Brain and body

Muscle memory

I’ve always had a complicated relationship with exercise. As a child, I was terrified to learn how to ride a bike; the whole endeavour felt like piloting a plane into the air. Sitting together on our front stoop, my dad would help me put on the padded wrist, elbow and knee guards usually used for rollerblading, secure but not too tight, protections that gave me a small but measurable sense of comfort. I’d buckle up my purple helmet, my mom taking pictures as I mounted my bike, glorious with its bell and white basket, its rainbow streamers and clickety sound-makers in the spokes. ‘I’ll hold on until you tell me to let go,’ he said. ….[READ]