What is healthy living? Someone asked me recently if I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been.
My reply was "no." I said no because I used to trail run long distances previously and now I can’t/don’t. I'm not in shape to run 21 miles through mountains at high elevation. I'm not able to do an olympic distance triathlon at this time. So no, I’m not the healthiest since I used to be able to do those previously.
Pause.
With some reflection, I realized how narrow my response was. I only addressed musculoskeletal fitness and conditioning in my answer. And even within that answer I'm not sure I answered it fully. What about the mobility work and physical therapy I am doing to address long-standing mobility issues and imbalance in my neck, upper back, and shoulder? What about the work I am doing on my core and deep stabilizing muscles? What about the work I am doing on my hamstrings and glutes to strengthen them and address front to back thigh and hip imbalances and thus reduce the likelihood of injury to my knees and back?
Often moving forward feels initially like taking steps backwards.
I don't believe that health is simply our physical bodies. What about my mental, emotional and spiritual health? What about my diet, my digestion, my mood, my relationships, my interactions with work, my sleep, ability to communicate, my generosity? In these areas, I am healthier than ever, and significantly so. That is not insignificant. I am living a very satisfying, rewarding, and peaceful life. And it took work to get to this healthy place.
It was striking to me how limited my view was when initially considering my response to: “Am I the healthiest I’ve even been?”. I believe so much in integrated health. I know that there is complex and little understood interplay between these areas. I preach this to my patients, clients, students, friends and anyone listening. I believe that anything I want to impart to others, I need to first inhabit. “Do as I say, not as I do”, doesn't deliver.
But wow, not only did I not think about my full physical body - sleep, strength imbalances, stiffnesses, muscle activation issues. I considered performance in my answer. I have long known that performance and health are different things. Often doing the healthy thing means doing less. And this is remarkably hard to do in our culture. Our society screams - DO MORE, ACHIEVE, ACQUIRE! But deep, deep health comes from knowing our body and this requires sufficient slowing down to learn to hear and understand the voice of your body. I have long served as an interpreter and guide for physical therapy patients to know what their body is speaking to them. Teaching them - “motion is lotion.” Helping them release - “pain is weakness leaving the body.” Our body is us, so we need to not separate ourselves from it, but our body is also not the only thing we are.
When I partner with patients and clients, I frequently suggest that their path to greater health might be doing less of a certain thing so they can focus on underlying problems and direct space, time, and energy to address them. We struggle frequently to do the behaviors that are most helpful for us.
What do you think it means to live your healthiest life?
What healthy habits do you struggle to incorporate into your routine?
What resources are you accessing to help you LYHL?
How would a coach benefit you with this goal?
Dr. Elle