Dooley Noted: 5/20/2016
When assigning any corrective strategies, I have my share of overly eager patients.
Some have spent decades undoing their reflexive stability, just to become brilliant compensators away from the perfection that was born into them.
The normal baby needs no coaching from the adult on progressing through human movement.
When the adult interferes, compensations follow.
This chases its way into our development as we age, leading us away from our reflexively perfect movement.
But if the baby is left to develop normally, you can watch as he works tirelessly to earn the right to be upright.
The baby will sit there and breathe on its back for four straight months, earning trunk stability before it starts mobilizing its limbs more freely.
He limits himself, and he earns the trunk stability so he doesn’t ambulate on an unstable platform.
Think about the last time you spent twelve months, all day, every day trying to earn permission to do something with quality, uncompromising movement.
My bet is that it’s been a while.
Yet my patients are so tough on themselves.
They go decades missing a particular movement, just to expect themselves to nail it after a few days of continuous effort.
If you’re in a rush for results, spend time watching a baby.
They fail tirelessly, and they focus solely on their goal until they succeed.
Permit yourself a learning curve.
Your therapists and coaches will objectively guide you while you subjectively struggle, to keep you on track.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley
