Slow Changes: Step 10

Finally, we approach the last three pillars of our series: movement, relationships, and rest. If you have been taking the baby steps of this 12-step series with us, you have implemented the healing pillars of bone broth, probiotic foods, and bitter flavors, and now employ the vital pillar of hydration. You balance the macronutrient pillars of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, and are conscientious of the twin pillars of vitamins and minerals.

The final three pillars are what we might term "primary foods," because they are essential for existence - in addition to those nutrients that we put in our mouths.

You might question the necessity of movement to life. Of the many reasons I might list for exercise and manual labor, detoxification is in the forefront. While blood carries nutrients to the cells, it is lymph that carries waste away from the cells. And since lymph has no heart to pump it, it depends on the contraction of muscles and the expansion of the lungs to return it to the nodes where the toxins are filtered.

Even someone who has a desk job, can take 2 or 3 minutes every hour to stand, stretch, twist and flex. While working, you can conscientiously contract and relax muscles in succession from the toes to the temples. Concentrate especially on large muscles - such as the ones you sit on! Also, think about moving joints where the majority of lymph nodes are found: under the armpits where the arms attach to the torso, in the groin area where the legs attach to the pelvis, and behind the knees.

If you need other reasons to move, study this infographic: