The Recipe for Resilience
be a palm tree, not a robot
I don’t know about you, but right now I am feeling a little like a rock’em sock’em robot. If you’re too young to remember these, they were the “action figures” in a game we played way back when. Red and blue fighting robots in a plastic boxing ring.
By very crude “joystick” technology, we moved our boxers in the ring, operating their right or left jab to try to “knock the block off” of our opponent. When your punch landed squarely, the head of your opponent sprung up, and you were the winner.
Typing those words at this moment feels a bit surreal, but yes, boxing used to be a seemingly harmless children’s game. I’m feeling it differently today as I try to withstand the body blows the news delivers to my midsection, while barely dodging the swings that threaten to knock my block off.
But being robotic doesn’t serve humans well in today’s world. We need flexible joints and strength that resists throwing a punch to be able to stand up to the gale force winds without losing our moorings. We need to be strong but supple. Well-rooted, but flexible.
For this kind of resilience, let’s look to the palm tree for some survival skills.
The palm tree is a model of flexibility
Flexibility is natural to children. They bend easily, nibbling on their own toes. Young people are generally pretty stretchy unless a recent growth spurt has left ‘em with legs too long for their bodies. But aging doesn’t do us any favors here. As we get older, flexibility declines, and movement gets harder.
So how do we keep our stretchiness? We stretch! — in palm terms, we allow ourselves to be blown a bit in the wind. Rather than plopping ourselves in the cushy chair with the same old tv shows, we reach for things that challenge us and hold ourselves there, even if there’s a bit of discomfort involved. After a time, we gently return to our resting position, recover and then do it again. This time we find we can reach a bit further!
Just like that palm tree bending in the wind, healthy flexibility happens best when we engage in a sustained stretch. Windy days, if we allow them to, can help us stay supple and elastic. Yes, we bend, but because we’re elastic our biology remembers our upright form and we recoil to keep our shape. That feels great.
Sustained stretching increases our flexibility.
The palm tree bends gradually to prevent breaking
I still see people beginning a workout doing “their stretches” by bounce-bouncing on straightened joints. Pease DO NOT do this. Not only is it dangerous for your joints but it’s completely ineffective. It activates the body’s “stretch reflex” which signals your muscle to contract instead of stretch. This is your body’s way of protecting itself from injury.
Dynamic stretching — moving through a full range of motion as warm-up in preparation for your game or workout — is fine, but it DOES NOT increase your flexibility. Developing flexibility requires holding your stretch (20-60 secs) and repeating it 2-3x.
See your palm tree self and, gently challenge yourself to go further each time.
Flexibility takes persistence and patience.
The palm tree is also strong
Some see flexibility as weakness. If I’m bendable, if I give a little, if I take time to consider things and then perhaps adjust my position, then I must be weak. Far from it. Flexibility means I have a wider of range of motion to work through. And range of motion is the secret to high performance: higher clubhead speed, bigger swing arc, greater capacity, more spin. It’s how Koufax or Kershaw throw a killer curve ball.
Yep, flexibility — which is essential for a wide range of motion — is a key factor in helping our body perform its best. But range of motion can only be fully activated if it’s anchored by strength. The palm tree, which bends nearly in half in a hurricane, is as resolute as it is flexible. It spent its growing-up years establishing its roots in the soil and sand, and it’s not letting go now.
Strength and flexibility are NOT mutually exclusive; they are complementary… if you develop them together. (Don’t believe me? Watch video of our Olympic gymnastics.)
Flexibility and strength work best together.
Flexibility + Strength = Resilience
Who is the one left standing after the storm? It’s the one who stands firmly rooted, bending but not breaking. We call that resilience.1
What is resilience lived out? What does the body show us?
Enduring a challenging stretch develops our flexibility.
Remaining resolute against a heavy challenge builds our strength.
Strong and supple joints allow us to reach further and pull harder.
Our take home today…
Sustained stretching increases our flexibility.
Flexibility requires persistence and patience.
Flexibility and strength work best together.
Flexibility + Strength = Resilience.
And resilience is what we all need in these days. When we’re both flexible and strong, we can stand firm. And when we stand, others can stand, too. In this rock’em sock’em world, they probably don’t expect resilience from us. Let’s surprise ‘em.
*For an excellent article addressing ways to maintain our resilience (mentioned by Diana Bass Butler in her Cottage newsletter) see: What Is Resilience Targeting? | Psychology Today