Responsibility

When you really think about it the human body is pretty amazing. Bones can regenerate and heal. Scars and injured skin can regenerate and disappear. We can lose weight, gain muscle, and so much more!

It’s easy to take our body for granted. It’s easy to blame age for our limitations, slowing down, losing strength, or various other issues. The reality is our body will run well for a long time if we take care of it. Just like a car - there is is some maintenance required for optimal performance. We have to take responsibility for our body to reap the rewards and live a full life.

That responsibility can come in the form of eating healthy foods and giving our body good fuel versus inflammatory fuel. It can come in the form of movement - creating muscle, building strength, and maintaining flexibility as well as balance. We know if we leave a car sitting too long it’s likely not to start. Our bodies are the same! Every notice how stiff you feel when you get up after sitting for a period of time?

The other day I noticed some tightness in the bottom of my foot. I’ve been trying to add a few extra miles in lately. This tightness was indicating a precursor to plantar fasciitis. The good news is if I take responsibility and roll my feet and calves after running - I can eliminate this tightness and avoid plantar fasciitis all together. Now a week later - my tightness is gone and I am constantly spending a couple minutes rolling my feet and calves. That is a small investment to be pain-free and able to do what I want to do. It’s my responsibility to keep my feet and calves stretched and healthy.

Rather than waiting for a big issue and running to the Doctor hoping for a quick fix, we have the opportunity to take some responsibility and maintain our bodies. You never know what injury or issue you have avoided by taking better care of yourself, exercising and eating right! Invest time in to your body and reap the rewards!