One of my favourite weekends of the year happens in November. It’s the ‘Fitex’ Conference and it’s all about the science and business of sport and exercise. There’s approximately 60 sessions over the entire weekend that the 600+ attendees get to choose from, and they cover everything from group fitness to marketing, nutritional science and physiology. World-class presenters come from across the globe to present at the conference, and many deem it to be one of the best in the world – and it’s always opened by a jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, and truly remarkable keynote presentation.
This year I happened to follow the same presenter around to all 7 of his sessions – I was hooked from the get go. Everything he spoke about and represented was eye-opening and utterly fascinating. I even signed up to a 12 month mentorship programme with his company so that I could continue to learn more about this stuff. I can’t wait!
There seemed to be an overwhelming emphasis this year on the internal versus external relationship – and how what’s going on inside our body has a whopping impact on the exterior of our body.
In a nutshell, we are meant to be well. We are meant to be happy, pain-free, symptom-free individuals not just some of the time, but all of the time. Symptoms, any symptoms, are a sign that something in our body is not well, or is struggling to maintain it’s ordinary function. Symptoms are our bodies messengers coming to tap us on the shoulder to encourage us to investigate the cause of the symptom – they’re innate emergency calls for help! Symptoms shouldn’t be there – for the sake of our health, though, we need to be diligent in exploring the root of the problem or symptom we are experiencing. What we shouldn’t do is ignore the symptoms, because by ignoring them our bodies learn to compensate by trying to restore equilibrium by throwing another vital function out of balance. And that leads to the development of other symptoms or health problems… and so the spiral continues.
Here’s one quite common example of the relationship between our internal versus external environments and the symptoms we may experience. If the gut is inflamed as a result of food intolerance, food sensitivity, or food allergy (which many of us have, but we are a little laissez-faire or naïve with acknowledging the symptoms) then the abdominal muscles will be significantly reduced in their capabilities. Lack of abdominal activation and activity will lead to more load and pressures being taken by the spine – possibly resulting in lower back pain or pelvic girdle issues. What do we do? We acknowledge the symptom (by seeing the relevant health professional) often without any thought to the actual cause.
How does this happen? How do gut issues interfere with the musculoskeletal system? The body has an innate need to heal (the body is one clever and complex machine!) and so in discovering the inflammation within the gut, all the bodies power and fighting ability goes to fixing it. This is probably the body’s distinctive need to maximise digestion processes to ensure we are getting maximal energy from the foods we eat. The extra fighting power necessary to remedy the gut causes the ordinary reflexes and nerve endings within the surrounding abdominal muscles to be less efficient, and at times completely switched off. With the abdominal muscles not carrying out their function as effectively, this will put more pressures into other areas of the body as they try to carry the load that the abdominals are unable to do. And so the cycle continues.
We need to address that the body is one heck of a complex piece of machinery, but despite it’s complexity it is also duly clever. Symptoms are our bodies natural 111 call – and for the sake of our health and longevity, we need to connect with and listen to our body as soon as a symptom arises. Our ability to perform well on a physical level is determined quite definitely by what is going on on a biochemical level. Listen to your body, understand your body, and build a deeper connection to your body.
Health is our greatest asset. Don’t let silly little symptoms get in the way of you experiencing absolute wellness for the rest of your life. Heal yourself from the inside, and feel the difference today.
