If you don’t use it, you lose it: This is how mobility works. We are born with an innate ability to move—look how “bendy” any two-year-old is. As your mobility declines, muscles shorten and joints become stiff. Because our bodies are efficient, they shut down the areas that become unused. This leads to stiffness and pain in a downward spiral that gets worse with age.
A mobile body is Gene Kelly dancing in the rain, a gymnast executing a tumbling run, a yoga practitioner holding a deep stretch, or your parents dancing to a Viennese waltz. We are all born with an innate ability to move, but by the time we reach our late teens or early twenties, we spend less time moving and more time sitting.
With increased mobility comes grace and ease—a body whose movements are precise and coordinated. You experience a freedom that comes from the absence of chronic discomfort. Your body responds quickly to the commands your mind issues.
The good news is that your body is malleable: Given time and consistency, it will adapt. It’s simple: Pay attention and take action. Developing a daily habit around consistent mobility, wherever you are, gives you the ability to reshape your movement over the long term.
We’re all aware of the effect of a lack of action in this area. By paying attention to your body’s mobility now, you give your “future you” a shot at being agile, mobile, and fluid.
