There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy.
—FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE
In my early forties, my joints ached every morning as I rose out of bed.
“I’m too young for this,” I thought to myself. “I need to get stronger, physically. But what is the best way, when my back pain always seems to get in the way of really exercising?”
I closed my eyes and asked my lower back that very same question.
“Ha!” I heard a voice say. “You are so out of shape, of course your back hurts all of the time. This is what you need to do. . . .”
I then had a vision of being a female Tarzan, swinging on a rope, running as fast as a horse, and leaping from trees like a hawk in flight. When I landed back on the earth, I became a gentle female warrior, practicing martial-art movements. I felt a true sense of inner peace, because I had mastered the spiritual, mental, and physical realms of my existence.
A gentle warrior? Possibly. But a female Tarzan? Now that was laughable. I did understand in that moment, however, that I had spent many years honing my intellectual, mental, and spiritual abilities, but I had not paid much attention to my physical strength. My vision showed me that I could be a strong, resilient woman who had the capability of moving beyond human limitations not only spiritually, but physically, like flying from tree to tree and running like the wind, that it was time to cultivate a strong musculoskeletal system that could function as protection and support, so my life force could truly flourish.
Soon after this vision, I was introduced to CrossFit. Created by Greg Glassman in the 1980s, CrossFit is designed as a general physical preparedness program optimizing physical competence, improving cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. The program uses weights, one’s own body weight and flexibility, and the outdoors.
Initially, I was scared, and the program was hard, but I stuck with it. And now, in my late forties, I am in the best shape of my life. My core is solid, and I have more strength, agility, mobility, and flexibility than people who are twenty years younger. Not that I am swinging in trees every day (though I have been known to do so on occasion). But I am doing pull-ups and gymnastics moves that I couldn’t even do as a teenager. What’s more, I’m tougher. Challenges in life neither deter me nor scare me from pushing forward, and I have the energy to do it.
I am not sure why it took me so long to figure out that physical health is not just the physical health of your internal organs or your mental acuity. Your body is the vessel that allows you to be here on this earth. If your musculoskeletal system is not strong and agile, it is difficult to also be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong. Your mind, body, and spirit are one unit, and I, for one, had often forgotten this fact, because I had spent so much time poring over books or sitting in cars or in front of a computer. I had forgotten that we were meant to coexist with nature, running, walking, lifting, climbing, squatting, and jumping. I had lost touch with the notion that we need a physical shell that is both strong and protective, agile and full of robust energy, so that we can keep moving through life.
Indeed, I think many of us take the human musculoskeletal system for granted and forget how amazing it actually is that we are able to walk upright on two limbs. Your skeletal system includes bones, ligaments, connective tissue, and cartilage, all of which support the weight of the body and protect the delicate internal organs. With the muscles, the skeleton works to maintain and produce controlled movements and body position, so that as muscles contract and relax, push and pull, you are able to walk, run, sit, squat, lift, or lie down. This system enables many functions that allow you to survive, including mobility, flexibility, and stability as well as protection, support, and nourishment.
In this chapter, you will learn how to regain or enhance the POWER of your musculoskeletal system, as you:
• Press the PAUSE button and become acquainted with the anatomy and functions of the musculoskeletal system.
• OPTIMIZE your awareness of what can go wrong with your muscles and bones, the signs and symptoms to watch out for that tell you to get medical help, and what you can learn from wisdom traditions and their view of the musculoskeletal system and its functions.
• Discover how your muscles, joints, and bones may be speaking to you as you WITNESS your physiology through guided exercises.
• EXAMINE the emotions and beliefs that may be keeping you from being flexible, balanced, strong, and mobile.
• Develop the tools that will enable you to RELEASE negative habits and beliefs that are keeping you stiff and immobile, RELIEVE your aches and pains, and RESTORE your musculoskeletal system to optimal shape.
Anatomy and Functions
A living, breathing system, the musculoskeletal system is composed of bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and fascia that create an intricate network with your brain, heart, and immune system.
Your skeletal system provides you with support, stability, and protection. To begin, you have 206 bones in your body, though you start as an infant with 270 (some fuse as you grow). This network of bones is called an endoskeleton, meaning that the frame that gives you support is inside the shell of soft tissue, as opposed to outside, like that of a crustacean. Since you will learn about the vertebrae in your spine in the next chapter, here I will focus on the appendicular skeleton, or the bones in the rest of the body, arms, and legs, which enable you to walk, run, and move as well as protect major organs like the heart, lungs, digestive tract, and reproductive organs.
