Movement readiness !

The Barbet above was perched in a guava tree in our front garden overlooking the feeding station. It moved 360 degrees in its perch during a brief halt at this flight station. 

What was captivating was its look, body posture and varying alertness or attentiveness to what it saw or heard in the environment. Its processing of the environment was intense and sharp. Barbets by species carry a timid disposition. They have well developed self defending skills. They are brisk to respond with quick flight responses. They hide in the foliage and remain well camouflaged when feeling threatened. 

The above photos give a narration of the personal habit of a Barbet in planning its strategy. 

What interests me about bird behaviour is the response they communicate in their body posture to every form of environmental event. It is what they process with their eyes and ears, which they externalise in the body language. The body language is about readiness to act. 

They are always movement ready!

I checked on my movements for a week to keep a track of my activity rhythm during about 16 hours of the day. The steps taken according to the health data from the phone was in the range of 3000 to 6000 steps with an average distance walked in a a day during a week being 2.6 kilometres. The week before that was only an average of 2 kilometres. It was during that week, I noticed blood sugar level variations which brought some concern. Since there were more movements, the blood sugar level got stabilised in the subsequent week. 

It was during this encounter with my own movement pattern, I got to think more about the larger dimension of movement. All movements are transitions. From sitting at the desk when I move out of the room, what I encounter is the lawn, garden, plants, flowers and bird movements in the garden. There is another orientation which brings change in visual and auditory stimuli. There is a transition from intensity of attention to a dispersal of attention to bring the mind to a different level of engagement. The physiological changes in the body through movement and change of activity bring a good interlude to the routine of the day. It helped me to realise that movements in between are necessary to undo the prolonged sitting habit. Walking while at work between places is different from a leisurely walk with no task before.  A short walk of five minutes every two to three hours is a healthy practice to bring a different rhythm to the body and mind. 

The movements of a Barbet and its body language alerted me about how it moved volitionally. The agility of its body is on account of movements. 

Having in between times for movements is a healthy practice to remain alert and to overcome the monotony and stress of sameness !

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)