Effortless Thursdays #22: How David's butt cheeks can improve your health
E22: What sculptors teach us about health span and lifespan
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Now … back to the story.
It was impressive even viewed from the other end of the corridor. But it was really only when I walked away from passing all the half-finished sculptures that the true splendour and magnificence of his butt cheeks really struck me.
Giorgio Vasari – another Italian Renaissance master – didn't, of course, draw attention to David's perfectly proportioned rear end when he described Michelangelo's sculpture of David:
"Nor has there ever been seen a pose so fluent, or a gracefulness equal to this, or feet, hands and head so well related to each other with quality, skill and design".
Was Vasari right in asserting that:
"the statue so far surpasses both in beauty and technique ancient and modern statuary that one needn't bother seeing other works in sculpture"?
I have a feeling that Donatello would not have agreed with Vasari - his version of David sculpted out of bronze some 40 or 50 years earlier takes your breath away, too.
So, let's cut to the cheeks chase.
How does David's derrière unlock your health?
Well, as I was walking around the Museo Nazionale del Bargello and La Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, there are three mindsets that I think the great sculptors teach us when it comes to chipping (or hammering) away at our health.
1. Your small actions now can change the course of your health span and lifespan
There's a version of your health that's inside of you that's worth allowing to emerge.
We hear all the time that our genes are stacked against us, or that it's inevitable that we'll have cancer or some other chronic disease when we're old.
However, our genes only account for 10% of human disease1.
The remaining 90% is what we can largely control: our exposome. The exposome is the sum of all of the non-genetic exposures in our lifetime, starting from conception.
In the words of Dr Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health:
"Genes load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger."
That means that even though we might be genetically predisposed to certain health conditions, we turn our attention away from common, but unhelpful thinking, like:
"My parents had it, so I will have it too",
towards thinking that can chart a different course for our health and wellbeing:
"I can change my environment to reduce the risk of my bad genes switching on."
Imagine Michelangelo downing tools after chipping away the first piece of marble and giving up. Or Donatello not bothering to smooth out the bronze on David's sling.
Even if sometimes - or even oftentimes along the way - you're feeling discouraged, or not seeing quick results, or thinking that whatever you're doing is not working, you can come back to what is in your control.
Your small behaviours now can make an outsized impact. And like sculpting, your health emerges with patience.
2. Be clear about what optimal health looks like for you
Michelangelo famously said:
“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
He had a clear idea about his end goal.
When it comes to your health, what is your end goal?
What does optimal health look like?
What does optimal health allow you to do now?
What does it allow you to do in the future?
What will it help you avoid?
Don't be swayed by the fasting an influencer is doing now, or the ice baths that a sportsperson recommends! What works for them might not work for your health goals.
Michelangelo's David conveys less of the childish innocence than Donatello's David. Yet both are fabulous examples of David. Find your own version of optimal health and chip away.
In my case, optimal health is being able to hike when I'm 90 and beyond.
3. Seize the easy wins that help now, as well as the wins for the longer term.
The marble for David was found lying abandoned in the courtyard of the Cathedral of Florence. In 1501, Michelangelo obtained the permission of the Opera del Duomo to work on that marble. Imagine if he hadn't asked!
I let my dietary regime slacken off when I was in Florence. With my autoimmune condition, I know that gluten, dairy and alcohol lead to inflammation that can trigger a flare-up of psoriasis. But the pasta and pastries were too tasty to avoid. Sometimes it's ok to focus on fun and ease.
Once back at home, I know I can come back to the easy wins: avoiding those sources of inflammation.
There are other things that I'm trying that are somewhat harder and yield results in less obvious, less immediate ways.
Dynamic Neural Retraining System and Amygdala training are two examples.
They are frameworks that tap into neuroplasticity research and help rewire our brains so that they don't need to trigger inflammation responses when we, for example, have a piece of gluten-laden bread.
I've noticed some positive results with the amygdala training, so it's a practice I want to continue for the longer term.
Over to you!
What's one mindset shift that you can make to take another step towards your optimal health?
That’s it for this week!
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To your health and success!
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/exposome/
Hahaha I love the connection to David’s butt cheeks! Really, great photos. I distinctly remember a few years ago when someone I was dating (metaphorically) grabbed me by the shoulders and said “you don’t have to get diabetes.” Growing up, everyone in my family had it and so all the kids ate sugar, joking that we would get it too! That was a big awakening for me, that like you said, genetics may have loaded the gun, but I still have control over my diet and my life.
I’ll never look at David in the same way. Thank you for sharing.
I’d love to learn more about your experience with Dynamic Neural Retraining System and Amygdala training. I’ve never heard of those and am very curious.