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Muscle memory
So many skills we have as adults are mere muscle memory. As I sit at my computer and type this — the words flow seamlessly from my mind to my fingers to my screen. No thought was given to the ‘how’ of my typing.
During this visit with my family, I have been teaching The Magical Creatures how to knit. The youngest has taken to it like a duck to water — I envision her previous life as a master weaver in the Middle Ages. Her hands remember what to do seemingly with very little instruction. She is five.
Today the two youngest Magical Creatures got new yo-yos. I can’t even tell you the last time I put a yo-yo on my finger and played with it. But today found myself breaking the process down into bite-sized pieces for my granddaughters to absorb. And just like with the knitting — the muscle memory was activated. In me and for them.
These events led me to ponder muscle memory. All. The. Things. our bodies know to do without conscious input from our brains.
From riding a bicycle to driving my motorcycle — once the muscles understand what to do — balance and reflex take over. Roller skating, skiing — also same/same. By repetition, trial and error — we programmed our muscles to ‘think’ on their own.
