If I asked you what your skeletal muscles do you'd probably say that they give you strength, stability and your ability to move - or something similar. And you'd be right.  But that's only part of the picture.  Skeletal muscles have another lesser-known and incredibly cool function.

Your skeletal muscles are also secretory organs. What does that mean? Good question. When you move, you contract your muscles.  And when you contract your skeletal muscles, they produce and secrete healing proteins that travel through your bloodstream to your brain and other body organs.  These proteins are called myokines.  They are naturally occurring biochemicals that play a pivotal role in protecting and enhancing your physical and mental health.

The word ‘myokine’ is derived from two Greek words, ‘myo’ and ‘kinesis.’
‘myo’ = muscle
‘kinesis’ = movement

We’ve long known that exercise protects against diseases as varied as diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and stroke, to name a few.  And we know that it helps with bodily processes as wildly different as immunity, digestion, bone strength, and fat metabolism. And let’s not forget the mental health benefits of exercise, particularly on memory, depression and anxiety. Our understanding that exercise is beneficial isn’t new.  So what’s all this got to do with muscles? It’s been clear all along that when muscles contract, something good happens to every other system in the body.  Myokines explain what that something good is and how it works.

Whenever you walk, dance, bike, play soccer, lift weights, run, practice yoga, roller skate, play frisbee, or work in the garden, you contract your muscles, producing and releasing healing myokines into your bloodstream. Myokines then make their way to myokine receptors located in your fat, liver, pancreas, bones, heart, brain cells, and the muscles themselves.

Your muscles act like an incredible self-replenishing medicine chest.  Take that in--a self-replenishing medicine chest.  I’ll wait… 

As we shall see, myokines exert their influence on everything from fat and glucose metabolism to bone formation, from muscle growth to tumour growth and more.  And all you have to do to access this incredible natural resource is move!  Our understanding of myokines—how they are made and how they impact our health expands and influences our understanding of the role of movement, muscle, and fitness in our lives. ​

Even though we can meet via Tinder and Bumble, you still have to move through the world to meet and woo a potential mate to ensure the survival of our species. In the millennia before Skip the Dishes, you would have relied on movement to forage or hunt for food and to ensure that you didn’t become food for a predator, yet you still have to answer the door, reach for the dishes and clean up after yourself.  Nature, in her infinite wisdom, wired you so you’d be rewarded by movement.  Movement allows you to survive and satiate yourself.  But you’re also rewarded for moving by flooding your body with healing myokines. Our changing landscape means that today you have to consciously seek out movement to get access to your self-replenishing medicine chest.
Friends, you were designed to move—and your body and mind function best when you do.  There is healing power in movement!

YOUR INNATE HEALING POWERS!
Hundreds of different types of myokines have been identified, and there are, no doubt,  more to be discovered!  They go by names like BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and LIF (leukemia inhibitory factor), which clue you into their effects. But you don’t need to know any of their names or a medical degree to understand how Myokines can benefit your health. We’ve touched on their benefits, but let’s explore this topic a little more. 

 Myokines promote muscle growth and improve body composition. They regulate fat metabolism and change where your body stores fat—from abdomen to subcutaneous. Abdominal fat is associated with a variety of health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, breast cancer, and more.  

The magic of movement and the release of Myokines is: 

• improved bone density which counteracts osteoporosis
• decreased chronic, and systemic inflammation
• improved pancreas, liver, and gut functioning
• lower blood pressure and resting heart rate
• improved resting energy expenditure
• improved insulin sensitivity and lower blood glucose levels
• improved immune function through recruiting and activating immune cells 
• reduced risk of colon, prostate, and breast cancers, among others
• improved sleep

Exercise reduces your risk of all-cause mortality. and many chronic diseases. Some myokines have their strongest effects on your brain.  They:

• contribute to brain health, improving cognitive function, learning, and memory
• have an anti-anxiety effect, suppressing fear, stress, and worry
• increase motivation
• alter the connections between parts of the brain that help control your emotions
• help you recover from grief and depression

The research on myokines is inspiring and astounding. If ALL of these mental and physical health benefits were available in chewable gummy bear form, they’d be flying off the drugstore shelves!  Your muscles are a 100% free self-replenishing source of natural healing biochemicals.  If you can move, you can manufacture myokines. 

