Page 55 - What Doctors Don't Tell You - AU-NZ (February-March 2020)

ALTERNATIVES
he word primal is
bandied around
a lot these days—
used to describe
movement, diet
and lifestyle—
but what does it
actually mean?
The word
itself stems from
primary, that which came first. So “primal”
can mean “original” in terms of our evolution
either as an individual or as a species.
This can relate to how humans evolved
from primitive sea creatures to four-legged
mammals and up to primates, and still
possess the types of motions such animals
exhibit within our range of movement.
Humans also progress through these
same patterns of movement within our own
lifetime, from our fetal shape within the
womb to becoming an upright adult.
Along the path of life, various experiences,
stresses, traumas, criticisms, judgments,
comparisons and other factors come along to
support or interrupt how you stand upright.
Feeling that you may need to protect
yourself or keep yourself small can affect your
whole-body expression. A common trauma
(and shame) pattern held in body tissues, for
example, is a collapsed chest and
hunched posture.
In his book Emotional
Anatomy (Center
Press, 1985), body
psychotherapist Stanley
Keleman explains:
“Human uprightness is a
genetic urge, yet, it requires
a social and interpersonal
network to be realised . . . What
nature intended as the development
and expression of human form is influenced
by personal emotional history.”
When you view movement not as simply
something you do, but rather how you make
your way through life, then you can begin to
see it more as gesture than mechanical form.
Playful movement is known to promote adaptability, injury
prevention, strength, balance, agility, coordination, speed, skill
and mental focus—and a little can go a long way
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This helps to break away from moving in tight, what you ‘should’ be doing, to how to listen in
hard and limited motion ranges that can be far and respond.
removed from the reaching, pulsing, spiraling,
shimmying, shaking, swaying, pushing and
pulling gestures of natural motion.
If you sit rigidly on chairs all day and then
limit your movements to a similar set of
exercises at the gym or via fitness activities like
running and cycling, then you are limiting the
scope of your potential adaptability in tissues,
leaving you more prone to injury.
Even by following the same set routines in
movement systems such as tai chi, yoga or
Pilates, you can become “set in your ways”—
literally set into those shapes and capabilities.
Changing body movement habits and
including all of those animalistic forms in
human evolution supports basic functions,
such as cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous
system and endocrine (hormone) balance
and health.
Primal movement as pleasure and play
Babies and small children simply move and
play. There is no specific purpose to this
beyond moving to explore, reach for what
is needed or gesture for what is wanted to
express and respond to the present moment in competed, hunted, walked, dealt with nature—
ways that give joy and a sense of freedom.
Play is creative and not limited to a specific
endpoint or goal. But this spectrum of
possibility becomes narrower as movement
and ‘games’ become more focused on specific
rules, competing with our peers and getting
the form right for best performance.
Many adults continue to bring this
mindset to the gym, running or other fitness
regimes that target specific areas to fix what is
perceived as ‘wrong’ in their bodies. Exercise
forms with more play and responsiveness,
such as climbing, explorative forms of yoga
(like Scaravelli yoga), water sports and rough-
terrain hiking, involve the whole body and a
myriad of movements, responding moment
to moment.
Stepping away from counting and fixating
on numbers of steps, calories, minutes and
repetitions helps shift your viewpoint from
AT
ES
IV
Of course, all activities run the risk of
becoming purely goal-oriented, and people
do derive motivation from challenge. It is not
‘bad’ per se to want to walk a certain number
of miles or feel more physically able in a yoga
pose, but if that takes over as the primary
focus, it can quash your enjoyment and create
the idea that you must punish your body
toward physical ideals or comparison with
others.
When you trust your instincts (primal
messages), you can move in ways that are
playful and curious instead. Parts of you
that have previously felt stiff, sore, painful or
shut down can begin to loosen, open up and
soothe signals of distress.
Playful movement is known to promote
adaptability, injury prevention, strength,
balance, agility, coordination, speed, skill and
mental focus—and a little can go a long way.
Indeed, movement coach and author Daryl
Edwards has developed a method called
Primal Play to inspire others to make physical
activity fun while getting healthier, fitter and
stronger. “Primal people danced, celebrated,
and played,” he says.
“You can still see our human past in what we
do today. Music, drumming, hiking, camping,
fishing, swimming, gardening, sports,
laughter, even dancing in dance clubs, all tap
into the primal part of us.”
Dance and group games are often the
most accessible modes of play for adults,
where embodiment, fun, joy and laughter
can promote the release of feel-good
chemicals such as beta-endorphins and other
endogenous (self-produced) opioids.
These increase our feelings of wellbeing
and social inclusion and are known to help
relieve depression, anxiety and stress-related
symptoms such as inflammation and chronic
pain.
REFERENCES
1 Am J Epidemiol, 1988; 128: 179–89
2 Curr Opin Rheumatol, 2010; 22: 533–7
3 J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 2013; 43: 881–90
ISSUE 04 | FEB/MAR 2020 | WDDTY 55