A Body Worth Living

Aristotle said the unplanned life is not worth examining and Plato said the unexamined life is not worth living. I think of examination as an equivalent to observing your body, becoming aware of your patterns, imbalances, and strengths. I think of planning as the techniques you learn to use to maximize your body’s efficiency. Both steps are necessary to create a fully functioning body.

If there is examination without planning, you will be aware of yourself, but only to a certain extent. This extent completely depends on what you are exposed to. Without placing your body in different positions, stretching your muscles, and challenging yourself, your awareness will stay stagnant. I would liken the average person’s dialogue with their body which walks from place to place, sits the majority of the day, as nothing more than small talk. You learn some cursory information like “how’s the weather?” and “how are you feeling?”In other words you barely know the first thing about your body’s requests, preferences, or demands. You are left with less proprioceptive awareness, less electromagnetic awareness, and less bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (one of the 8 kinds of intelligence).

In movement, the planned and examined body opens up an entirely new way of experiencing the world. You can reach the very limits of human’s ability and awareness. Genuine impulses from deep within, also known as intuition, will become more clear. Your limits are pushed and your comfort zone is breached, putting the world into perspective and taming your ego. Challenges in the world are more manageable because strife and perseverance are familiar. On a day to day level, you will feel healthier, have greater vitality, and will effortlessly accomplish all physical tasks of life well into old age. Think of yoga practitioners who are 80 years old and still able to take complete care of themselves. This may seem far fetched but you only have one body until you die, so special care must be taken. Instead of engaging in small talk with your body, you will have entire philosophical discourses revealing age old wisdom and gain a new best friend in the process, yourself.