DON’T LET YOUR MUSCLES GO TO WASTE!

Now that you understand the pivotal role that muscle and myokines play in your overall health, it’s probably pretty clear why movement matters and why you need to maintain muscle mass.  Muscle wasting can occur for many reasons, some of them controllable (how much you move) and some of them not (neurological problems). People commonly lose muscle mass because they simply don’t use their muscles enough—which is 100% fixable.  It’s also true that as you age, your body composition changes.  As early as your 30s or 40s, muscle mass appears to progressively decline over time.  This age-related loss of muscle mass is called sarcopenia.  Decreased strength and an increase in fatty mass go hand-in-hand with sarcopenia.  Since muscle is the source of your miraculous myokines, losing muscle mass isn’t ideal.  From a functional standpoint, reduced muscle mass, strength, and power result in reduced mobility, quality of life, and the capacity to recover from illness as you age.  From a mental health standpoint reduced muscle mass can also give us the blues.  

Luckily, there’s a simple solution.  You can counteract sarcopenia with strength training.  Sarcopenia is muscle wasting, and strength training is muscle building. It’s a simple enough equation.  And no matter how old you are, you are never too old to start.  I’ve seen clients in their 90s make gains. Yoga utilizes your body’s own weight to strengthen your body, making it cost-effective and aligned with the efficiency and effectiveness of human design.  Movement is your birthright.  We’ve been moving since we crawled out of the womb.  You don’t need the latest clothing, shoes, or workout gadgets to get started. If you’re a yoga lover, like me,  it’s also helpful to supplement your yoga habit with resistance bands, weights, and other movement styles that challenge your strength in different ways.  Just make sure you get your doctor’s blessing to begin an exercise program and work with a qualified professional. 

When you move, you set off a beautiful cascade of healing biochemistry that benefits your body and mind.  Your muscles aren’t just there to move you from house to car to couch to bed. Muscles are your hidden healing power. 

SOURCES:
Muscle-Organ Crosstalk: The Emerging Role of Myokines

Exercise-Induced Myokinens in Health and Metabolic Diseases 

Proof That The Human Body Was Made To Move

Stanford Psychologist Reveals Why Movement is Medicine

Deep Fitness

“I enjoyed practicing with you online, 
but there’s something special about a live yoga class.” 

I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard this sentiment since yoga studios re-opened. Which got me wondering … What is that thing that makes practicing together feel so magical?

Movement science has the answer.

Essentially, we’re wired to love the feeling of moving together. Whether we’re running for the Cure, marching for Human Rights or moving through Sun Salutations together for peace.  When we move together, united around a cause, we tap into something called ‘we-agency’, the sense that we can make a difference in the world together - and it feels beautiful, hopeful and powerful.  

Collective activity is at the core of human happiness. That’s not to say you can’t have a good giggle watching cat fashion shows at home alone on Youtube—but we find our bliss in moments of collective effervescence. 

COLLECTIVE EFFERVESCENCE
This charming term was coined by pioneering sociologist Emile Durkheim way back in 1912.  Collective effervescence describes the feeling of upliftment, energy, joy and self-transcendence that bubbles up inside us when we sync our movements with strangers on the dance floor or in a Vinyasa Flow class. Deep down, we all want to feel a sense of connection and belonging. Synchronized movement is an accessible and powerful way to capture that feeling.  

Yoga philosophy defines suffering as feeling ‘separate’ or ‘disconnected’, In fact, the word ‘yoga’ itself means to ‘yoke together’ or ‘unite.’  The whole aim of yoga is to transcend suffering caused by the idea that we are separate from one another, and to achieve a state of union, a blissful feeling of connectedness with everyone and everything. 

