Human beings have a built in survival mechanism… the sensation of pleasure and pain. Culture emerges from our historical experiments to seek ways to improve our enjoyment of life. In many ways such as art, music, and dance we have succeeded, while in other ways we have failed dismally.

That pain and discomfort restricts not only the movement of our body, but of our mind as well, this has been well known since antiquity. We now know when pain goes into the  body, the acidic condition results in crystalized deposit of lactic acid which anesthetize nerve endings. The subsequent numbness in our nervous system ultimately impacts the corresponding area of the cerebral cortex reducing our capacity for free thought. This knowledge has unfortunately been used for everything from brain washing to the repression of slaves in an attempt to secure a more pleasant life. 

The “no pain (for some), no gain (for others) way of thinking has affected every aspect of our lives. For example, do you live in a region where a synthetic time change occurs twice a year? In the autumn the clocks ‘fall’ back by one hour, and in the spring time jump forward by one hour. Our internal circadian rhythms however are not inclined to follow this pattern. When we lose that hour of time as the clocks ’spring’ forward, we lose an hour of sleep, the deepest and most important hour of sleep. We cannot catch up… simply going to bed earlier doesn’t mean our body is going to want to sleep. This perpetual disruption year after year of our internal clock by manipulation of our external clocks tells it’s tale on our faces, in our health and vitality, in our creativity and productivity, and through the accelerated aging of our bodies. 

The pivotal question of our times is how can we thrive as a species despite external pressures that limit our freedom? Many of our problems are so ingrained in our society they seem insurmountable. Yet within the deepest imbalances, lies the key to the solution… enjoyment. We have no control over external events, in fact, the only thing we have control over is our own mind. However the well-being of our mind is limited by the health of our body. Seek to find enjoyment through health and well being, and free both body and mind.