I came across an interesting article on the Internet recently about stress and how we respond to it. It referred to two studies in particular, one on rats and the other a study on public servants in Great Britain.

The study on rats, although perhaps being a little cruel, had some fascinating insights. They took two sets of rats and gave them both electric shocks. One group was given a way of stopping the shocks that they had to learn, but the other rats could only endure them. Shortly afterwards the rats were placed together in a different place and shocked again. This time there was a low wall, which they could jump over to escape the shocks. The rats that had learned a different way to escape the previous day quickly discovered this way out. The group that had no escape previously simply cowered on the floor. Their experience had been one of helplessness in the face of severe stress, which had taught them to not even look for escape. The other group learned that there were ways to avoid such stress and so actively sought them out.

The other study was done some years ago over an extended period of time. It looked at people's health, and psychological responses to stress (among many other things), and how that related to their position in the British Public Service. Generally speaking, the people who were higher up the ladder were healthier, lived longer, dealt with stress far more efficiently, and interestingly enough, had lower incidences of dementia. They also had some control over their work environment and a feeling of autonomy.

People lower on the ladder were less healthy, had a shorter life expectancy, higher incidence of depression, and a strong belief that they had little or no control of their work or social environment, and higher rates of dementia.

I think that this raises some rather interesting questions, the first being "Why does one's ability to handle stress relate directly to dementia?" Is it another example of 'use it or lose it'? If we don't get enough exercise, we get fat and unhealthy. If we do not use our bones efficiently, we accelerate osteoporosis. If we sit for long periods in chairs, the beautiful posture of our childhood becomes less self supporting, and either droopy or too upright and stiff. So then, if we don't think and use our brain to interact actively with our environment, do we lose its functions more quickly as well? Could a sense of powerlessness accelerate dementia, and could we help slow its course by simply thinking creatively? What comes first, an inability to handle stress, or our belief that we can't control the situation?

There will never be a clear cut answer to these questions. But one thing is clear from time immemorial - life rewards those who look for ways to control their environment better, and those who do so generally have a better life. Those who feel they are slaves to their circumstances live shorter, less happy and less healthy lives. We need freedom through to the deepest core of our being - the quality and length of our existence depends on it.

So what does this have to do with movement? Given the number of bones, joints and muscles our body has, and the billions of neurons dedicated to moving it all, we have a virtually infinite number of ways we could potentially move. A very daunting thought! Many of us get overwhelmed going shopping in a large shopping centre, so imagine the stress of having to choose from an infinite number of shops, with an infinite number of product lines, and having to buy a certain number of things - immediately! This is the challenge our brains face whenever we move. In order to move, we need something to make sense of this infinite potential, and so we use pre-programmed patterns of movement, built upon our personal experiences. Essentially, we have learned a particular way of moving (walking, breathing - whatever), and that is simply the way we do it. This is great for expediency, but not necessarily the most 'perfect' pattern of movement from a purely biomechanical perspective. The more restrictive a pattern of movement

, the greater is the strain on the body. Try standing and then stooping forward slightly. Feel how this naturally uses your back, hamstring and calf muscles more. It feels odd, but no doubt you have seen someone who not only walks that stooped, but perhaps even more so. So why don't they walk more upright? There are millions of possible reasons, but one thing is certain - it makes perfect sense to them to walk that way, exactly as the way you walk makes perfect sense to you.

So are we destined to be slaves to our movement habits? Are we doomed to a lifetime of arthritic knees, necks, backs, and hips? Are we victims of our circumstances, bad genes, and plum bad luck?

I believe the answer relates back to our ability to handle stress (of any kind), and our belief in our ability to change our circumstances.

We can make a choice. We can be the rat that has learned circumstances control its life, and that nothing can be done about it, and, consequently, have a shorter, less healthy and happy life. Alternatively, when confronted with difficult circumstances, refuse to accept that you are powerless and seek new creative ways to approach the problem. Einstein reportedly said, "You cannot solve the problem with the thinking that created the problem".

Movement is an excellent place to start learning, not only how to move better, but also skills to help look for solutions to seemingly impossible situations. Walk on grass without your shoes. Carry a book on your head. Swing your hips when you walk. Sit on the front of your chair, or an exercise ball, and wriggle like a small child whenever you feel compelled to sit still. It's a good start.

Nick Martin is a qualified physiotherapist and certified Feldenkrais practitioner.