On One Leg.

Habit Hack Episode 10.

"You are only as good on two legs as you are on one."

How are you holding yourself in space? How well are you dealing with gravity? Are your legs adaptive and reflexive? Are you bracing yourself for stress by constantly holding certain muscles with tension and loading body parts with strain? How often do you think about your toes as they support your posture? How often do you hold your breath when you move?....

We have all developed strategies for movement patterns. Many of these are compensatory strategies to make up for some minor asymmetry in strength or range of motion. We become habituated to movement patterns, just as we are habituated to our repetitive thoughts. This is not specific to athletes, or people who train in a physical craft, but anyone who walks, gets up from a chair, empties a dishwasher, gets into a car...your movements are mostly automatic...and sometimes at a high cost to your function. 

Enter single-leg training. Accessible to anyone, this doesn't mean launching into full one-legged squats, but a simple lunge forward with one leg, as if you are taking a giant step and bending into your front knee. Right here, you are recruiting muscles, joints, and neuromuscular firing for pelvic control, lower leg adaptability, hip stability, and full body engagement. And with some attention to your movement and body in space, you will do this lunge (or Warrior pose) with breath efficiency, so your ribs are working with you; with trunk integrity, so you are engaging a new movement pattern; with down-regulated stress, so your nervous system is recalibrated. 

We were pretty good when we were 5-years old- our neuromuscular control was close to perfect, we loaded our bodies efficiently, we played and rolled around on the ground. Years of strategies have us accommodating to physical asymmetries, and putting stress on our system. On 2-legs, we can wiggle ourselves around and get our bodies to do certain things, but isolating one leg reveals some hiccups, showing us where we deviate from efficient, coordinated movements. Here we expose the root of our asymmetries and malalignment, sometimes resulting in pain, discomfort, and even injury. 

So, let's get rewired. Let's work with our movement patterns to access that 5-year old playful state and alter our stress response to focus on breath instead of holding and loading tension. Training these single leg actions can be as simple as a fun, engaging flow yoga class, with modifications always offered. Or start on your own- stand on one leg while you brush your teeth. Take a full lunge forward while walking down your driveway. Engage your breath and movement to maximize functional strength and agility. Reach beyond balance and flexibility to really have control over your body. Start here. 

Be Well,
Jessica

Here is a 5 minute body and mind opener... 
5 Minute Video Click here