Your bones are made out of the structural protein collagen and such minerals as calcium, sodium, and phosphorous. The calcium content of your bones, which is very much affected by your vitamin D levels and calcium intake, determines how hard they are. Your bones are in a continuous process of reshaping and remodeling throughout your lifetime, so that your skeleton can maintain a normal bone mass and be able to respond to mechanical forces. This process is dependent on the functioning of hormones, like parathyroid hormone, that respond to changes in blood calcium and phosphorus. When the circulating calcium or phosphorous levels in the bloodstream are low, meaning these minerals are in short supply, these hormones will pull out these minerals from the bone. If these withdrawals occur too frequently, the bones will eventually weaken. Intestinal calcium and phosphorus absorption is regulated by vitamin D, and a deficiency of this vitamin can not only cause levels of calcium and phosphorous to be low, but also stimulate the parathyroid hormone, resulting in more “withdrawals.”
Your bones have an outer hard layer called compact bone and a less dense layer called cancellous bone. The outside layer is made up of hard osteon, which has nerves and blood vessels running through the center that serves to nourish and protect the bone and bone marrow. The bone marrow is found within the cancellous bone, where blood cells are produced.
Ligaments connect bones to bones and help support and stabilize the skeleton in place, especially with movement. Continuous sheets of thin tissue, or fascia, surround and fuse with your bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, tendons, and internal organs throughout the entire body, allowing the muscles to work with varying intensity, so that surrounding structures, like your organs, are protected from harm.
The bones meet one another at joints, which are held in place by muscles and ligaments. Joints usually enable varying degrees of mobility, depending upon where they are. Synovial joints are those found in the hips, elbows, fingers, and knees and are given this name because they have a synovial lining that releases fluid to keep the joints lubricated. The ends of the bones are covered by slippery and smooth material called articular cartilage, which also allows the joints to move with little friction. A fibrous capsule keeps the joint in place.
Joints are categorized into types, based on the kind of mobility they allow you. For instance, the ball and socket allows movement in several directions and is found in the shoulder joint, between the humerus and scapula, and in the hip joint, between the femur and the hipbone. Your knee joint, on the other hand, only allows movement in a single direction and is called a hinge joint. Your wrists and ankles have pivot joints that allow more mobility than your knee, but less than your shoulders or hips. The joint with the least mobility is the one that connects your skull to your spine.
Your muscles cover and connect your bones and are intricately connected to your brain and your nervous system, so that you can actually move. Attached to the bones via tendons, the muscles contract and relax, pulling your bones to and fro. When you decide you want to move, motor neurons, or nerve cells that control movement, in the brain send an electrical signal through the spinal cord and nervous system to the muscles. The neurons in the nervous system transmit a signal, known as an action potential, to individual muscle fibers through a release of energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. The release of ATP causes the muscles to shorten and contract, pulling on the connective tissue and drawing the bone into movement. The kind of movement that occurs will depend on the specific muscle that contracts around the designated joint—like bending at the knees or pronating of the wrists. The signal to relax enables the muscle opposing the contracted muscle to extend the movable bone back to its original position.
If you really think about how your body manages to move in this way, it is really quite fascinating. My hope is that a little bit of this understanding will go a longer way in encouraging you not to take this intricate system for granted.
What Can Go Wrong?
Bones can weaken or break; joints can become inflamed, dislocated, full of fluid, or degenerated. Muscles can become weak or tight, and neurons can misfire or be unable to fire. Weak muscles in your right leg will lead to more pressure and joint damage in your left leg. The weakness or imbalance can also strain connective tissue and joints, leading to more damage of the bone. Drying up of the fluid in your joints will lead to friction, poor mobility, and eventually bone damage as well. One part affects the others. As the system breaks down, you can lose mobility, flexibility, and even the ability to stand upright and move—and those are just the physical complications.
Problems affecting the musculoskeletal system usually lead to pain and discomfort and can result in a disruption in everyday activities, including sitting, standing, or finding a comfortable position to sleep in. The longer the problems continue, the higher the chances that other parts of the body will be negatively affected or that bone damage may occur. Any one of the joints is susceptible, including the neck, spine, hips, knees, elbows, shoulders, wrists, hands, and feet, and symptoms can include recurrent pain, stiffness, dull aches, muscle spasm pains, weakness, and swelling.
The most common musculoskeletal problems include:
• Fibromyalgia: A syndrome causing pain and tenderness in various parts of the body, including muscles, joints, tendons, and other soft tissues.
• Osteoarthritis: Also known as degenerative joint disease, the most common type of problem affecting joints. It is usually due to aging and wear and tear. Normally this occurs because of the wearing away of the cartilage, which causes the bones to rub together. Swelling, pain, stiffness, and weakening of tendons and muscles can occur.
• Rheumatoid Arthritis: An autoimmune disorder affecting all joints that may also affect internal organs over time.
• Bursitis: A condition that occurs when the fluid-filled sac that acts as a cushion between the joints, muscles, and tendons gets inflamed, irritated, and swollen.
• Tendonitis: A condition that occurs when there is inflammation, irritation, or swelling of a tendon, commonly affecting such areas as the Achilles heel, shoulder (rotator cuff), elbow (tennis elbow), or wrist.