During the pandemic, opportunities to experience the sense of connection and meaning that comes from moving and playing together was noticeably absent from our lives.  And we did, indeed, suffer.  Practicing yoga on zoom was okay—but the collective effervescence we get from moving in a group was missing.   
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Dr. Kelly McGonigal explains in her book, “The Joy of Movement”“Our experience of collective effervescence is rooted in our need to cooperate to survive.  The neurochemistry that makes moving in unison euphoric also bonds strangers and builds trust…Collective actions remind us what we are part of, and moving in community reminds us where we belong.” (68) 

As a dancer/friend of mine always used to say ‘Friends that sweat together stick together.’ 
Research also shows that regularly experiencing movement together enhances wellbeing above and beyond other types of social connection. 

SYNCHRONIZATION
Synchronization is another key to experiencing collective joy. When you experience the calm synchronized movement of a flowing yoga sequence where everyone in the room moves and breathes together, a social bond and a kind of group identity are formed. There is both a physical sense of connection, and a sense that the boundary of who you are dissolves. “The feeling of boundaries dissolving is one of the most powerful aspects of collective joy.” says Dr. McGonigal.

Human beings also synchronize with each other on a physiological level.  Research suggests that when we feel connected to one another through group activities like singing, clapping and dancing our heartbeats, breathing and brain activity all sync up too - like we're one giant organism.  That’s how eager our bodies and brains are to transcend the small self and feel part of something bigger.  It’s like when you watch a hypnotic starling murmuration or a school of fish move together, changing direction as though they share a single intuitive mind. 

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER
Part of a yoga teacher’s job is to prepare for a group class by making sure they arrive feeling calm, grounded and emotionally regulated. Why? Because emotions are contagious. Emotional co-regulation is part of a process called neuroception.  Neuroception is the subconscious process of scanning our environment for signs of safety and risk.  We notice (consciously or unconsciously) whether facial expressions, tones of voice and body language indicate that someone is safe to be around. When we pick up on cues of safety from our environment, we can relax—mentally and physically. 

When you experience a beautiful, blissful yoga practice, part of that magical feeling is due to the teacher’s presence. If the teacher has a warm, calming presence they create an environment that allows students to feel safe enough to let go.

If your yoga teacher arrives upset, angry and emotionally dysregulated, the chances are you’re not going to get blissed out that day. If they had a fight with a spouse before class, you might pick up on subtle (or not so subtle) cues that they’re upset.  You might hear tension in their voice or sense something off in their demeanor.  More obviously, they might react to a ringing cell phone with rage or snap at a student for talking during class. Students need to feel they are in a calm, safe space in order to un-clench and enjoy their yoga experience. The responsibility for creating that peaceful environment falls on the teacher.

The good news is that it’s not just negative emotions that are contagious. Calm is contagious too.

Hopefully, every yoga teacher understands that their emotional state is linked to everyone else’s in the room. And hopefully they prepare for class by making sure they arrive calm, grounded and stable.  So they can ‘hold space’ - using their nervous system to help regulate the nervous systems of others.

MAKING MOVEMENT MEANINGFUL
In my experience, students don’t remember your pose sequences.  What they do remember are class themes that felt meaningful to them. “I loved that class you taught about feeling grounded.  It helped me get through a wild week.” or  “Can you teach another class about taking a pause? That was so powerful.

