Why We Turn Left: Exploring Body Asymmetry and the HAM Perspective
When you think about racing, whether it’s NASCAR or speed skating, one interesting fact stands out:
Most tracks run counterclockwise.
This might sound like just a quirk of tradition, but there’s a deeper conversation to be had about the human body’s natural asymmetries and how they might play into our comfort (or discomfort) and performance.
Our Human Body Asymmetry
Human bodies aren’t perfectly symmetrical. Regardless of how we try. Our liver, which is a pretty loaded organ, sits on the right side. Our lungs aren’t identical twins due to our heart’s position, and we often naturally favor one side of the body over the other. There’s even some advice out there that sleeping on the left side can help with digestion and heart health, precisely because of these anatomical quirks.
Interestingly, these asymmetries might play a subtle role in why racing counterclockwise became the norm. There have been real world cases where drivers felt physically off or even slightly sick when they switched to racing in a clockwise direction. It turns out that our sense of balance, the distribution of G-forces, and even how our muscles and inner ear respond can be influenced by the direction we turn repeatedly at high speeds.
The HAM Model: Connecting the Dots
This is where the Hypertonic Anatomy Model (HAM) comes in. In our practice, we often emphasize that a lot of what we feel such as tightness, guarding, or inhibition, isn’t purely mechanical. It’s biomechanical, meaning that our muscles and nervous system respond to the internal landscape of our body. The way our liver processes nutrients, the way our lymphatic system or lactic acid flow works, all of these subtle internal factors shape how we move and adapt.
By using the HAM model, we can explore the idea that the body’s natural asymmetries might explain why we instinctively find certain movements or directions more comfortable. It’s not just about the external mechanics, it’s about how our internal structure guides our sense of balance and efficiency.
Opening the Conversation
So, next time you watch a race and see those left turns, consider that there’s a whole layer of human anatomy and physiology quietly influencing the outcomes. It’s a reminder that the way we move through the world, even on a racetrack, is a beautiful dance between our inner landscape and our external actions. And maybe, just maybe, the HAM model offers a fresh way to understand those connections and keep exploring why we move the way we do.
