What can adults learn from children?
- Squatting:
Kids have the perfect squat form. They pick up things by bending with their legs rather than bending at their hips.
So this is the natural way we are supposed to bend and pick things. We unlearn this technique as we grow up putting stress on our lower back and also we lose mobility in our ankles and hips. We try very hard to re-learn it in the gym not realizing it came to us naturally when we were kids.
For example, look at the picture below:
Squatting to lift things off the floor is the best way to keep your lower back away from stress. Kids do it with such perfection!
2. Belly Breathing:
Kids breathe into their bellies. This is also called Diaphragmatic breathing. We unlearn this too! We only breathe into our lungs . Think of your torso as a cylinder and you have to fill it with air from the bottom to the top. Every time we take a deep breath, we fill our lungs and raise our shoulders which is not the optimal way to breathe deep. Instead sit straight and consciously breathe into your stomach.
Belly breathing has a lot of advantages. For example, while doing heavy exercises it helps you tighten your core and it creates a natural "weight lifting belt" around your waist which helps in lifting with correct form, it protects your spine and also improves your posture.
So kids remind us of these two very important aspects of life that we forget while growing up.
