"We should not exercise the body without the joint assistance of the mind; nor exercise the mind without the joint assistance of the body" -Plato
My name is Edgar Urilov, I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy. I have been an athlete all my life. I've competed in wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and amateur Mixed Martial Arts.
During my years as a combat sports competitor and Physical Therapist I have been in the pursuit of any knowledge that could help improve my mental and physical performance. This relentless pursuit of knowledge has afforded me the skills needed to make meaningful changes in my life as well as the lives of my clients.
What I learned can be summed up in one short sentence:
We are resilient.
Our bodies and minds have a remarkable and often underestimated capacity to heal on their own. Our job is just to give ourselves a little nudge in the right direction.
The body and mind together is a fluid piece of architecture. Change is the only constant. The only way forward is to adapt.
I like to compare building our health to building a fortress. A fortress should be strong and capable of withstanding even the longest and heaviest siege. In the same way our bodies and minds should be capable of handling whatever life throws at it.
From the outside a fortress looks static but when you look brick by brick, you can appreciate that it is, indeed, a dynamic structure. Some walls of the fortress are strong and ready to support a load, others are in poor condition and are on the verge of falling apart.
When we take this analogy further we can see that each brick is a different aspect of our health, molded by experience, temperament and habit. There are many different dimensions of health but they are all dependent on each other, if one brick is lacking then the entire wall is compromised. This point of view is commonly accepted in mainstream medicine in the form of the biopsychosocial model of health delivery.
In this way we see that everyone's personal health and wellness journey is unique. No one is perfect and no fortress is perfect. Some bricks might be stronger than others, some much weaker and others might even be collapsed all together. It may feel overwhelming to begin this process but it is ultimately one of the most rewarding and kindest gifts we can give to ourselves. You are the architect of your fortress. You are the structural engineer of your body and mind, keep them fit and you'll always have a safe and secure place to put your feet up and relax.