• Gout: A type of arthritis or inflammation of the joints caused by a buildup of uric acid in the blood. Usually only one joint is affected, often the big toe.
• Repetitive Strain Injury: A condition in which overuse puts too much stress or strain on the same part of the body too many times, which results in inflammation, swelling, muscle strain, or damage.
• Osteomyelitis: Infection of the bone that may occur after some sort of trauma.
• Osteoporosis: A condition in which bones become weak, brittle, thin, and spongy, so that they can break easily. It usually occurs with aging, steroid use, or use of other medications like warfarin.
Causes and Risk Factors
As a general rule, musculoskeletal conditions usually have diverse causes and are typically influenced by age, type of occupation, lifestyle behaviors, and the nature, frequency, and intensity of a physical activity. For instance, running for long distances can frequently lead to severe wear and tear on the knees. Heavy lifting or sitting for long periods in the same position may add to degeneration of the back. Osteoarthritis, bursitis, and tendonitis can all occur with overuse or injury or even from being overweight.
Conditions like fibromyalgia have been linked to poor sleep, fatigue, headaches, depression, and a history of emotional or physical trauma.1 In my clinical experience, every patient who has come in with a diagnosis of “fibromyalgia” has had a long-standing history of poor sleep or sleep deprivation. The connection between these two conditions is unclear, but is likely partially due to chronic inflammation, stress, and the inability of the muscles to fully relax as they normally do during deep sleep.
Statistically, women between the ages of twenty and fifty are more likely to get fibromyalgia, though it is my clinical experience the male-female distribution has been about equal. Women are also more likely to get rheumatoid arthritis, though it can occur at any age and may be linked to changes in genetic patterns, hormones, or infections.2 Gout, on the other hand, is more common in men and in individuals who drink a lot of alcohol. Gout has also been linked to other medical conditions, including diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, kidney disease, and certain medications.3
The Painful Facts
• Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States.
• In people over fifty years of age in developed countries, musculoskeletal disorders account for more than 50 percent of all chronic conditions.
• In 2005, musculoskeletal conditions were reported by 107.67 million adults in the United States, representing nearly one in two persons age eighteen and older.
• For the years 2004–2006, for musculoskeletal conditions, the sum of the direct expenditures in health-care costs and the indirect expenditures in lost wages has been estimated to be $950 billion annually, or 7.4 percent of the national gross domestic product.4
Musculoskeletal conditions often have neither a gender preference nor a genetic basis. They simply occur because of the wear and tear that comes with the aging process.
Red Flags That Signal You Should Seek Medical Attention
Though most conditions are mild and often heal on their own, for some it is best to seek medical advice or attention:
• An injury, for which a radiographic assessment is necessary.
• An obvious fracture or dislocation, especially an open fracture. Dislocations should be reduced immediately. If there seems to be a lack of circulation in the affected limb, this is an emergency, as blood supply may be compromised.
• Severe, ongoing pain that is not relieved with regular pain medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
• Pain that seems to be coming from the abdomen or chest.
• Swelling of the lower leg and pain in the calf (can indicate a clot in the vein).
• Some sort of nerve compromise like tingling, numbness, weakness, or searing pain that travels down the leg, down the arm, or from one location to the next.
• A chronic compartment syndrome: aching, burning, tightness, tingling/numbness, or weakness, usually in a limb, which gets worse with exercise and often gets better slightly after thirty minutes of stopping exercise. Chronic compartment syndrome, which can also occur acutely after trauma and is a medical emergency, involves swelling of the myofascial compartment of the limb, leading to compromised circulation to the affected muscles. Usually pain upon stretching is excruciating and seems to be much worse than on first examination.
• A joint that is swollen, red, hot/warm or tender to the touch, which can indicate a septic or infected joint. Pain is usually constant and throbbing, keeping individuals awake at night and severely limiting mobility. This is also a medical emergency.
• Nerve compression with a back injury or a history of back problems, especially if accompanied by weakness, loss of sensation, impotence, or loss of anal tone, whereby the stool cannot be held in.5
Note: Some symptoms seem musculoskeletal in nature, but are actually symptoms that originate from your heart, lungs, or abdomen, for example. Watch out for other symptoms like shortness of breath, a change (up or down) of blood pressure, chest pain that radiates down your arm or up your jaw, or severe mid-back pain.
Remember, these conditions are treatable by allopathic medicine. Do not hesitate to go and have the appropriate evaluation and treatment. Pay attention to what your body needs, especially when it is screaming.
What Wisdom Traditions Say About Bones, Muscles, and Joints
Wisdom traditions view movement as essential to life. When the musculoskeletal system is healthy, we are able to move through life with ease and flow. When unhealthy, we tend to get stuck, and our bodies become sore and stiff. Having a supple body accordingly reflects a supple and open attitude toward life, while a strong body represents solid core beliefs, a sense of purpose, and the constitution to withstand life’s challenges. In other words, when the musculoskeletal system is thriving, our mobility; flexibility; sense of feeling protected, supported, and nourished; and ability to powerfully move through the world are booming too.
Traditional Chinese medicine sees the bones, muscles, and joints coexisting like the elements of nature. The muscles, for instance, fall under the element of “wood,” which is involved in such physical aspects as extension, germination or growth, movement, and strength and such mental aspects as self-assertion, planning, decision making, and forceful action. The bones are representative of the “water” element, which is aligned with support, conservation of resources, adaptability, persistence, determination, and courage. The joints, because they are open cavities of space like the lungs, are connected to the element of “metal,” which, as you may recall, is connected to taking in and letting go, appreciation versus grief, searching for purity and truth, inspiration, and self-respect.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, then, if you were having a problem with your joints or muscles, you might also be struggling with your sense of purpose or your rightful place in life. You may be feeling frustrated, stuck, unhappy, unsupported, or lost. You may also tend to hold back, lack assertiveness or confidence, be critical or judgmental, or be too disciplined or worried to make a move. Perhaps you are scared to make changes or you are grieving the loss of a loved one.
Thoughts, beliefs, and emotions can thus be intertwined with musculoskeletal issues. Tensing muscles can point to frustration, stagnation, and anger. Problems with the joints, like problems with the lungs, may be pointing toward issues related to loss, beating oneself up (especially in the case of an autoimmune disorder), or lack of self-confidence.
I have found that my patients learn a lot about themselves, their beliefs, their desires—especially how they truly relate to challenging experiences—when they examine their musculoskeletal symptoms more closely.
At forty years old, Alice reported that she had been extremely healthy until injuring her left shoulder two years earlier. She had had surgery and physical therapy on the shoulder eight months before seeing me. The pain had improved, only to worsen again four months later. To make matters worse, her right hip started hurting too. The pain became so bad that it disturbed her sleep, so that she now also found herself sleep deprived and anxious. She felt frustrated that she was not healing, despite having gone to physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and doing everything else that she was told to do. Nothing was helping except for strong doses of ibuprofen, which were irritating her stomach. Alice complained of being constantly tired, anxious, and on the brink of despair. She was becoming dependent on her mother and husband and simply hated it.
I asked Alice about the injury and when the pain seemed to get worse. She told me she had initially hurt her shoulder during a fall while skiing. Surgery had revealed no tears, but some calcium deposits had been removed. She went to physical therapy after that for a few months and took pain medication, but because it was difficult to lie flat in a bed, she had to sleep in an easy chair, which meant she hardly ever got a good night’s sleep. In addition, she started having problems with her left hip, which was affecting her mobility throughout the day.
I asked Alice if anything significant or stressful had happened in addition to these problems during this time.
Alice’s initial reaction was to say no, but then she held her breath, let out a big exhale, and said, “Actually, yes. My grandmother died a few months before. She was a big part of my life.” Alice’s eyes began to tear as she explained that she had been an only child and when her father had taken ill when Alice was nine years old, her grandmother became her other caretaker.
After giving Alice some time to begin to develop her own connection between the loss and the injury, I asked her to close her eyes, focus on her left shoulder, and describe to me what she felt, to see if the pain she experienced had an origination point—for instance, whether it came from the shoulder itself, the neck, the back, or the chest.
This is what Alice told me: “It feels like it is coming from my heart. I feel an ache and a tightness. I feel sad.”
“Why do you feel sad, Alice? Where does this sadness come from? See how far back the sadness takes you.” I said.
“I was twelve years old. My boyfriend broke up with me. I was devastated and cried for a long time. My mom tried to comfort me, but she wasn’t around enough. She felt bad. My grandmother tried to console me, but my grandfather was sick then too. I felt very rejected and insecure. It wasn’t fair. I never wanted to feel this way again,” Alice continued.
“Did you feel this way again, Alice?”
“Yes. When my father’s sister died, when I broke up with my college boyfriend, and again when my grandmother died.”
“Alice,” I said, “Can you ask your shoulder if there is a connection between your pain and all these losses?”
“I just feel scared. I am scared to be left alone with nothing.”
“Why would you be left alone? Are you not happy in your marriage, your job, or your life?”
“No, I am not happy. I feel stuck in my job and my marriage. I have security, but no freedom, but I am too scared to leave. I’m stuck.”
At this point, Alice and I discussed her fear of loss and abandonment that resulted in her choosing security over freedom and the exploration of her own identity. Perhaps, I theorized, her muscles were bracing for being left alone, rejected, or abandoned again. Perhaps her feeling of being alone exacerbated her inability to sleep. Most likely, her pain, her inability to sleep, and her anxiety were a combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual issues that were asking to be taken care of.
