Behavioral flexibility, ruts and phys ed

If you're looking to live a life of health and vitality, you'll want to be flexible and learn from experience. The world is changing constantly and we want our bodies to adapt. If we get stuck in a narrow range of behaviors, movements or ideas, we stop growing. Unfortunately, stress defeats this objective by causing distinct neurological changes to the brain. The more stressed we get, the more we're prone to falling back on repetitive, stereotyped ways of living that are unproductive or even destructive. Today's New York Times has a great piece on the details of this process: see Brain is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop. This research has enormous relevance for anyone who works with bodies and health.