“An Indian man leads with his belly” is a saying that i have grown up with. Indians like many cultures like to take a morning and evening walk before and after the intense heat of the day. Pictured above is Mahatma Gandhi taking his morning walk.
The belly can be most definitely seen as leading the way in so many people. As Indians move away from their metabolic typing and traditional food to more processed, fast food and sugar, the belly becomes larger and larger plus immense weight gain. The people are moving away from traditional cooking plus the use of ghee in cooking because they think it is linked to their high cholesterol.
The belly arrives in the form of belly fat, bloating and visceroptosis. Visceroptosis is a condition in which the abdominal organs fall to a lower part of the abdomen. The internal organs can be compressed and displaced by poor posture, the enlarging womb of pregnancy, and a variety of other factors. Indian social forums blame the belly on early marriages, not enough exercise and too much sedentary work, which is all true but its the diet which is key. Of course advertising and marketing are always selling quick fixes and gimmicks but this really will not work.
Of course this is not just India I have seen it around the world from monks to my regular clients and both in men and women.
So whats going on in the body?
Well the core is actually your entire torso, including internal organs. So many people just think of the extremities as muscles. The extremities rely on the core for stabilisation and I teach the core as Joe Pilates did in his original method with the ability to move with arms and legs in tandem. Just look at any footballer in mid air and you can see this straight away.
Liverpool FC 1967 players in mid air core connection with extremities.
Ronaldo connecting his extremities with core mid air.
The core provides a protective shield for your spinal cord and internal organs.The organs should move like seaweed with natural rhythm and flow and this can be enhanced with daily exercise or movement. When this is challenged through poor lifestyle and food choices we develop colon and bad toilet habits and our waste function is truly challenged. The deep abdominal wall (TVA) is ideally suited to perform a girdle like supportive structure. The dreaded paunched belly that i talk about earlier comes from many ill effects of a dysfunctional abdominal wall.
Organs actually talk to muscles and areas often body through neural reflexes. So this is what when you enquire to me for back pain i must talk to you first to see if their are vital signs that you have not mentioned like menstrual pain, sciatica, bladder problems, prostrate and incontinence that will effect the surrounding tissues.
Think this could be you? Get in touch if you want to see your toes again and also gain strength and support in your system.
Bibliography
“Healing from fungus & parasite infections”- Paul Chek
“Eat, move and be healthy” – Paul Chek
“Scientific core conditioning” – Paul Chek
