The riddle of “exercising”.

Exercising has gotten into our heads as a healthy activity. And as responsible adults, we exercise because we feel the need to. It is marketed in different forms such as “strong”, “flexible”, “balanced”, etc. etc. etc. And all of those things sound good, so we join different activities, gyms, and classes that tell us will get us there.

But too often, we stay wanting without really feeling like we want to or get hurt, and the aches and pains don’t go away. It’s frustrating because now you feel a bit powerless as to what the next step is. This is definitely the feeling I got when I hurt my back. Yes, the pain was excruciating, but it was the frustration that I was doing what I thought I was supposed to do and still hurt like hell, doing nothing less than working out. And that feeling of impotence was aggravated when the different accepted popular modalities did not work.

I felt like I did something wrong (I did) and that it was my fault (not totally). I was fooled like most people into thinking that if I did an “X” workout/exercise because it gave me a “Y” result that I would be fine. But what I didn’t know was that they were cheating on me during those years. And because it was performing at a high level and looking the way I wanted it to (another problem in hindsight), I had no reason to doubt that what I was doing wasn’t good for me.

It wasn’t until what was supposed to work didn’t work that my point of view and my paradigm cracked. That “crack” led to feelings of helplessness and frustration, but also a deep search to find out why it didn’t work and what to do about it. This is how I was introduced to the science and philosophy of osteopathy and how to honestly train/treat your body holistically.

Because unless you’re an athlete whose only goal is to win and improve your sport, you exercise because you want a good, fulfilling life. Whatever your goals in life, they will only be attainable if you put yourself in the best possible position to achieve them. It doesn’t matter if it’s just to be there for your friends and family or to save the world – how balanced, strong and functional your body is will enhance or diminish the life you want.

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