Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Staying In Motion

What I like about this photo is all the footprints on the beach around our tent. All those footprints going from one end of the beach to the other and up into the dunes behind camp appeared after we landed on this beach (on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia) a couple of hours before. Prior to that, the beach was smooth with no evidence of people.




This is Newtons first law: a body in motion tends to stay in motion; a good principle to follow if you want to live a long and healthy life. The current societal norm is to live a long life, but not necessarily, or even commonly, a long healthy life.

Modern society is set up to rob us of motion at every turn and withstanding inertia requires vigilance and a degree of creativity. One of the best ways I know to stay in motion is to follow Katy Bowman's principle of "stacking."




I have been "stacking" for so many years as a matter of habit, that I now "stack" my "stacks." Here are some ways you can stack your stacks:

  • Avoid paved side-walks and walk instead on the uneven ground beside. This is getting harder and harder to do as society gets weaker but even if the whole side-walk is paved you can still walk along the curb and practice balancing.

  • Never use the automatic garage door opener - four more squats getting in and out of the car every time you use a vehicle.

  • In queues at stores stand on one leg.

  • Hop or jump up steps instead of simply stepping. I get weird looks doing this around town but it does not stop me.

  • Don't sit when you can stand and don't stand still when you can fidget.

  • Pick up garbage on your daily walks - this can add dozens of squats if you live in a populous area, bonus points for carrying things about.

Right there is a whole bunch of extra movement in multiple planes built into your day.  Things can only get better if you stack your life.  

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