The more I have learned about the human body, the more I am amazed that all of us don't just crumple and collapse with the slightest breeze. (Coach Will here )
I don't get this sense because of how fragile we are--we are clearly not--but because of how interconnected and complex the human body is. So many components that are essential for baseline health depend on so many other components, which themselves are dependent on other components, and so on.
Each stage is super complex unto itself, little puzzles of biochemistry and cellular communication that need to work juuuusst right. To think that these hundreds of separate phenomenon actually coexist and thrive in sequence is not just implausible, it's miraculous.
This chain of dependence means that a process that breaks down anywhere along the line would be catastrophic, and yet that rarely happens. Most of us, most of the time, manage the variations of our lives just fine, and our complex body systems just accept the novelty and carry on.
So... how do we do it?
It's actually this very same complexity that makes us able to handle variations that we run into. Each link in a chain of dependent, interacting steps offers just enough wiggle-room that taken together, all the links actually can manage a large amount of variability.
OK, ok, I know this is a bit abstract, so how about an example: imagine a human breathing at rest (maybe like you are, now, reading this newsletter!)...
...air gets pulled into lungs, where it is broken down in a split second so that oxygen can jump on the back of a little red blood cell and go for a quick run to somewhere in the body (through miles of circulatory plumbing) to deliver its oxygen cargo to a cell that needs it (muscle, skin, organ, etc). That oxygen then has to get into the target cell (a complex process itself) before getting consumed as part of a set of very complex cycles that use the oxygen, along with energy we get from food (carbs, fats, etc) to make the form of energy that our tissues can use to actually move (ATP).
Now, don't worry, we won't be heading any further down that biochem rabbit-hole, but I wanted to run through it so you can get a feel for the high-wire balancing act that our bodies execute flawlessly with each and every breath.
But it get's crazier. Let's say you were to stand up from rest, and start running down the street. All of a sudden, your body would be tasked with continuing to handle oxygen but also would activate other (also complex) energy-providing systems to allow for this sudden variation, and they would do it almost instantaneously.
The only way that that huge change in demand (running vs resting) happens is if the job gets broken up into many, many smaller systems. That way, each system is only tasked with a small change within its own sphere of action. Together, these small changes make-up a flexible, resilient response to that new demand of running down the street.
So when we want to improve these systems--to fit ourselves more effectively to the whole realm of possible challenges we might face each day or week or year--one of the best things we can do is to simply check-in on the systems in question.
That's right: just use them.
In the example I walk thru above, that might look like spending some time really using your body's aerobic (oxygen-using) pathway--like on a brisk walk--as well as it's anaerobic pathways (eg when you start running fast).
In the case of another complex system that we rely on each day--your system of joints and tissue--that "check-in" might look like a controlled circle through your largest, pain-free range of motion at each joint. This is quite literally a quick inventory of all the various positions that your body might move into, joint by joint. We call them Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs), and they are a powerful addition to any/everyone's day (if you're curious, give em a shot!).
By simply using the range of motion you have, and doing so often, you are essentially accounting for the wiggle room that is your body's way of dealing with whatever the world throws at you. Remember, it's that wiggle room that makes the difference when it comes to handling an unpredictable variation--tripping off a curb, reaching under a table, carrying a heavy box--or not. Trust me: you want to honor and maintain that wiggle room.
No matter what body system you're looking to improve, the place to start is by simply engaging that system and using your capabilities.
You'll be amazed at the miraculous human solutions you'll find at work, hiding right under your nose…
Go find your gold, Coach Will