Flexibility: Bouncing Back in Life

How Flexible Are You?

Often times when we think of flexibility, we refer to our physical bodies. With this in

mind, flexibility is the ability to complete movements at any joint, through a particular range of motion, determined by the state of ligaments, tendons, and muscles. In other words, can you reach down to touch your toes? How about a 90 degree rotation at your waist? The answer to each of these would give insight on your physical flexibility.

However, for those who are focused on Whole Body Wellness, we must also incorporate mental and spiritual flexibility. In this case, flexibility goes beyond the physical and refers to the ability to change in order to cope with different circumstances. What happens in your mind when things do not go as planned?

How do you react to life’s many surprises? Just as with our bodies, our minds and spirits need consistent training in order to achieve and maintain healthy levels of flexibility.

Stretching Your Mind

A flexible mind is one that is able to adapt to varying circumstances in life. This means

your mindset is one that allows you to adjust your thinking to cope with changes in your daily, weekly, or even your long-term plans. It has been said that, ‘When we make plans, God laughs’, because there are few things in this life we can control. The mind is one of those things. An inflexible mind will have a hard time coping with change.

Think of your friend who loses their cool when the itinerary has to be changed, or your loved one who has a full meltdown when an appointment has to be rescheduled. A flexible mind on the other hand sees a detour ahead, and adjusts the itinerary accordingly; the flexible mind gets word of the rescheduled appointment and uses this as an opportunity to fit in another task.

So how can we increase mental flexibility? Consider this, in order to train the mind you

must have a deep understanding of how the mind works. One of the best way to ‘get to know’ your own mind is through meditation, or stillness of the body which allows the mind to be free. Meditation allows us to spend time with our very own minds, understanding where it wanders, and upon what it dwells. The practice of better understanding your mind will give you the power to create mental flexibility; you will have a mind that is capable of stretching to new levels of thinking. When you think differently, you are able to adjust and adapt to the bumps in the road

and the changes in your life’s plan.

Reach With Your Spirit

Ranging from those ‘gut feelings’ warning you when something is not right, to the

inclination to turn the corner to find a great reward, your spirit is always at work. While the mind can be very loud at times, the spirit is quiet yet mighty. Your spirit can also be felt by the people around you. A flexible spirit is one that can reach out far enough to share compassion with others, and recoil fast enough to keep you safe.

Just like with the mind and body, a flexible spirit has to be trained to reach maximum

elasticity. Training your spiritual flexibility has much to do with discovering your true self; take the time to find out what ignites and dims your shine. Build a relationship with your true self, your spirit. This will allow you to effectively use the far reaching and quick recoiling abilities your spirit has to offer, and in turn, you will be able to face all the surprises life has to offer.

Bouncing Back In Life

In a physical fitness routine, flexibility plays a major role in injury prevention and

increased performance. The same can be said when it comes to mental and spiritual flexibility. Train you mind to stretch into new levels of thinking. Teach your spirit to reach out to others. While, flexibility training for the muscles and joints is pertinent to a physical fitness routine, mental and spiritual flexibility are pivotal in a Whole Body Wellness routine. Prepare yourself fully for all that life has to offer. Insure that you are able to bend and twist, or reach and stretch, or adapt and adjust, in order to continually bounce back in life.