Why is it important to move well?

In a healthy body, the capacity to adapt to life or to athletic challenges requires a process for normalization. When the body is stressed, whether by choice or not, a short amount of time to recuperate is a sign of good health. Each person has a different ability to adjust and acclimate to stress. For some people, no outside intervention is necessary and the body heals over time. If the adaptive capacity is exhausted, however, or balance is elusive, then introducing an appropriate external intervention can help the body return to its equilibrium. Many people find that help from a body-based practitioner can accelerate the body's ability to return to homeostasis.

Physically, the body's structure will appear altered from its relative normal movements when disequilibrium is present. The best way to see compensated movement is to observe someone walking. If a leg swings around to the side rather than moving efficiently through the hip as the leg leads with the knee oriented forward ( normal hip flexion with knee bent and extending the lower leg forward) this reveals abnormal mechanics of the hip. In short, the hip is compromised. The gait pattern has veered away from normal movement, thereby disrupting the effort of walking and turning the pattern into a stressed one. The stressed effort affects not only the hip join itself, but impacts all the structures, including the movements of the diaphragm, so breathing will be altered. If breathing is altered, then the process whereby all the systems adapt toward a multisystem equilibrium will change and have a negative impact on biomechanical factors and the body's biochemistry (Chaitow et al., 2014).

It is important to maintain good function and a healthy structure to minimize any unnecessary stress. Whether strolling down the street or exercis-ing, the relationship between the movements performed and total health is an important connection to understand. Moving well increases the vitality of health.