Secrets Of Fall Arthritis Part III

As fall shows it's many faces, I'm reminded to take care. Part I in this series talked about fall arthritis causes. Part II discussed mindful standing, minimizing pain and stiffness. Today, I'll discuss preventing everyday discomforts through mindful sitting and walking.

Why? Avoid future problems by managing and preventing normal aches and pains. Most of us don't fear our own death, rather, we fear suffering, loss of mobility and health care costs. Learning mindful moving lets you manage pain and injury before your body hurts.

We all tend to sit for long periods, disconnected from our body. We ignore small aches and pains until they cause problems- it feels more efficient, doesn't it?  Actually, it's easy to ingrain good sitting habits, letting you focus longer with energy to spare. Here's what I learned, my best tips from long distance driving- although it works for tv watching and internet surfing too.

If you remember, stiffness and pain correlate to sedentary habits. The solution: Get more familiar with your signs of muscle fatigue. When you notice tension and fatigue, change to a new position. Raise or lower your seat back, change the cross of your legs, add or remove a pillow from behind your back. Small movements make huge differences on whether and how much you suffer later.

Overuse creates inflammation and pain. When you start to notice a little stiffness, it's time for action. Rotate your leg into a different position, sit on or remove a pillow, bend or straighten your legs. All of these change how you're using your body and relieves uncomfortable pressure points.

What about walking? Walking expresses your state of mind and habitual patterns and vice-versa. I notice my walking patterns when I walk down my hallway. You want a roll in your pelvis, a lightness, your feet rolling smoothly from back to front, landing perpendicular to your body. Your body by design, flows, balances itself, carries itself and lifts you up and out. If not, what parts of your pelvis, shoulders, head, feet do you need to adjust? Experiment. What happens when you accentuate your pelvic roll, think angry thoughts, think happy thoughts, think sad thoughts, walk with duck feet, overpronate, underpronate. Get good at recognizing how your thoughts change how you move and how walking involves your whole body.

Even after a lifetime of patterning, with mindfulness, your body recreates and heals itself.  Your muscles lengthen and strengthen, your nervous system pays attention and shifts seamlessly, your system whisks away blockages and heals micro-injuries, you control your mood by changing how you walk and sit. When you move mindfully, age and disease don't victimize you; rather, you co-create your physical reality and discover your possibilities.