What is a Regeneration Transformation?
First, regeneration points to a potential word salad of new emerging ideas, that very few people understand; a mashup of spiritual rebirth, energetic renewal and tissue regrowth that spans every culture and population segment from the enlightened masters to performance athletes.
- For the last in that trio—tissue re-growth—one might quickly think of simpler organisms with highly adaptive regenerative capabilities like a starfish re-growing one of its arms or a salamander re-growing its tail when one hears the term regeneration.
- If you are from the fitness world, just mention the word “regeneration” and it’s almost inevitable that the term “foam roller” will popup up. Knowingly or unknowing the fitness pro is pointing to self-myofascial release (SMR). To improve our ‘tissue length’ (which is what flexibility training does) we first need to improve our ‘tissue quality’ by removing adhesions and scar tissue that may be impairing our ‘tissue length’. Foam rolling does just that by helping to break-up scar tissue build-up and adhesions that form from training.
- And even in the world of regenerative medicine, regeneration refers to enhancing the body’s natural healing mechanisms through nutritional excellence, support of the microbiome, resolution of stress, balancing of the musculoskeletal system, and regeneration of injured tissue. Also, Regenerative Injection Therapy (RIT). All of which are valid and powerful!
Those are the public, still nascent, but potential and likely default understandings of regeneration and as you’ll soon discover (at least the first two) are either far too out of reach (tissue-regrowth) to consider in our daily human experience, or too simplistic (foam rollers) to deal with higher pressing impact of excess stress in our lives; unless, you are an active athlete, and even then foam rollers—while popular—don’t necessarily impact big on an athletes training results because it’s not at the source of regenerating the body/brain—it’s topical.
And the third approach (regenerative medicine) is still so new, so few know about it; though it is increasing in popularity as our population comes to grips with the impact of today’s virtually non-stop 24/7 performance culture on our overactive bodies that are crumbling under the strain.
Only recently has regeneration of “energy,” begun to crack the mainstream, yet, though many people are talking about it, few know how to ‘talk,’ about, such that a person can walk away saying “I got that.”
The question is, what does regeneration mean for you and me, in the context of our everyday life; a life that is fast-paced, overworks most of us, and requires us to generate copious amounts of energy to get through the day, leaving us tired, potentially depleted and chronically fatigued?
Well, Wikipedia says, it’s the process of renewal, restoration, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage.[1]
Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans.[2][3]
Not too hard to understand. One needs not look further than the healing of a cut, to witness regeneration that way it’s commonly talked about in terms of tissue re-growth. Highly complex humans can’t grow back a leg or arm, but we can heal in amazing ways.
But all that fails to explain what regeneration is at the most fundamental level; the level that all other forms of regeneration depend on, and the one that trully cultivates the bodies “natural healing powers.” When all other conditions are met for (sunlight, clean air, water, and food…) it is only sufficient sleep, rest, recovery, relaxation, meditation and rejuvenation that enable the innate, intelligent, ever-evolving energy of the body to regenerate in inverse proportion to it’s activity levels. This is how to body maintains homeostasis and health of the organism at the energetic, cellular, physical levels of life.
It’s starts with the regeneration of energy, which is the crux of living in balance with vibrant health and peace of mind.
What is a Regeneration Transformation? Part 2 >
- Birbrair A, Zhang T, Wang ZM, Messi ML, Enikolopov GN, Mintz A, Delbono O (August 2013). “Role of pericytes in skeletal muscle regeneration and fat accumulation”. Stem Cells and Development. 22(16): 2298–314. doi:1089/scd.2012.0647. PMC 3730538 . PMID 23517218.
- Carlson BM (2007). Principles of Regenerative Biology. Elsevier Inc. p. 400. ISBN 978-0-12-369439-3.
