ARRIVE AT YOUR DESTINATION LESS TIGHTLY PACKED THAN YOUR LUGGAGE

We spend time organising our affairs before travel, then neatly pack our luggage to ensure it arrives at our destination in the same shape as we intended. Yet at no time do we prepare our body so it arrives at our destination less tightly packed than our luggage. Be it a short journey, travelling to work, daily activities or even just working at our desk, awareness of our bodies must be realised.

To really see some instant changes we must become aware of using your body as you would be driving an expensive car. Watch where you park it, be careful of the fuel you put in it, don't strain the motor, do not over load it, and prepare it for long journeys.

I always find it amazing when people say they get tired and fatigued when travelling. Be it by plane, car, any form, or even just waiting to travel. All you are really doing is sitting. It doesn't require a specific effort, just mental control to override the bodies natural desire to physically move.

We all have references to stress free living both mentally and physically, to most of us that was back when we were children. Have a look a child’s unlimited energy. They rarely have back pain or other seemingly stress related physical symptoms or say the words stressed or depressed. Lets look at the way they live. They generally never sit still and would prefer to eat read and play on the move or lying on the floor. Which is one of the best ways to stretch your back and other body parts. They've not been taught to do this, to them it naturally feels good. We break them of this natural habit as it is socially unacceptable as one moves from childhood to adulthood. Along the way we neglect to teach any new techniques to compensate for the loss of this feel good, body freedom.

Words like stressed and depressed are so common to our language now days that they are just considered part of conversation. Why do we not consider this strange? We seem to accept feeling stressed out, fatigued or even depressed after a long day at work or travelling long distances. It's as though we find this normal and refrain from questioning why. To fully understand and appreciate the solution to this we have to understand how we do this to ourselves, and other symptoms of being physically out of balance. Leading to words like stressed.

If you've ever had the misfortune to be or to have observed someone that has been medically labeled severely depressed, they instinctively want to curl up tightly in a ball with their arms and legs closed together and their heads looking down. Now look at how we are living life. We sleep curled up in a foetal position. Eat breakfast sitting curled up over a bowl of fruit or such. Drive to work tightly contracted around the steering wheel or
travel on a plane jammed in tighter than a test pilot in a pressure suit. At work the majority of us then sit tightly hunched over a desk, looking down at our computer screens, or talking into a phone. We then repeat the process at home. We have dinner sitting in a chair curled up over or evening meal, then sit slumped in the couch to watch T.V. Then curl up in bed and wonder why we don't feel the energy of life flowing through us, allowing us to feel loose, light and physically alive. However the solution is easy.

We spend more time sitting than anything other thing we do during the day however we should look at how to do it so it assist our well being, not hinder it. There is a difference between sitting in a chair and sitting on one. Sitting on a chair you are sitting down with your back upright and your bottom against the chairs back, your spine is vertically aligned with your hips as if you were sitting on a backless stool. Sitting in a chair you will most likely slouch down with your back curled inwards like a fallen over letter "C". This stops the oxygen and blood flow to your brain, which starts to accelerate the feeling of tiredness. This slouched position will also strain the lumber region of your back. Which is why the first thing you do after sitting in a slouched position for hours is stand up and arch your back to reverse the physiology of the position. To cut out the pain sit on chairs in an upright position with an natural slight reverse arch in your back.

We also lift things up all day with out proper preparation or technique. Consider the next time you’re travelling and you are picking up your bags, think about your back and shoulders. We all get our bags, struggle and strain to move them from one place to another, without any real concern to the stress on our body. We continue to strain and struggle to move our luggage or carry ridiculously large bags on one shoulder with our whole body in an acute side leaning angle. When you get to the office or home we then find ourselves doing these amazing moves attempting to stretch our body back into place without ever thinking about prevention. We also never once hesitate to spend money on specialist when our body is out of alignment. The simple yet easy cure to prevent back pain when moving your bags is obvious. GET A TROLLEY.

We must make a habit and simple techniques changes to ensure we travel loose and arrive at our destination in sensational physical physiology. If you are travelling or you are going to be sitting for long periods, when ever possible take the opportunity to walk or do some sort of activity to restore the body's balance. Next time you have to read or mentally digest large quantities of information get out of your chair and lie face down on the floor like kids do and you will find you are arching backwards reversing what has been happening to your back for hours. This will also greatly increase the oxygen to your lungs and blood flow to your brain.

If we learn to approach each day with new body awareness we would instantly recognise the benefits. For a start, your body will be able to saturate itself with oxygen more easily, and feel refreshed. A feeling of well being results in improved productivity and instils a healthier attitude towards yourself and others. A happy and healthy disposition is not just a mental thing, it's a reflection of being in sync with both our mental and physical needs.

When NOW would be a great time to look after your body, because if you don’t, where else are you going to live?

John Gearon