Alice’s treatment plan included meditation and healing exercises that helped her address and deal with feelings of loss and grief as well as stretching exercises that enabled her to feel more grounded, supported, and aligned. We worked on reestablishing a support network within her friends and family, examining her true desires and life purpose, the skills she valued and the work possibilities she could explore. I also introduced an exercise plan that would enable her to resume mobility and strength. Alice changed her diet so that she ate fewer inflammatory foods, and she added in omega-3 fish oils, which would help with inflammation and mood. She also started couple’s counseling with her husband to see if spice and direction could be brought back into their marriage.
Within seven months, Alice was pain free and feeling better than ever. She found a new job, new friends, new hobbies, and, most important, she rediscovered happiness.
Deciphering What Science and Wisdom Traditions Say
When examining what messages your body may be holding and why, keep in mind the functions of the musculoskeletal system: mobility, flexibility, and movement as well as protection, support, stability, and nourishment. For instance, a major role of this system is to provide structure and framework to support the body as it stands and moves on this earth. If your problems tend to be in your feet or knees, this could represent your own deep-seated beliefs about feeling supported or grounded in your life, since your feet and knees literally help you stand on the earth. If your muscles are continuously tense, perhaps you do not feel safe, supported, or strong enough within yourself, which may cause you to brace and protect what is on the inside from the outside.
When you were born, although you had close to three hundred bones, you did not possess the ability to stand upright or move from one position to another. You depended entirely on someone else. As you grew and developed, your bones began to fuse, your muscles developed strength, and your brain matured, so that your cerebral cortex and cerebellum could help you stay balanced, upright, and moving in the directions you chose to go. In addition, if you were being taken care of and loved, you had a strong supportive framework from which to develop and grow. Without such a framework, insecurity and lack of self-confidence in your own strengths and the ability to move forward could arise. Experiences of loss, neglect, criticism, or abuse could have led to feelings of fear and the need to constantly protect yourself from the unknown or push harder to get your needs met.
When observing your musculoskeletal system, think about the ways you may not feel supported, energized, or able to move beyond your fears. Think about your “weak spot” and why, of all places in your body, you are having difficulty there. Or perhaps you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, so your body tends to ache all over. You may want to examine how long it has been since you have had a restful sleep, what you may be scared of, how safe or supported you feel, and whether you believe that your needs will be met by others or the world within which you exist. I can personally tell you that when I addressed my fears about security or being supported, my back pain improved. When I added exercise and an anti-inflammatory diet, it virtually went away.
Why not give it a go?
AWARENESS EXERCISE
Begin with the practice of emptying the mind.
Breathe in, breathe out. Empty the mind.
Bring your awareness to your feet. Notice how they feel touching the earth.
Notice where your weight falls with respect to your feet. Where is the pressure? What are your toes doing? Notice the connection between the toes and feet.
Notice the connection between your feet and ankles. Move your feet in circles slowly. Appreciate the mobility and what your toes, feet, and ankles enable you to do.
Move up your legs, noticing your calves and shins, up to your knees, again appreciating their purpose. Notice what you feel. Examine the joints. What do you feel?
Observe your muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, your movement or ability to be coordinated as you move up your body, up your spine, and all the way up to the top of your head.
When you are done, focus on one or two joints (like your hips, shoulders, or knees) and notice any sensations that may come up for you with these images, thoughts, or scenarios:
I am going in the direction I want to be going in my life.
I feel frustrated and stuck.
I am not getting the support I need.
I am running a 5K race.
I am stuck in a wheelchair.
I am resentful that I am always left doing all the work.
I am not working in a job that represents my desires and likes.
I grieve a lost one.
Take as long as you wish to appreciate what you might feel and where, as you will have a chance to go deeper and better understand what lies beneath. You may wish to write down your experience in your journal, so that you can add to it later.
First review the following statements and note how they cause you to feel, noticing which ones ring true or false. Then, write down what comes to mind as an answer.
Support, Protection, and Stability:
I am not good at asking for help.
I usually end up doing things myself.
I feel supported in most if not all ways by my partner to be the best I can be in my life.
I am often angry that I am not supported, appreciated, or recognized enough (at work, at home, in life, and so on).
I tend to distrust that I will have my needs met.
I am often angry that my needs are not met.
I am scared of rejection and being hurt.
Movement and Flexibility:
My life is moving in the direction I want to be going (or I lack a sense of direction).
I feel stuck in my situation (job, relationship, health issue, and so on).
I feel held back from doing what I want to do.
Something is irritating me or frustrating me, so that I feel I cannot fully express myself and have to hold back.
I am afraid to move forward or express myself more.
Provision and Rebuilding:
I am not sure what my purpose is.
I have a hard time giving my body time for rest. (I do not know what will happen if I rest.)
I often eat foods that do not nurture my life force.
I am often tired and have little energy to fight through the struggles in my life.
I often hold on to negative thoughts and feelings.
