M like muscles

M as in Muscle

Did you know that we  have more than 600 muscles in our body?  They do everything from pumping blood throughout the body to helping  lift heavy weights.  We control some of our muscles, while others — like our heart — do their jobs without us thinking about them at all.

We have three different types of muscles in our body:  smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and skeletal  muscle.

Smooth Muscles

Smooth muscles — sometimes also called involuntary muscles — are usually in sheets, or layers, with one layer of muscle behind the other.  We can't control this type of muscle.  Our brain and body tell these muscles what to do without us even thinking about it.  But smooth muscles are at work all over our body.  In our stomach and digestive system, they contract and relax to allow food to make its journey through the body.  Our smooth muscles come in handy if we are sick and need to throw up.  The muscles push the food back out of the stomach so it comes up through the esophagus and out of the mouth.

A Hearty Muscle

The muscle that makes up the heart is called cardiac muscle.  It is also known as the myocardium.  The thick muscles of the heart contract to pump blood out and then relax to let blood back in after it has circulated through the body.

Skeletal Muscle

Now, let's talk about the kind of muscle we think of when we say "muscle.”  These are skeletal muscles or voluntary muscles, which means we can control what they do.  These muscles help to make up the musculoskeletal system — the combination of our muscles and our skeleton, or bones.

 The NIMBLE method teaches us that all voluntary muscles are connected and when the body is aligned and in the correct position, you are able to move your big toe and influence the muscles of your ear.  With a little bit of practice you can implement this knowledge in your daily life routine.