At physical therapy the other day, I had a download of clarity.
I'm seeing him for upper right-side issues that manifest in my shoulder, neck, arm, upper and middle back.
As I lay there on the table, I heard myself tell the PT how I used my right hand to turn on the lamp at the side of my bed.
Processing the words as they were coming out of my mouth, I realized something at the same time the PT did. And when he gave voice to his thoughts, it echoed my epiphany.
When I lay down on the bed, the lamp is to my left; using my left hand would be easier on my body than the extra steps of turning onto my left side before reaching out with my right arm.
Why have I been using my right hand?
Honestly, I think it's because 1) it’s my dominant hand and 2) out of habit; I have always used my right hand to turn on this lamp. At my prior residence, the lamp was on my right side. I also slept on the right side of the bed. Therefore, it was logical to turn the lamp on and off with my right hand.
At my current residence of about 8 years, I still sleep on the right side of the bed. When on the bed, my back against the mattress, I only have to engage in a few scoot & slide maneuvers to get to the lamp using my left-hand. But instead, I'm pulling a “Go, go, gadget arms"; unnecessarily tasking my right arm, unconsciously doing things the hard way.
Since making this realization, I’ve noticed that I also use my right hand for items housed in a left-side cupboard.
This, of course, now has me wondering, where else am I creating extra work for my body? And, on a larger scale, where else am I contributing to misalignment (be it physical, mental, emotional, or energetic) simply because of that powerful influencer, habit?