One Body and The Golden Rule

We all know the Golden Rule — do we practice it?

“Treat others how you want to be treated”

Have you considered treating your body in this same respect? Treat your body like another human being may be one of the steps to get you going.

Let me explain.

This concept is a work in progress — but it has merit. How many of us treat our bodies as “leftovers?” Waiting until the end, waiting until something major happens in our lives to change?

We can agree treating other people with respect, compassion, and kindness is the noble and just thing to do. But what about our bodies? Our vessels that carry us on this beautiful planet? Not the 6 pack abs we all see but the all encompassing wellness we all deserve?

Breathing — concentrated belly breathing in through the nose, holding, and out through the mouth.

Movement — basic movement patterns like squatting, hinging, crawling, lunging, pushing, pulling, and carrying

We like to think because of our technological and increasing intellectual advances we are exempt from this basic, fundamental law of humans.

MOVEMENT!

Your brain needs movement. It needs concentrated breathing. Things get out of wack as you move further and further away from movement. Your mind becomes anxious, depressed, and less calm. You may be able to handle it and justify this for a while. But when it comes, you will feel its wrath.

Simple, daily habits of movement and breathing are the antidote to many ailments we typically encounter and see in others. It’s not a “cure”, it’s a daily vitamin we are all deficient in — like showering and motivation — it’s recommended we move every day, even for 5 minutes of mobility (See Max Shank).

I don’t want to act as if I’m above everyone either — I’m speaking from experience. Depression — deep, dark depression has taken over me many times in my life. And it’s there for about 3 weeks. Nothing I can do. Debilitating depression — and for me it was rooted in lack of ACTION (purposeful action in the direction of my ultimate mission in life) and MOVEMENT (laziness, slothfulness). Once in this depression, again it would take about 3 weeks to subside. No amount of positive thinking, affirmations, and/or movement would take me back. It didn’t hurt, but it needed time.

So WHY is this important? Because I whole-heartedly believe in the power of action and movement. Conversely, breathing and meditation are IMPORTANT as we need to calm down and down-regulate from the stimulation we receive in this modern world of technology and connectivity.

My experiences are my own and I hope this reaches someone who doesn’t fall into the same trap I have in the past.

“Life will give you a lesson until you learn it” — Learn from my mistakes — I finally learned the lesson life was handing me. It gave me experiences of hell and depression I will never forget but they are reminders of this beautiful life.

Movement and action + breathing and meditation allow us to experience life at a higher quality. It’s not about being better than. It’s about being the best you can be so you can be the best for the people you care about in your fleeting life.

If this touched you in any way please share it, like it, and share your comments/stories below. If you want/need suggestions for starting please contact me @ alex.guillien@dsu.edu