Be aware of your body!

I know, that is probably a weird headline, but this is another one of those lessons I learned by going through lots and lots of pain. 

You see, when I was a teen, even in my early twenties, I had a strong, healthy body. Well, not really, I got sick a lot. But besides that, I basically just abused my body because no matter what I did to it, the very next day, I felt fine. It was like magic. But you see, one day I woke up the next day, and I wasn't fine. Oh no, I was far, far from fine. Fine was not even in the same zip code as me.

What I had done, for years, was hunch over my computer with terrible posture. I sat in a cheap wooden chair, with no back support. I was playing a video game, which I played every night until 2am. I was in college and I had class at 11 am the next morning, so it was ok that I was up until 2am, by the way. So, anyway, there I was, all hunched over, bad posture, typing away. And my back started burning with pain. But that didn't matter because 1) I was playing a game and 2) I was invincible. 

The next morning I woke up and I couldn't move. Well, I mean, I could move my eyeballs and stuff like that, but most of my body hurt too badly to move. This was the end of my invincibility. It took me years to get over that injury, and it was caused simply by my own ignorance of what I was doing to my body.

So, this is my incredibly wise advice. Pay attention to yourself. You should study how you walk, how you move, how you stand. Why? Because eventually, if you don't notice these things, they can cause you trouble. So, ok, how do you do this?

First! Stand in front of a mirror and stand the way you normally stand. Are your shoulders even? Are your feet turned out? You definitely want to be symmetrical. One thing I just found out last year is that I tense my shoulders and move them forward; it was pulling my back muscles and causing me some pain there. Your shoulders should be back and down, relaxed.

Second! Think of how you walk. Your feet should point straight ahead. If you walk with your feet pointed in or out, or one pointed the wrong way, it will eventually cause your muscles to turn your leg permanently that way! Oh yeah, and girls who walk with their feet all pointed out look like a duck. I know this (not about the duck, about the muscles), because my right leg is rotated slightly outward because I walked with my right foot pointed out for years. And now, if I run for a long time, my right knee hurts. I've actually managed to turn it back a little bit by concentrating on my walking and point my feet straight every time I walk.

Third! Do you like exclamation points? Anyway. One of the things that can happen is if you carry a backpack on one shoulder, you can twist your back and shoulders all up. Or if it's too heavy you end up leaning too far forward and stressing your lower back. So, start to take notice of the things you do every day. Be aware of yourself. Are you sore? Do you feel uncomfortable? Out of balance?

Fourth! Check yourself out! I know, it probably sounds weird. But know your body. Look at your feet, your hands. Know the moles on your body, your muscles, your bones. Look at your eyes, get to know them. Check all of yourself. It's important because if you know yourself you will be able to notice any changes. Now don't be obsessive about it or anything, just keep track of yourself. Learn to be aware of your body and how you do things, and you'll be able to notice things before they become bad things, like they did with me.