Baseball fans know the advantages of a "switch hitter," one who can bat from either side of the plate equally well. The real life advantages of being ambidextrous, though are huge.
Why are we not more ambidextrous (using either hands or feet with equal ease)? Are there any right-handed raccoons or left-handed lions out there? Two and four legged animals use both sides of their body equally. Consider how symmetrical we are in skeletal structure and musculature. We were designed to be ambidextrous. However, most of us predominantly use one side of our body to the exclusion of the other.
Golf and tennis are examples of repetitious movements that overemphasize one side of the body to the exclusion of the other. Contrast that with swimming and cross-country skiing, two activities that use the body equally on both sides. When both sides of the body share the workload, the whole body lasts longer. Try doing even simple things with the non-dominant side of your body. Use your other hand and arm to open a car door, hold items while walking, or pick up something. Alternate the carrying of your purse, golf clubs, briefcase, or child with both arms. (I see a lot of Moms with postural problems because they carried junior on one hip 95% of the time). Once that is comfortable, more advanced activities can be attempted.
THE BENEFITS OF AMBIDEXTERITY:
If you play golf, take a few practice swings in the opposite direction of your normal swing. Simply put an imaginary ball on the tee and swing. It's the action of doing the opposite movement that counts. This compensates for twisting the body exclusively in one direction, a problem for golfers and tennis players who develop back problems from such activities. Let's say you need 100 strokes or swings to get through a round. That's a hundred swings in one direction and zero in the other. Instead, by swinging some the opposite way, you have 100 and 25, or even 100 and 10 the other way. Big difference!
REAL LIFE SITUATION: As a youngster, an uncle of mine owned a gas station when manual labor was used to take lug nuts off tires (this was before air impact wrenches). He used both hands simultaneously. His dexterity and overall coordination was amazing, not to mention how fast he was. Ambidexterity increases efficiency by creating more options for the body, better distributing life's physical demands.
Basketball players who can dribble the ball equally well with either hand are infinitely harder to guard. Cognitively, ambidexterity better connects the right and left sides of the brain as one uses both the right and left sides of the body. It's all interrelated. In massage therapy, substantial shoulder work should be done on clients with their arms outstretched or over their heads. Why? This provides exceptional variety to the usual position to our holding our arms at their sides all the time.
Let's also consider how gravity acts to pull the body downward. It is commonly accepted that people become shorter as they age. While there is some overall loss of height due to thinning of spinal discs, the spongy pads between the vertebrae, the bigger cause is the body succumbing to gravity. It's a constant force of life. Gravity affects proper alignment of the body's structure, particularly the joints and muscles. Furthermore, the effects of gravity are exponentially exacerbated by poor posture, obesity, and minimal activity that would properly maintain range of motion.
A car with its front end out of alignment wears out the tires prematurely regardless of the tire's quality. The same occurs in the body when its structure is out of alignment or is subjected to repetitive movement. Using both side of the body minimizes impact in that regard.
Also consider the precise placement of the body's internal organs. Different organs of various shapes and sizes all must fit and work together in a confined space. This affords little room for discrepancies. Gravity and poor posture cause the organs to shift and press on one another, minimizing their functional effectiveness. When one sits or walks in a bent-over configuration, it makes it difficult for the lungs to expand and get sufficient oxygen. It also takes a lot more energy just to routinely get around. Physiology 101: Structure governs function.
Will Nelson teaches Lifestyle Management For Smart People. He is a Life Performance Specialist: "Think of a mechanic overhauling your car, except I help you tune up your mind and body." He created the Life 101 Program called Vitalogy, the study of vital living. Consider it your one-stop shopping for personal training, life coaching, massage therapy and nutritional guidance. Life today means learning how to make everything your own. Vitalogy's courses, done both online and with him personally, are designed to help you do just that.
Why are we not more ambidextrous (using either hands or feet with equal ease)? Are there any right-handed raccoons or left-handed lions out there? Two and four legged animals use both sides of their body equally. Consider how symmetrical we are in skeletal structure and musculature. We were designed to be ambidextrous. However, most of us predominantly use one side of our body to the exclusion of the other.
Golf and tennis are examples of repetitious movements that overemphasize one side of the body to the exclusion of the other. Contrast that with swimming and cross-country skiing, two activities that use the body equally on both sides. When both sides of the body share the workload, the whole body lasts longer. Try doing even simple things with the non-dominant side of your body. Use your other hand and arm to open a car door, hold items while walking, or pick up something. Alternate the carrying of your purse, golf clubs, briefcase, or child with both arms. (I see a lot of Moms with postural problems because they carried junior on one hip 95% of the time). Once that is comfortable, more advanced activities can be attempted.
THE BENEFITS OF AMBIDEXTERITY:
If you play golf, take a few practice swings in the opposite direction of your normal swing. Simply put an imaginary ball on the tee and swing. It's the action of doing the opposite movement that counts. This compensates for twisting the body exclusively in one direction, a problem for golfers and tennis players who develop back problems from such activities. Let's say you need 100 strokes or swings to get through a round. That's a hundred swings in one direction and zero in the other. Instead, by swinging some the opposite way, you have 100 and 25, or even 100 and 10 the other way. Big difference!
REAL LIFE SITUATION: As a youngster, an uncle of mine owned a gas station when manual labor was used to take lug nuts off tires (this was before air impact wrenches). He used both hands simultaneously. His dexterity and overall coordination was amazing, not to mention how fast he was. Ambidexterity increases efficiency by creating more options for the body, better distributing life's physical demands.
Basketball players who can dribble the ball equally well with either hand are infinitely harder to guard. Cognitively, ambidexterity better connects the right and left sides of the brain as one uses both the right and left sides of the body. It's all interrelated. In massage therapy, substantial shoulder work should be done on clients with their arms outstretched or over their heads. Why? This provides exceptional variety to the usual position to our holding our arms at their sides all the time.
Let's also consider how gravity acts to pull the body downward. It is commonly accepted that people become shorter as they age. While there is some overall loss of height due to thinning of spinal discs, the spongy pads between the vertebrae, the bigger cause is the body succumbing to gravity. It's a constant force of life. Gravity affects proper alignment of the body's structure, particularly the joints and muscles. Furthermore, the effects of gravity are exponentially exacerbated by poor posture, obesity, and minimal activity that would properly maintain range of motion.
A car with its front end out of alignment wears out the tires prematurely regardless of the tire's quality. The same occurs in the body when its structure is out of alignment or is subjected to repetitive movement. Using both side of the body minimizes impact in that regard.
Also consider the precise placement of the body's internal organs. Different organs of various shapes and sizes all must fit and work together in a confined space. This affords little room for discrepancies. Gravity and poor posture cause the organs to shift and press on one another, minimizing their functional effectiveness. When one sits or walks in a bent-over configuration, it makes it difficult for the lungs to expand and get sufficient oxygen. It also takes a lot more energy just to routinely get around. Physiology 101: Structure governs function.
Will Nelson teaches Lifestyle Management For Smart People. He is a Life Performance Specialist: "Think of a mechanic overhauling your car, except I help you tune up your mind and body." He created the Life 101 Program called Vitalogy, the study of vital living. Consider it your one-stop shopping for personal training, life coaching, massage therapy and nutritional guidance. Life today means learning how to make everything your own. Vitalogy's courses, done both online and with him personally, are designed to help you do just that.
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