It’s fascinating how everyday habits can create holding patterns in our bodies that later result in pain. Certain habits, such as how we sit at our desks, have not only generated a lot of press in the last twenty years, but have generated an industry to address the damage. Other habits go unnoticed.
One habit that gets me every winter is my denial of how the cold affects me. I keep my heat turned down and forget to dress appropriately. I’m pretty sure this is a result of a stubbornness born in my teenage years. However, whether it comes from my refusal to listen to my mother’s pleas to wear a hat or from the teenage obsession that if I’m cold, I’ll burn more calories, I’ll never know. I do remember wearing shorts to run in icy, forty- degree weather, as if it were some rite of passage. I also stubbornly refused to wear anything but cotton back then. How I managed not only to survive but thrive is beyond me. Whatever the reason, I acted (and still act) as if I’m impervious to the cold.
The truth, however, is that I am not. Actually, this year, I realized that I need to move to some place where it doesn’t snow. Until then, I need to learn to dress warmer, especially if I’m not turning up the thermostat. I need to do this not only to avoid catching the flu, but to improve my posture.
When I’m cold, I fold myself forward. I pull my arms closer to my chest, round my shoulders, and hunch over. My neck becomes rigid because by the time I’m hunkered down, movement seems to be equated with getting colder rather than generating heat. And I get rigid. I freeze, literally. My muscles contract to brace against the temperature. Then I start to ache. Not from the flu, but from my own stubbornness.
Maybe you’re like me when it comes to the cold. Rather than accentuate holding patterns that were born in childish reactions to the world, take a look at your stiffness and see if there is anything you can do to change a mindless habit. Such as throw on a sweater. It could save you time and money.