I have a hard time letting go.
GOING DEEPER EXERCISE
Choose one or more statements that provoked you the most, then take a few deep breaths, and close your eyes.
Breathe three more times fully and completely, then bring your awareness to the area of your body that seemed the most symptomatic to you during the witnessing exercise, repeat one or more of the statements, and see or feel what transpires.
Do you start feeling more or less tension?
Take your time and allow images, words, or thoughts to come forward.
Do you see anything? What image or thought comes up for you? Ask the thought, belief, image, or statement where it came from. Where did you learn it? When did you come up with it? What does it have to do with your body now?
When you are ready, write about your experience, adding it to your journal. Allow one thought to lead to the next without too much analysis or judgment, and see where it takes you.
As I mentioned, you want to pay attention not only to your answers, but also to your feelings—both physical and emotional—as Alice did.
Strengthening and healing the musculoskeletal system translates to being more vibrant and resilient in both body and mind. Your outlets of relief are focused on reducing rigidity, while improving flexibility and movement. They are also geared toward letting go of fears, working toward living your life with gusto and trust, and enhancing your sense of feeling safe and secure within yourself and your world, so that you move through life with more ease and can express yourself more energetically.
Support, Protection, and Stability
RELEASING: The purpose of this meditation is to enable you to let go of the story that became evident to you in the examination exercise. Is your story related to fear of loss, not being supported, or not having enough? Let it go, and instead focus on trusting that you can be supported to be free of your fears and able to move beyond your own expectations.
SUPPORTED AND FREE MEDITATION
Begin with the practice of emptying the mind. Breathe in deeply for three counts, then exhale for five counts. Release all the thoughts to the wind and to the earth. Do this for at least four cycles.
Bring your awareness to your spine (from the base of your skull to the base of the spine), to your entire back (all the muscles), ribs, and shoulders. Breathing in for three counts and out for five, empty the stress, strain, tension, or burdens you have been carrying that have been holding you back and stuck into the wind and into the earth. Do this for at least four cycles.
Bring your awareness to your chest and abdomen. Breathing in for three counts and out for five, release all tension, stress, strain or whatever has been holding you back from fully living, breathing, and expressing into the wind and into the earth. Do this for at least four cycles.
Do the same for both your arms and legs, fingers and toes.
You have released the stress and strain, so that now you can notice the support you actually do have. Notice the support your body has from the earth, wherever you lie.
Now notice the support the earth gives your feet as you imagine standing at the base of a mountain.
Breathe in the air. Feel the breeze against your skin. Listen to the birds flying in the sky. It is you and nature. Let nature and the earth guide you as you climb the mountain.
You are letting go of fears. You are moving forward with instinct and without questioning how or why.
You are climbing up the mountain with grace and ease. No fear. No judgment. Just moving.
You are at the top of the mountain. You stand tall. You can accomplish what you desire.
You spread your arms like wings and fly. You are free.
Repeat these words to yourself:
I am free.
I am free to fly.
I am free to express myself as I need to.
I am confident, strong, adaptable, adventurous, and joyous.
I am.
You slowly glide back down to earth. Your feet are firmly planted on the earth. You are supported.
I am supported.
I am supported to express myself as I need to.
I am confident, strong, adaptable, adventurous, and joyous.
I am.
SEEKING SUPPORT AND LETTING GO: Freedom to express yourself and move forward in life requires also feeling safe and secure in relation to others and within yourself. What will it take for you to let go of your toxic beliefs, lifestyle habits, and restrictions, so that you can be free to breathe and be you? Practicing the above meditation is helpful, but you want to build an external support structure within your life, people you can talk to, share with, or grow with. You can speak to a therapist, support group, religious community, or friends to help you. What will it be?
Support and letting go can also involve a healing touch. Your muscles and bones crave the structure, the oxytocin, and the relief you can get from a massage, adjustment, or whatever healing modality serves you best.
LIVING WITH PURPOSE: As you clear your mind and body of negative beliefs and fears that block you from moving forward in your life, you open up channels within you and your life for discovering who you really are and what your purpose can be. Your purpose can take a number of sizes and shapes—from healing the planet to raising healthy and open-minded children. Studies show that individuals who believe they have a purpose in life are healthier and live longer.6 Feeling purposeful in your actions also helps you become more directed, engaged, and motivated to get up and go.
Whether you believe you know your purpose or not, you may want to add to your journal by writing about what is meaningful to you and how you would like to be able to bring more meaning into your life or the world. You may want to write about what has blocked you from doing so before and begin to make a list of small steps you can take toward your goal every week. For instance, maybe you feel your purpose is to cultivate good relationships and connections among the people you know. Write about why this is meaningful to you and what has prevented you from actively doing this with purpose, and make a plan to introduce one person to the next in a meaningful way every week.