It’s a yoga teacher’s job to create a practice that has a goal, intention or purpose.   When we move together for a specific purpose—for example, to tap into heart qualities like compassion, contentment or courage, something special happens.  A " group moving in unison is seen by others as united in purpose, connected by shared values, and acting as one…Those in the group feel more powerful, too. When people move together, they view external threats as less fearsome and their opponents as less intimidating… it’s part of why social and political movements organize marches. The collective movement not only demonstrates the strength of its coalition to outsiders but also bolsters the morale of its members. Studies of real-world marches and demonstrations confirm that participating in these events generates feelings of we-agency…” Kelly McGonigal, 87

When we move together as one in the name of peace or freedom or whatever – whether it’s in a march or in a yoga flow, we tap into our collective strength. We feel a sense of shared identity and purpose. We transcend our individual selves and become part of something bigger, more beautiful and more powerful than any one of us on our own. It erases our feelings of separateness. We achieve a state of yoga, a remembering that we are intimately connected to one another.  That is the magical thing about moving together.
 

Nature is one of the most consistent sources of wonder and gratitude in my life.  Whenever I meet an ocean, a forest, a waterfall, wild animals, an open sky, a mountain, or the sun’s warmth.  I feel incredibly small and incredibly connected to the world around me.  

I’m also in my element when I practice yoga.  When yoga and nature meet, the pairing feels so natural.  And it is.  The ancient mystic yogis meditated in caves and communed with the wild.  Nature’s influence on yoga is clear when you think about the names of postures:  locust, pigeon, half- moon, sun salutations, or cobra. As modern yogis, many of us practice in a pristine and boxy studio environment—but yoga is meant to return us to our ‘natural state’—a state of harmony with the totality of life, the universe and everything in it.  

We’re part of the interconnected, interdependent whole that is the natural world.   
As a species, we’ve co-evolved with nature.
We are nature.

We’ve been shaped, influenced and adapted to interact with the wild.  Taking a relaxed walk in the park, a hike in the woods or a paddle on a lake allows us to come back into relationship with the natural world and our natural state.  Nature nourishes our senses and our soul with a symphony of sensory stimulation that grounds us - in our evolutionary context and the present moment. 

Both yoga and nature soothe our nervous systems.  It’s why people head to the cottage, the beach and the yoga studio to restore and rejuvenate.  Nature also boosts overall well-being by strengthening the immune system and reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.  These are forms of dis-ease that might be symptomatic of Nature Deficit Disorder —a term coined by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.  “Nature deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illness."  
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As the pandemic dragged on in 2020/2021, many yogis took to practicing outdoors. This allowed us to experience the soothing effects of yoga in combination with the rejuvenating, mood-lifting effects of spending time in nature.  Everywhere, people were falling in love with outdoor yoga—practicing in unconfined open spaces, in the warm glow of the sun, and feeling our connection to the earth while breathing in phytonocide-rich air (a gift from the surrounding trees).  

Transitioning from the boxy confines of indoor yoga studios to beaches, parks, farmers’ fields, and floating paddleboard yoga classes deepened our sense of connection to the natural world.  We were just trying to find ways to continue to gather and get our ‘om’ on -  which we did.  As a bonus, we got to experience how rooted in, dependent upon and intimately connected with the natural world we are.  We got in touch with our natural state. 

THE 5 ELEMENTS OF NATURE
According to Yoga and Ayurveda, five elements comprise everything in nature: earth, water, fire, air and space. The five elements, or Panchamahabhutas, as they’re called in Sanskrit, form the basic building blocks of the universe and everything in it.  Including us. 

Here are five great ways to invite nature into your practice and experience each element:
 
SPACE
Everything that exists does so within the container of space.  It connects everything and everyone.  We can tap into our connection with all of life through sound.  Pleasant natural sounds like flowing water and singing birds have positive psychological and physiological effects. They lower blood pressure, decrease pain and increase feelings of peace and tranquillity. 
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Take a moment at the start of your practice or your day to sit and listen to your surroundings.  Opening your ears to the sounds of nature immediately grounds you, dialling down the noise in your head and tuning you into your environment and into the here and now. 

