Movement is an essential component of anything we do in
life. Just think how many times do we move throughout the day. We move in several ways such as turning and getting out of bed,
sit to stand, squatting to pick up an object from the floor, reaching for
something across the table, reaching overhead to retrieve an object from a
shelf, bending over to open a drawer at a knee level, walking, negotiating
steps, etc. We also move our body frequently in subtle ways when we are
required to sit in a spot for a long time. It is nothing less than amazing that
we move throughout our waking hours.
Upright posture, movement, and walking are crucial for many
physiological functions such as bone health, blood circulation, and functions
of the digestive and urinary tract.
Movement is also important for arousal, balance, and
coordination.
The common
denominators of every movement are that movement is purposeful,
goal-oriented, and variegated.
Every movement holds
a purpose. You walk across the kitchen to get a cup of water, walk from one
room to another to get a book, and out the door to walk to a neighborhood
store. Even on a leisurely walk through the park, you have a goal of walking
for a certain fixed time period and in a pre-decided direction.
Movement is variable.
We walk, climb, step, squat, bend, reach, turn, and much more throughout the
day.
The same movement may have different goals depending on the individual. For example a toddler may roll and get out of the mother’s arms for a toy, an adult may roll to get out of bed. A child may run to a toy at another end of the room, an adult may run as a part of his exercise routine. Similarly, as a child you have learnt finger movements to play a musical instrument which are later also used to operate a computer keyboard.
Movement makes a child effective for exploration, communication, and learning. Variety of movement is crucial to building neural connections in the brain during the first three years of life. Earlier the child feels successful, he/she feels confident about progressing in any area of life.
I have been always proud to be a movement specialist, since physiotherapists are trained to be experts in movement.