Movement and Flexibility
TONING, STRENGTHENING, AND SWEATING: Your musculoskeletal system craves variability of movement, not sitting still for long hours or even performing the same activities over and over again. Variability is the key for adaptability and flexibility. This means being engaged in a variety of activities that include aerobic exercise and metabolic conditioning as well as resistance training, all mixed up so that your body is continuously surprised and rebuilding itself and its priorities.
The CDC recommends incorporating physical activity that includes aerobic conditioning, strength building, and balance training. The guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moderate physical exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (meaning you cannot carry on a conversation while exercising).7 You want to remember that your body needs all kinds of movement, but so does your mind, as most individuals can easily get bored and drop their exercise routine. Varying your exercise routine will be helpful for not only improving your cardiovascular metabolism, strength, and flexibility, but also keeping you motivated. You can mix it up: alternate two to three days of shorter and more intense workouts that involve strength training with rest days and days when you perform low-intensity movement like walking, hiking, or taking a slow bike ride.
There is such a thing as excessive exercise, which can create more stress and damage for you than good. Strength-training workouts do not need to involve weights necessarily, as you can use your own body weight with movements such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats, or lunges. These types of exercises help you build lean muscle mass, strengthen your bones, and improve your metabolism.
The most important part of your exercise regimen should be that it is fun. If you are not enjoying yourself, you probably won’t stick to it. These are some suggestions to make exercise more enjoyable, so that you will be more likely to keep it up, and an activity that helps you feel more supported:
• Find friends/exercise buddies or an exercise community.
• Do a variety of exercises that you enjoy, so that you do not get bored.
• Exercise outdoors, where, research shows, you are more likely to enjoy the workout and have less discomfort or fatigue.
• Do not set big goals for yourself. Exercise because you want to feel good.
• Be spontaneous and match your workout with your energy level. In other words, if you haven’t slept well and are tired, do not engage in a high-intensity workout.
MEDITATION IN MOTION: Your goal is to move with ease in your life as well as to make your body move with ease. Practicing meditation while in motion enables you to stay present in your body and in your surroundings, while letting go of fears, stress, and strain. The result is better flexibility and mobility not only because you are becoming more relaxed and less tense, because you are stretching and loosening, but also because you are engaging. You can find many such exercises and a variety of techniques by working with practitioners who do yoga, tai chi, qi gong, or even Feldenkrais, a technique that helps you explore new movement patterns using gentle motion with directed attention.
Sample Week of Exercise
Day 1: A walk outdoors at a moderate pace with a friend for thirty minutes at 75 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Day 2: Strength training for twenty-five minutes using weights or your own body weight.
Day 3: Aerobics class, Zumba class, or a hike at a fast pace at intervals. You can walk at a moderate pace for a few minutes, then sprint for twenty seconds over a forty-five minute period.
Day 4: Active rest: walk your dog or someone else’s dog, ride your bike, or stroll at a leisurely pace (at about 55 percent of your maximum heart rate) for an hour, as you enjoy the wonders of nature.
Day 5: Strength training for twenty-five minutes.
Day 6: A walk outdoors with a friend for thirty minutes at 75 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Day 7: Rest, or active rest as above.
Stretching as a general rule helps you warm up all your joints, muscles, and bones, work out kinks, and prevent stiffness. Stretching mindfully involves using your breath as you move, enabling gentle motion with directed attention. You can also walk mindfully.
Here is an exercise that brings walking and stretching mindfully together:
MINDFUL MOVEMENT IN NATURE
Begin by taking a slow walk in nature, being mindful of your breath while appreciating the beauty and wonder of the elements around you—the smell of the flowers, the blueness of the sky, or the variety of shapes and sizes of the leaves on the trees.
When you are ready, find a place to stand on the earth, perhaps barefoot, and recognize the connection your feet have with the earth.
Take a deep breath in and expand your chest so that your shoulders are rotating outwards (as if your scapulae are kissing), and when you exhale, allow your shoulders to roll back in. Your hands will follow as the shoulders rotate out and then back in.
Recognize your connection with the air.
Rotate your head to look to the left and hold it for two breaths, bring it back to center, and then look to the right for two breaths.
Recognize your connection with all of your surroundings.
Bend forward at the hips and bend your knees slightly as you place your hands with arms straight and locked above your knees. Breathe in and arch your back upward, like a cat or an upside-down “U.” Then exhale and let your back fall back toward the earth.
Do this for three breath cycles and recognize your connection with all your internal organs, arms, and legs.
When you are ready, continue your slow, mindful walk through nature.
MOVING BEYOND LIMITS: You want to work on pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone, safely of course. What have you always wanted to try, but were too scared to do? Dance, paint, take a different route to work, sing out loud, take a class in something you always wanted to learn? Just do it! Moving beyond your limits does not have to occur just with physical exercise; it can apply to anything you do in your life. Do not let your fears create obstacles for you that leave you feeling stuck and unfulfilled. What will it be? Set a goal and go for it.
