The Philosophy of Movement
The beginning of a deep dive into Ty's most fascinating element of the human experience.
How big is your movement vocabulary?
Think about that for a second…
Personally, when I think of movement, I see it as a form of self expression. I see it as a big pizza that can be sliced many different ways. This pizza is what makes up our movement vocabulary. Each slice has a key. A key that opens a door to different parts of your Self.
The response you get from a specific movement practice will vary from person to person. For instance, strength training for one person may bring feelings of improved self confidence, inner strength, and empowerment, helping them to balance out the other qualities that come more naturally to them such as being a good listener, the tendency to be selfless and other “nurturing” qualities. On the contrary, strength training for another person could reinforce the ego making them less self aware, less likely to listen to other people and contribute to their anger and aggression. It is certainly not fair to say that one expression of movement produces similar results in everybody, it is much more complex than that.
However in my opinion, what is fair to say is that we are naturally attracted to what we find familiar. We have an inclination towards things we are decent at. This is where movement and training as a whole gets incredibly philosophical for me.
As I said above, movement is a form of self expression. We are purely energy at our core. We have a physical body that houses our emotions, thoughts and past traumas. These experiences get stored in our bodies whether we like it or not; Our nervous system remembers it, our spiritual body houses the experience and our physical body adapts to protect us from future similar outcomes. This can show up in a hundred and one different ways. For this post, it is important to remember that our body will always protect us first. The strategy we use differs from person to person. One person may feel depressed and shy away from creating new relationships and the pursuit of their dreams, while another person may puff up their chest and put others down because making others feel inferior helps them feel better about themselves. I truly do not believe that one is better than the other. They are different, that is all.
I have examined people quite closely within the sphere of movement culture for over 12 years. I have done so from many different parts of the world. I have practiced mainly, in many regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, and here is what I have found.
People “choose” their movement practice primarily based on 2 aspects.
What they are naturally good at (intrinsic bias)
What others are doing around them (cultural influence)
These two aspects, intrinsic bias and cultural influence dictate and guide peoples movement practices all over the world. This has led me to believe that this must be a common human characteristic and it seems to happen with very little self awareness. I’m not here to talk about whether that is “good or bad”, I am just simply stating what I have found. In fact, I can completely understand why there is such little self awareness surrounding it. It isn’t something I would expect anyone to give that much thought towards. They have jobs and life ambition. This is my job and my life ambition. That to me, is the only difference.
The “problem” if that is even the correct word to use, is that when people base their decisions how to move/train on those two factors alone, they will disrupt the harmonious balance of self expression. They will place emphasis on parts that don’t require more attention and ignore the parts that do.
For simple purposes, I have divided elements of movement into 12 parts. I’m not saying this is the most correct way to do it (although I do feel it is as accurate as I could make it), I am simply doing this to provide a visual. This is the pizza that makes up our movement vocabulary. And the way we move; the way we choose to express ourselves, is related to the strategies we use to navigate the world outside of us. Each of these sections of the pie will relate to a (or many) personality trait(s) within our Self. Nobody is going to have a perfect balance like the chart shown above. This is mainly due to intrinsic bias and cultural influence, but is also associated with the strategies we use to navigate through the world. They protect us, makes us feel safe and we use them to be accepted by the people around us.
The point I am trying to make within the confines of this article is that I see tremendous value in people pursuing movement practices that directly challenge their intrinsic bias’ and cultural influences. Cultural influences, it should be noted, are not purely based on culture in the global sense, but are more related to sub-cultures within the training/movement/fitness community. Yoga is a subculture. Powerlifting is a subculture. Dance is a subculture. Each of these, you will quickly notice, tend to attract a different type of person, for lack of a better term. It is my belief that all of these contain golden nuggets of valuable information, for reasons that far exceed the limiting purview of physical results. Each of these styles offer immense value, and I will go out on a whim and say something controversial, but true at its purest sense, that the more you find the idea of one practice distasteful, the more you have to gain from exposing yourself to it.
I must admit, in writing this article, I now have many more questions than I have answers for. I also have a list of future subjects to write about. This is an incredibly passionate subject for me. It is philosophical at its purest sense. However, I presume after an article such as this you are looking for a takeaway. To that I would say to challenge your own intrinsic bias and take note of the cultural influences that make up your current movement practice. Ask yourself which areas of your life are better because of this practice, and which areas do you feel like still need more attention. From here, no change is immediately required. By asking the question alone, you have surpassed the masses. I’m sure when you ponder it during a long walk, or during periods of boredom, you will have just as many questions as I do.
I hope your day is blessed and your movement feels lovely.
Thank you for reading.
Ty ♡