Scientific Research on The Ministry of Silly Walks??? YES!

Have you ever seen Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks skit? If not here it is: LINK

As it turns out, some researchers in the UK decided to see if Silly Walks could be considered a form of vigorous exercise. And guess what? Silly Walks are way more than just Silly Walks! Check this LINK for the article and accompanying video. It is fascinating and hilarious!!! 

The dance between effort and ease is something that we explore in yoga, for sure, but also in sports, dance, and pretty much everything in life.

Our body is always looking for the most cost effective, energy-conserving way of moving and doing things. And that is a good thing. But it is not so helpful when we are attempting to stimulate adaptation, to increase or maintain muscle mass, bone mass, connective tissue strength and resiliency and increase adaptive neuroplasticity. 

What we need in these contexts is stress. An appropriate dose of course. Stress followed by recovery.

By exposing ourselves to doses of stress (or YES...Silly Walks!) we are telling our cells, "Hey, we need you! Keep making and repairing yourselves so you can withstand these silly forces!" And through exposure to stress, we learn how to function more efficiently within it, and to recover more effectively between exposures. 

If you were to Silly Walk the same way every day, everywhere you went, it would be ridiculously challenging.

And it would take a long time and graded exposure in order for your body and its tissues to adapt to those loads, and it would still be an inefficient and metabolically expensive way of getting around, compared to a more functional gait (like the one you use now), but your bodily tissues and nervous system would eventually adapt those Silly Walks and your Silly Walking would become more efficient and less metabolically expensive. 

However, if for some silly reason you wanted your Silly Walks to continue to be a form of vigorous exercise, not just a Silly Walk or a weird way to get around and get attention (unless you happen to live in NYC where nothing surprises anyone) you would have to do some different Silly Walks, or change or vary your Silly Walk in some way to increase or vary the load so that your body and nervous system is still challenged in ways that stimulate adaptation. Does that make sense?

All of this is to say that your body will become more efficient and use less energy at the tasks and activities you do often. The metabolic expense (and effort) decreases as the efficiency increases. This is where ease lives, and that thing we call effortlessness. 

However, our brain will not learn new things without effort, and our bodily tissues will not grow and adapt with a new and/or sufficient stress to stimulate adaption and growth. This is where effort lives. 

I like to say that YES, effort can be fun. YES, it can also be hard. AND...It might even be both!

I think fun (and play) is how we make effort not only doable, but sustainable and interesting and something that we will continue to engage with. Fun is like the partner who brings a sense of humor and ease into difficult situations, making them feel less difficult. Fun is a stress mitigator. Fun is a kind of Silly Walker who walks with us and reminds us that some of the best things in life are, well...silly!

I don't think the point is to be in a space or place of fun or ease or effortlessness all the time, or to be in a parasympathetic state all of the time—which is not possible and not desirable or even healthy. No stress, no adaptation. It is about the dance of the two, and the spaces or spectrum in between. Effort and effortlessness. Stress and recovery. Sympathetic and parasympathetic. Inhaling and exhaling. If we are truly interested in learning, in aging well which involves continuing to grow, I think this is something to consider: If you are not struggling once in a while, then you are probably not challenging yourself enough.

How we define or experience struggling will differ.

Find another word if need be. Or just look at some kids. Isn't it amazing how some are okay with not being perfect, how some enjoy effort and even laugh when they "mess up." My heart goes out to children and adults who are too afraid to look silly, to take chances, to partake in the fullness of life, of themselves, and of the learning process.  

I think the Silly Walkers of Monty Python seem to be on to something!

And so do these imaginative, open minded researchers! Silly Walkers might look silly, but they are growing and adapting and becoming heartier and more robust beings. They look like they are having fun. We can certainly have fun watching them, especially if we can let go of the outdated ideas that are probably influencing our perceptions--especially regarding alignment, posture, and pain. Check out our latest webinar with Jules Mitchell for more on these topics! LINK

 As it turns out...it is not what something looks like, or what you look like, that matters. 

On a related note, check out the latest Rolling Stones Documentary (LINK). Talk about Silly Walks! Mick Jagger is the KING of Silly Walks, or what could be called Silly Struts! Mick, Keith, Ronnie, and the band must be doing something right--at least these days! They may have done (and taken) a lot of stuff that was not advisable by any stretch of the imagination, but somehow, these dudes are still silly walking, strutting, singing, dancing, and rocking it out to packed stadiums at nearly 80 years old! 

That is remarkable. And it speaks to power of doing what you love.

At the very least the videos I have linked to might put a smile on your face. And THAT, like movement, is the best medicine.