Boditude: A-feet-iation
Last year, I had a pretty serious back injury. As a newbie in a world of many other preexisting injuries of mine, it was actually the straw that broke the camel’s back. And in the arduous process of attempting to rehaul my entire body and posture to heal and support these injuries for the future, I’ve been becoming increasingly appreciative for how miraculous the human body is! Its capacity to bounce back, heal and strengthen is astounding! It truly is a machine, and when oiled well, it can do incredible things. Even when we don’t oil it well, which we are often guilty of doing, it still pulls out all the stops! It is such a blessing to be equipped with these sweet moving, feeling, and experiencing machines. But too often, our tendency is to overlook and ignore this gift. Our appreciation for the mechanical miracle that serves as our vessel for life and experience is too easily lost. So, lets talk about how sweet this work of art is. Lets build some gratitude for our bodies! Some BODITUDE!
Today, we start with our feet. These buggers are absolute workhorses! Each foot is made up of 28 different bones (nearly a quarter of our body’s!) and 30 joints. In addition, each has more than 100 muscles, tendon & ligaments that work as a team to support our entire body, which is constantly riding, often full throttle, on top of them. Let me repeat, your whole body is riding on top of your two little feet, always. And yet they are durable enough to bend and balance under the range of weird circumstances we throw at them. Which would be one thing if we were just laying down all the time, probably the only time when our feet are really getting any rest, but we spend our days standing, walking, running, jumping, changing directions abruptly, and doing weird funky fresh dance moves. Even sitting requires the support our feet provide. So, they take constant flack under a range of stresses and angles, and most of the time without complaint. Respect.
And the strongest of feet can accomplish some serious feats (pun…intended…)! They can run marathons, walk across continents (our ancestors trekked from Northern Africa across the globe to Europe and Asia), and initiate complex, fine movements to outmaneuver defenders (see Lionel Messi). Imagine the coordination, balance and strength it takes your feet to dance..
But you don’t have to be a professional athlete or dancer to appreciate how awesome your feet are. Just give some recognition for how much work your feet do on the reg! They literally are the foundation of the human body, and that means they are constantly under pressure, also literally, so that the rest of the machine can do its thing. So show ’em some love! How, you ask? Well for one, reflection and awareness helps. That’s what this article is for. But compassionate action in response to the toils of the life of a foot is important to. If your feet hurt, REST THEM. No use pushing them overboard. They get enough crap, as it is. Instead, put em up on the table. Soak ’em in some warm water. Get a freaking foot massage (which is a whole ‘nother category of magical)! Roll them over a lacrosse ball. Do some ankle rolls. Lay on your back with your legs up on the wall. Do what feels right and shows your feet the appreciation they rightfully deserve. Thanks feet!!!