The Come Alive Project

Tag: movement

  • Energy Bite 317 – “Motion is Lotion”

    “Motion is Lotion”

    For the second week in a row, my wife gets credit with giving me the topic for my weekly message. Last week she gave me a quote about Wellness and Illness. This week, a friend in her gym class told her that “Motion is Lotion”. It refers to your joints and the synovial fluid (lotion) that keeps them lubricated.

    What is synovial fluid? It’s a thick, lotion like lubricant that keeps your joints moving smoothly. It’s in your knees, shoulders, wrists, ankles and all the other joints in your body.

    When you get arthritis, bursitis, swelling and other inflammation (rheumatoid arthritis) or a breakdown of the joint caused by a disease (osteoarthritis), the make-up of the synovial fluid changes. Medical professionals have a way of testing the make-up of the synovial fluid and diagnosing the cause of your joint problems.

    Damage to the joints usually comes from misuse or overuse, or some sort of overload on the joint. This happens as a result of unusual twists or turns, or the inability of the muscles and joints to support the load put on them. Listen to your body. In most cases, your body will tell you when you are doing something that will cause problems.

    The best prevention is to keep the joints from misfiring in the first place. And the best way to do that is to keep the lubricating lotion in its natural state. That happens when you move your body, keep it in motion, and run your joints through their entire range. A greased hinge will keep on working. When the grease breaks down, so does the hinge.

    Joint replacements are becoming pandemic. My wife has a stainless steel knee. Her sister has an artificial hip. My brother has an artificial hip and knee. I know two people who either have just had or are about to have shoulder joint replacements, one of whom has already had hip and knee replacements. Knee and hip replacement are the most common, followed by shoulder replacement.

    Understand that “Prevention is the best medicine”. And remember: “Motion is lotion”. Keep your body moving to prevent your joints from getting rusty and to keep your joints moving smoothly. If you think you have a problem with your joints, see a medical professional. Otherwise: KEEP MOVING!

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 315 – How to Put a Spring in Your Step

    I got an email the other day from a friend who recently moved to Italy. He said that he was healthy and fit, but at age 78, he wanted to put the “spring back in his step”. I told him March was just around the corner and that was the beginning of Spring — that didn’t seem to work for him.

    I know that my friend is a swimmer but since he is already in shape from swimming, perhaps he should spend some time walking on land. Twenty minutes to forty minutes of good walking a day should quickly put a spring back in his step. The Italian countryside is great for walking, so go use your legs for a while.

    The other alternative is to supercharge his attitude toward life. He is a published author and writer. Of course, authors can be a glum lot, so perhaps a change in his overall attitude toward life might be the answer. A positive attitude toward the experience of living life, can truly be the major factor to putting the spring back into your step.

    Here’s another thought. Remember “skipping”? That’s where you hop on alternate feet while moving forward. That’s a great way to get a “spring in your step”. I have a friend who is a skier. He “skips” for a while every day as part of his gym routine. Skipping is also big in athletic circles today. And skipping is part of the movement routine of one of the major “Boot Camp” style fitness programs where one would think “skipping” would be totally “off limits”. Get up early to go skipping so your neighbors won’t see you.

    Here are two great examples of people who fit the solution of using their legs and who have a great attitude toward life:

    The best example that I can think of as a person who is both in shape and has a “real” spring in his step is Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke, who turned age 94 in December 2019, did a cameo role in a sequel to “Mary Poppins” in 2018.

    Lin Manuel Miranda, one of the co-stars in the “Mary Poppins” sequel said in an interview that “You spend five minutes with Dick Van Dyke and you feel more alive than before.” Miranda added, “He has more energy at age 91 than I ever have(sic) in my life, and I’m not an unenergetic person.”

    In his autobiography, written while in his late 80s, Van Dyke wrote about how he found his 40 minutes in the gym to be one of his favorite times of day.

    My second example is the late [Dame] Gillian Lynne, dance choreographer for the musicals CATS and Phantom of the Opera. She passed away in 2018 at age 92. She was a dynamic choreographer who also extolled the benefits of her daily 40 minutes at the gym. She also produced an exercise video (DVD) at age 88.

    Gillian Lynne was actively choreographing musicals until she passed away. She was an energetic dancer, an engaged choreographer, and enthusiastic public speaker who had an enthusiastic and somewhat irreverent outlook and attitude toward life.

    So, to get that spring in your step and to build and maintain a high energy lifestyle, get to the gym, take a walk, use your legs, and look at life as a blessing, with enthusiasm and positivity. Oh, and put your phone away while you walk and keep your head up. It’s hard to have a positive outlook and attitude with your head down.

    I hope that helps both my friend in Italy, as well as you.

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 272 – Why Aging Airplanes Keep On Flying


    Here’s a question for you. If you took two brand new airplanes, fresh out of the factory, and stored one in the hanger to spend its days in rest and quiet and never let it get off the ground, while the other one started flying and flew for the next 50 years, which would be more airworthy at the end of those fifty years? The one that rested for fifty years, or the one that flew a tough schedule for 50 years and was fueled and maintained the way it was designed?

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