Kinisi (κίνηση) means movement or motion and originates from the Greek noun – kino (κινώ) – to move.
Greece a country known for its beautiful islands, stunning landscapes and ancient history gave rise to the marathon. An ancient Greek legend, says Pheidippides, an Athenian soldier ran approximately 25 miles from the town of Marathon to Athens in 490BC to announce the defeat of the Persians to his anxious colleagues.
The eagle eyed of you will spot that this is not the 26 miles 385 yards we know of the modern marathon. Well, the Greeks didn’t run long distances in their original Olympics, it wasn’t until Pierre de Coubertin introduced long distances in the Modern Olympics and even then the 1st 7 were all different lengths as they just ran a course not a distance. However, in 1908 the London Olympics, the course was from Windsor Castle to White City stadium, about 26 miles. However, to locate the finish line in front of the royal family’s viewing box, an extra 385 yards was added inside the stadium.
Also, my brother lives in Greece so there was a slight family connection too. I digress.
Why movement?
Movement is defined as the act of moving, a change of place, position or even posture. With sports massage, sports therapy, running, coaching and advice, the aim is to help the client move better, move more.
Look at the words associated with movement – things like act, action, exercise, flow, progress, dynamic, flight, journey, mobility, steps, wandering, roaming, changing, evolving, all fantastic descriptive words that make us want to move more.
Conversely look at the antonyms – decline, cessation, decrease, idleness, inaction, inertia, indifference, stagnation – none of those strike me as something I want to be.
What is Movement?
To put it simply
HUMANS ARE MEANT TO MOVE
“We have a brain for one reason and one reason only — and that’s to produce adaptable and complex movements. — Daniel Wolpert
Our first instincts when we enter this world are to move. We get frustrated when we can’t crawl as fast as we want to, or we totter and fall when taking those first steps. For those of you who have had children, how many times have you said, ‘Will you just stay still for one moment’. It is natural to move, we can all remember being at school and we looked forward to playtime to get outside and run around – my eldest is 15 and regardless of what we think about teenagers, he takes a ball to school so he can run around at the breaks, move about after sitting in lessons all day long.
All learning, no matter how abstract, is physical. “Early movement experiences are beneficial to optimal brain development.” (Gabbard, 1998, p. 1). Stop a child from moving in early childhood and see what happens.
Movement is ancient. Movement was here first.
When we first stood on two legs, millions of years ago we had no option, our whole evolution was made up survive- ‘fight or flight’. There is no giant bear likely to run out of the woods in the UK, yet our hormone system still kicks in when we are in stressful situations, our body wants to move us away to somewhere safe.
Hunting and gathering, dancing round the fire, walking, climbing, running, jumping, crawling, lifting, swimming, fighting…even sex!
Being sedentary is becoming the new normal – why run? Why move?
We used to have to catch dinner, then we grew dinner, then we walked to the local shop to buy dinner, then a supermarket so we only had to go there once a week – now they bring it to our doorstep.
Our jobs (after we had caught our dinner), build shelter, farming, walking to fetch water, labouring in fields, building castles, digging roads & canals – now how many of us sit at a computer or desk and click a mouse endlessly opening and replying to emails (guess what we all still get up and make a cup of tea – that’s our brain saying move).
FACT: WE HAVE STOPPED MOVING
“In less than two generations, physical activity has dropped by 20% in the U.K. and 32% in the U.S. In China, the drop is 45% in less than one generation. Vehicles, machines, and technology now do our moving for us. What we do in our leisure time doesn’t come close to making up for what we’ve lost” – designedtomove.org
Movement is not just about smashing out reps at the gym, or beating your 10k PB time and time again, running an ultra-marathon then not running for days, completing a workout to achieve a goal but at the expense of not enjoying it is short sighted and not sustainable – it is about finding that sweet spot – getting into the habit of moving more, moving often and enjoying it at the same time.
EXERCISE IS OPTIONAL, MOVEMENT IS ESSENTIAL!
“The body will become better at whatever you do, or don’t do. You don’t move? The body will make you better at NOT moving. If you move, your body will allow more movement.” — Ido Portal
Exercise is a modern invention, a get out of jail free card. It is pain, rather than pleasure driven. It is generally focused on specificity and lacking in real skill development.
WE NEED MOVEMENT
What does movement mean to you? For most moving is being in the present, enjoying the moment. You are not exercising, you are moving. Movement for movement’s sake.
“To wild animals, movement is not a chore, not a temporary punishment for being physically lazy and out of shape, not an optional activity just for better looks.” — Erwan Le Corre
BUILD MOVEMENT INTO YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE
