Rubber Bands And Popsicle Sticks

Hello friends~

I’ve had the pleasure of watching very small children, (12 grandkids), learn to walk. it’s delightful and almost magical, and yet of course it’s not magic at all. One day he’s wobbling, holding on to a table or pushing a wagon, and then it all comes together to enable the first unsupported steps! Body parts are joined and supported by systems that work together to make this amazing machine function. It’s a neurological superhighway, and every body part communicates constantly with every other part.

Our bodies are designed to move.

One body part flexes, the other extends, one leg in front of the other, one foot pulls away from gravity, while the other pushes down on it. It all works. And yet. I’m constantly amazed that we’re able to stand up and move around at all, with gravity sucking us down. A basketball doesn’t balance on a stick, but here we are holding up these heavy heads, swaying, reaching, bending, jumping.

I train adults to get strong and fit so they can perform athletic events, such as running races, lifting, or rowing competitions. I also train people to balance better, to sit and stand without holding to a chair arm, and to get up off the floor efficiently. I train others to rehab from injury. For all it’s learning how to move more effectively to achieve a goal- and to trust that the body, the human machine wants to do this. That’s training.

I keep thinking about rubber bands and popsicle sticks. 

Remember push puppets?

Picture all of the possible configurations and combinations of angles those silly toys can move with a push of the button.

Envision the ways the body moves in baseball – because it’s that time of year!

Joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons allow the complicated shoulder joint (the most mobile joint in the body) to move in almost every direction.

Watch a toddler. They are pure movement, and they are fearless. They’re motoring, then down, then up again.

The human machine is a miracle of design.

Everything can be discovery, exploration, and experimentation.

We can experience the beauty of human movement by trusting our bodies, being willing to experiment, and by allowing time to develop mastery so the brain and body can make all of the amazing connections.

Almost 1 year balancing on snow!

Onward!

~Polli