirrors and screens you use.
For the remaining two… those ones being the surfaces you sleep on and the way you choose to walk… and with that more specifically memory foam and treadmills… I recommend all out avoiding them.
I can guarantee, that by limiting those three things and avoiding the other two… you will minimize the need to work with someone like me.
If you have any questions about the above, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Regardless, I hope you find the above helpful, and I hope you are comfortable, able and well.