Mobility March
Erin has been coming up with new themes for each month since November 2021 as a way to think about different goals and philosophies. It has sparked many wonderful discussions. We want to share this with you to see if we can include you in these discussions. We don’t even want to stop growing and we thought monthly themes were the perfect way to think start about our pasts, present, and futures.
This month is Mobility March and we are going to talk about motion, habits, goals, and more! Let us know what you think! Feel free to contact us or leave a comment here!
I would like to point out that neither Erin or I are professional physiotherapists or work in medicine. These are just thoughts from musicians that spent too many hours (especially while in school!) beating up our bodies without giving it much consideration at the time.
Do you feel pain? I feel pain…
How many of you have experienced pain while playing?
How many of you woodwork or do other physical hobbies and have experienced tightness in your joints?
How many of you sit at a desk working away at your computers/text books and experience neck pains?
If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions, I implore you to think about WHY you are experiencing these pains. Erin and I have answered “yes” to all three of these questions and want to focus on healthy mobility for this month.
With Mobility March, I plan on approaching the way I play and carry on with daily life with more consideration to how my body is moving. Am I holding my instrument efficiently? Am I using my kitchen knives with good technique? Am I sitting at my desk with good posture? (cue sitting up and attention to my wrists as I type…)
Let us know what you you are doing differently to prevent pain!
What are we trying this month?
Again, we are not doctors. If you are experiencing ongoing pain, please go see a medical professional! Here are some things that we are concentrating on doing this month to help us fix (and prevent) the damage we’ve caused to ourselves.
Daily stretching! Loosen up those muscles!
Strength training without focus on amount of weight. Lifting deliberately to strengthen the weaker muscles.
Take breaks!!!!!!!! These can be as short as 30 seconds. Stand up, roll back the shoulders, and look up a bit after staring down for too long.
Take more breaks! Treat ourselves like athletes! They rest and repair their muscles, we will too!
Attention to detail! Posture? Stress on joints? Do we look like amateur contortionists?
Do some research! Exploring different concepts (Alexander Technique, more exercises, learning from you!)
Join us on our quest to be mobile!
We wanted to put these thoughts in writing to remember what we are reflecting on and to keep ourselves accountable. We encourage you to do the same! By putting it in writing, people are much more inclined to act on their thoughts. We hope to make it to our 80’s (and beyond!) and still be able to make instruments, play instruments, and be able to adventure.
Thanks for reading, and leave a comment if this made you think of something! Now excuse me while I stand up and stretch.
