The body really does keep the score

“The myofascial system - a spider-web-like substance that wraps around our muscles and vasculature systems - is being shown to be what ‘houses’ our memory of emotion and trauma”.

My summary of Module Five: ‘Move’ from The Journey of Intrinsic Health

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Thankfully there’s pretty much universal agreement that exercise is good for you. 

With that as the starting point, this module explored some of the (sometimes pretty science-y) nuances of why that is so, and what we can do to enhance our exercise practices to be more beneficial to our longevity and cellular regeneration. 

We covered so much ground, some of it a little technical, so in an effort to be concise, I’ve just covered the key points that I found to be new and/or interesting. 

Exercise starts with nutrition

First up was the idea that for exercise to be effective, it needs a good nutritional foundation. Nothing new there, but a deeper understanding of why proved to be pretty fascinating. 

Put simply, if your body isn’t getting enough essential nutrients, minerals and amino acids (via your food) then you won’t have the necessary foundations to build muscle in your body. 

The really interesting part though was that obesity is not always caused by overconsumption. 

It is actually often the result of the chronic slowdown of metabolism which occurs when the body doesn’t have all the nutrients it needs. 

Basically what happens is that the body goes into a state of stress (due to the lack of nutrient availability), and from that state of stress, it goes into scarcity mode where it stores fat (to try to protect you!).

From there it then decreases the metabolic rate, reduces blood flow and reduces its rate of cellular repair. Goes without saying that none of those are conducive to good health. 

So if you’re trying to lose weight or get in shape, I’d suggest the best place to start is by focusing less on the amount you’re eating, and more on the nutritional quality of your food, and making sure you are getting all the essential nutrients, minerals and amino acids. 

Symmetry doesn’t just look good 

Another fascinating insight was around this concept of symmetry in the body. 

In order for our exercise efforts to be most effective, it’s super important that before we start, we down regulate our nervous system (i.e. put ourselves into a parasympathetic, calm, relaxed state).

This releases tension in the body and prevents injury and improves the metabolics of your system (the body’s ability to convert food into energy). 

Alongside breathing, one of the most powerful ways to release tension and put your body in a calm, relaxed state is by moving your body into a state of symmetry, and keep it there as much as possible during exercise (i.e not favouring one side etc).

It sounds subtle, and perhaps even a little odd, but it turns out that consistent bodily symmetry is incredibly effective at supporting optimal physical function and preventing injury.

Lactate is our friend

Lactate is one of the substances produced by cells as the body turns food into energy (in a process called cell metabolism).

Turns out that lactate has an amazing capacity to support all of the repair mechanisms of injury recovery, including heart attacks and strokes.

Exercise is the most effective way to increase your baseline lactate production, and therefore support a regenerative body.

So again, nothing new here, but perhaps an important reframing of lactate and its role in our overall physical wellbeing. 

The myofascia keeps the score

You may have heard about or read the amazing book by Bessel Van Der Kolk ‘The Body Keeps The Score’ which highlights the body’s role in the storage of trauma (as opposed to the mind). Crazy hey. 

Well, we dived a little deeper into that concept in this module and learnt about the myofascia which has been emerging in science in the last few years.  

Fascia is essentially a spider-web-like substance that wraps around the muscles and vasculature systems of the body and allows the movement of electrical energy and information throughout the body’s system.

In other words, the fascia is being shown to be what ‘houses’ our memory of emotion and trauma. So the body does in fact keep the score.

When we ‘work’ the myofacsia (e.g. foam rolling or deep massage) we stimulate the release of that information (emotion, trauma, memory etc) which can be incredibly healing for the mind and body. 

Natural movement

In science, we study human cells and biology in sterile, isolated environments yet at no point in the history of the human species have we existed in isolation.

Sadly, as is a common theme in this course, I am learning just how severely we have lost our connection with nature, and how much that is impacting us. 

It seems that we have lost our sense of place in nature. We define it as something ‘over there’ that you can go and experience, and therefore we see ourselves as separate from it. 

As we come to realise just how misguided we’ve been in our thinking, we can also recognise that a big part of our reintegration can include exercise in nature.

The benefits are vast and just like the health of an individual cell should not be studied in isolation, we should not confine our exercise and movement to one specific routine, sport or place (like a gym). 

Get outside, as much as possible, in different ecosystems (trails, beaches, parks, mountains, backyards even) and breathe in the microbial diversity that we know enhances our vitality and wellbeing. 

It’ll literally change the way you move.