Provision and Rebuilding
NUTRIENTS FOR STAYING MOBILE: As you have learned thus far, a healthy nutrition plan involves eating foods that are anti-inflammatory, high in antioxidants, and full of healthy proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. The recommendations in this chapter will help you attain the desired goal of staying flexible, mobile, and pain free as well as help you maintain a healthy weight. The goal is to enable you to add foods to your diet that help motivate you to participate in physical activity, as they help reduce your perception of fatigue and therefore influence your mind-set to want to exercise and enjoy your experience.
Avoid foods that slow you down. As I have mentioned before, you want to focus on avoiding foods that are highly inflammatory, tax your metabolism, and prevent absorption of the vitamins and minerals you need. Such foods include breads, especially white breads, baked goods made with cornstarch, most dairy, fried foods, artificial sweeteners, beer, soda, and anything with high-fructose corn syrup.
Get your vegetables and fruits on! You can’t go wrong eating more vegetables and fruits (in moderation), especially if you are choosing dark leafy greens for the many reasons you have read about thus far. Some studies have shown that a vegan diet that is also gluten free is beneficial for individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.8 Other colorful dietary components, cherries, for example, have been shown to be helpful in reducing postexercise pain and muscle-cell damage and inflammation as well as a more rapid restoration of muscle strength.9 Green leafy vegetables and other vegetables like beets have components like nitrates that enable better oxygenation and blood flow. Greens are also, of course, a good source of magnesium, important for both muscle and bone function and strength.
Keep up your stamina with healthy grains. Grains are a good source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. Your muscles need glycogen (from glucose), which gives them more energy and helps you stay active longer. Wheat germ, for example, contains octacosanol, which helps with muscle oxygenation and the prevention of strains or injury. Oats, a good alternative to grains with gluten, are a good source of silicon, which helps strengthen connective tissue. If you notice that you have a tendency to feel achy or have poor recovery after exercise, you may also want to try a gluten-free diet, even if you have never been diagnosed with a sensitivity. Try eating only grains like millet, quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, sorghum, amaranth, or teff.
Use fats to stay flexible. Foods rich in good fats, like omega-3 fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid, and linolenic acid, can help with elasticity and muscle flexibility and to reduce inflammation.10 You can get these benefits from flaxseed, olive oil, avocados, fatty fish, algae, and hemp. For example, fish intake has been linked to improved muscle strength and physical performance.11
Pump up your muscle and bone mass. Protein enables you to maintain adequate bone and muscle health. Good sources come from grass-fed meats, fish, grains (like quinoa, brown rice, and amaranth), vegetables (like peas), and plants (like hemp), nuts, legumes, and soy and milk products. Fish are also a good source of vitamin D, which, as you learned, is important for bone health and calcium absorption. If you suffer from inflammatory joint problems, like rheumatoid arthritis, you may want to limit the majority of your protein to vegetables, grains, or plants and nuts, as animal sources of protein may lead to more pain for some individuals.12
Drink up (water!). Every system of your body needs water. Recommendations for the daily amount of water you should drink vary, because the amount depends on your existing health condition, what you eat, and how much activity you engage in, among other factors. The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day. The adequate intake for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.13 In general, as I mentioned before, you can aim to drink about half your body weight in ounces a day.
Perhaps supplements are in order. If you are unable to get your nutrition through your diet or are an athlete in training, many of these nutritional needs can be met with supplements. I will not go into depth on supplements, but I do find eggshell membrane to be highly effective for supporting joint health, along with glucosamine and chondroitin. A recent study shows promise that eggshell membrane is effective and safe for treating pain and inflexibility associated with joint and connective tissue disorders.14 Of course, check with your health-care provider for interactions or contraindications as necessary. Dosages are product dependent.
DESTRESSING AND RESTING: This is most likely an obvious one for you. Pay attention to your stress levels as you go through your day. Practice mindfulness and your breathing exercises. Meet with a therapist, talk to friends, take relaxing baths—whatever it takes to help you with your stress reduction.
Your muscles need to know that they can let go and relax now and then. Otherwise they forget how to. That is why it is so important to get good and restful sleep. It is rare for individuals to get fibromyalgia if they actually get adequate sleep. If sleep is an issue for you, you may want to work with your health-care practitioner in finding solutions for possible medical problems like sleep apnea or chronic pain. It may be worth investing in a good mattress or bed as well.
Ways to achieve more rest and better sleep include:
• Taking naps if you need to.
• Using your bedroom only for sleep and/or sex.
• Keeping all computers and electrical gadgets in a different area from where you sleep.
• Avoiding stimulating activities close to bedtime.
• Avoiding big meals within two hours of sleeping.
• Developing a meditation practice and doing a meditation prior to sleep in addition to your daily routine.
• Taking a relaxing bath in the evening.