Three Bodily Movements

“Abba Anthony said, 'I believe that the body possesses a natural movement, to which it is adapted, but which it cannot follow without the consent of the soul; it only signifies in the body a movement without passion. There is another movement, which comes from the nourishment and warming of the body by eating and drinking, and this causes the heat of the blood to stir up the body to work. That is why the apostle said, "Do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery." (Ephes. 5.18) And in the Gospel the Lord also recommends this to his disciples: "Take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness." (Luke 21:34) But there is yet another movement which afficts those who fight, and that comes from the wiles and jealousy of the demons. You must understand what these three bodily movements are: one is natural, one comes from too much to eat, the third is caused by the demons.’” -The Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Abba Anthony the Great, paragraph 22)

The first of these movements is what Abba Anthony calls natural. One way to view this movement is our fallen nature’s inclination to sin. Even if we do not choose the sin, our flesh still has an inclination to it.

The second and third movements, could be seen as what comes after the first movement. In the second movement, you give yourself to too much food or drink (sin) as a result of listening and engaging with the fallen sinful desires of our flesh.

The third movement, I would say, could be seen as the opposite of the second. You feel the natural inclination to sin (the first movement), but instead of giving in (the second movement), you resist the wiles of the demons and choose virtue instead.