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Some key facts, terms and ideas helpful to know about adaptive, holistic health

Glossary

Quick facts about Key Ideas

Fascia

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Functional Fitness

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Movement as Medicine

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Biotensegrity

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Glossary

Cognitive and Kinesthetic Hygiene

The English "hygiene" derived from the Greek term hygiene techne, which means "the healthful art." The root meaning of this term refers to "having a vigorous life; living well; vital force." The idea of "cognitive and kinesthetic hygiene," therefore, reflects the notion of maintaining the vital health of our cognitive (mental/psychological) and kinesthetic (anatomical, movement, functional) abilities. We should think of these dimensions of health the way we think of dental hygiene: we brush our teeth at least once a day, otherwise plague and other icky stuff builds up and harms our oral health. It would be gross to only clean our teeth during an occasional dentist visit.

In like manner, we should practice some form of cognitive and kinesthetic hygiene daily. Otherwise, poor posture, maladaptive movement patterns, and mental "junk" will build up over time and harm our health. Simply living within the physical and cognitive environments of industrial-tech society (e.g., sitting all day, consuming "junk content" on social media and TV, etc.)  contributes to the degradation of our kinesthetic and cognitive health. To maintain health and well-being on these levels, we MUST engage some form of hygienic experience on a daily basis, just like brushing and flossing our teeth.

Deconditioned

A state of lost physical fitness, which may include muscle imbalances, decreased flexibility, compromised or maladaptive movement patterns, and a lack of core and joint stability.

Energy

Energy is the fundamental constituent of reality. Even what we call "physical matter" is a form of energy. This means that our bodies are a form of energy. Light, sound, movement, resistance, respiration and vocalization are forms of energy. This is not woo-woo, this is our best and latest science. Consider this statement by Martin Picard, PhD, a mitochondrial psychobiologist at Columbia University: "So, what are you? Are you a molecular machine? Or are you an energetic process? And I think the truest answer...the answer is that you're both. But if you ask, 'what is most fundamental?' What is most fundamental is not your physical existence, it is actually you as an energetic process, as a flow of energy."

Fascia

Click here and start typing. Eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur at vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate.

Healthspan

"Healthspan" is a term used to refer to the time span in which a person lives with a robust level of health and well-being, rather than the mere length of time someone remains alive. Sadly, hundreds of millions of people today experience compromised health as they age - their lifespan doesn't match their healthspan. One's healthspan is the duration of life in which someone sustains adaptive function, physical and mental capacity, and is free from chronic disease or illness. The term is meant to reflect the value of quality of life in addition to mere quantity (length) of life.


To learn more, check out this article from Harvard Medical School.