HOW TO PRACTICE MINDFULNESS MEDITATION WITH NATURE SOUNDS

1. Go outside or open a window and let the sounds of nature into your home.  
2. Ground yourself. Get into a comfortable seated position. Close your eyes.  Inhale deeply and bring your awareness into the present moment.  Feel your connection to the ground beneath you.  Feel the sunlight on your face and notice the temperature of the air on your skin.
3. Become aware of sounds in your environment—cicadas, bird songs, leaves rustling in the trees, rain falling.  Let your sense of hearing bounce around like sonar.  What shows up on your radar? What are the nearest and most distant sounds can you pick out of the soundscape? Allow yourself to just experience sound without labelling  or identify it.  
4. Tune into bodily sensations – What sensations do you experience in response to what you’re hearing?
5. Notice how this practice makes you feel: joy, wonder, awe, peace, gratitude, connection, appreciation?

The natural world is miraculous. It supports and sustains us—Exhale thanks and appreciation.  

Here's a guided audio version of this meditation. 

EARTH
The earth element is associated with stability and groundedness.  To connect with this energy, investigate stable standing poses.  Begin with Mountain pose. 

1. Plant your bare feet directly on the earth, hip width apart.
2. Center your skull over your ribs and pelvis. 
3. Concentrate on the feel of the ground beneath your feet.  Spread your weight evenly across the soles of both feet.  Drum up big mountain energy by rooting your feet down into the earth and lift the top of your head skyward – stand tall, firm and immovable – like a mountain.  

Use the feeling of the stability of the ground beneath you to create a feeling of stability within you. When you practice outdoors and draw inspiration from your natural surroundings, poses like Mountain and Tree take on new significance.  Observe the trees around you and feel their strength.  Imagine your legs like roots reaching deep into the ground to give you balance.  Raise your arms to the sky, imitating the limbs and branches of a tree.

FIRE
In the yoga tradition, fire is associated with transformation. Each of us has our own internal flame or ‘sun’, fittingly located at the solar plexus.  Anatomically, the solar plexus is a complex of ganglia and radiating nerves associated with your sympathetic nervous system - the branch of the nervous system that’s activated when you exercise (getting hot and sweaty).  The solar plexus also innervates much of your digestive tract - where food gets transformed into fuel for your body.  Just as the sun provides energy for all life on earth, the solar plexus region provides you with the energy to do your life.

Activate the fire element with Sun Salutations. Take your practice outside. Bathe in the warm glow of the sun and salute, paying reverence to this miraculous source of life, warmth, energy and illumination.

WATER
All living things need water to survive. In our own bodies, water helps to regulate body temperature, lubricate joints, dissolve and carry nutrients to cells, flush out waste and more.  An obvious way to get in touch with this element is to practice on or near the water.  Sit and meditate on the repetitive, rhythmic sound of waves or try a paddleboard yoga class and let the waves gently rock you into a sedating savasana.  Rocking is incredibly soothing for your nervous system.  It’s why we rock babies and fall asleep in hammocks!  

If you’re landlocked, you can re-create the soothing sound of ocean waves with a soft ujjayi breath— like you’re listening to a private ocean inside your head.  

AIR
The air element is associated with your lungs, and breath awareness is an essential part of yoga practice.  Where better than the outdoors to take deep, invigorating breaths of fresh air?  As you inhale, be aware that the oxygen you’re taking in is a gift to you, courtesy of the trees.  As you breathe out carbon dioxide, know the trees will inhale it and transform it into more oxygen.  Sit and breathe together. Be conscious of your interdependence on one another as you quietly exchange the gift of life.  Notice what feelings this brings up for you: gratitude, wonder, amazement, contentment?  
 
Human health is linked to environmental health.  If our food, air and water aren’t healthy, we can’t be healthy either.  But the benefits we derive from caring for the natural world go beyond the physical - they are also mental, spiritual and emotional.  When we love and care for nature, knowing that nature loves and supports us back, we forge a sacred bond with our surroundings.  We are returned to our natural state - a feeling of interconnectedness and belonging in the natural world.