Learning & Movement

Learning & Movement

I went to Phoenix for a week to let my brain rest and work on the things that I don’t have time to work on when I’m here in Seattle. Staying in a very nice hotel, I could lay on the floor and listen to podcasts without distractions. I like to lay on the floor when I am listening to something from which I am trying to learn. It’s relaxing, and I can roll around on the floor doing various movement exercises and drills for respiration, joint mobility, and better vision. Eyesight is the ability to see; vision is your brain interpreting what your eyes see. Seventy percent of how we move is dictated by our vision. If you cannot see well, you will not move well. Vision is primary to movement.

I cannot read or listen to podcasts sitting up, and I squirm in chairs when challenged with hours long lectures. But if I can lay on the floor, I seem to absorb the information better. It’s because I can move. I learn better when I move. Weird? Maybe. Where is it written that you have to sit up straight in a chair to learn new things? I know enough about myself to know that it works for me. If I were in school, it would be a problem. You cannot lay on the floor during, for example, math class. Your classmates would laugh at you, and the teacher might step on you.

But I am not in math class, and when you become an adult (whatever that means), no one forces you to learn for the sake of learning. But you might think about it to keep Alzheimer’s and dementia at bay. By becoming a life long learner, you keep your brain active. And you might as well be comfortable. The floor is a great place for that. And while you are down there, you could roll around a little and move some joints, do a few crunches, practice some eye circles, work on your breathing.

Aging intelligently, gracefully and injury free takes work. It’s ok, though, you have time while you are laying on the floor sharpening your brain.