Sunday, April 23, 2006

The Rhythm of Life

Nature is nothing if not rhythmic, and its rhythms are many and varied. Our hearts and lungs follow rhythmic cycles whose timing is adapted to our body's needs. Many of nature's rhythms are like the heartbeat: they take care of themselves, running "in the background." Others are like breathing: there is a simple "default" pattern that operates as long as nothing unusual is happening, but there is also a more sophistocated control mechanism, that can kick in when necessary and adapt those rhythms to immediate needs. Controllable rhythms of this kind are particularly common- and particularly interesting-in locomotion. In legged animals, the default patterns of motion that occur when conscious control is not operating are called gaits.
~Nature's Numbers by Ian Stewart

walk that walk...find your rhythm and make some music with the big ole earth & humanity.

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