A Good Posture - Muscles & Self-Awareness. - LessWrong 2.0 viewer
Human BodiesExercise (Physical)FocusingPracticalSelf ExperimentationLife ExtensionPerception
Lying in bed trying to ‘align my spine, hips and shoulders’ in an attempt to improve my posture and ease the pain but I had no inner reference to guide me—until I found my Base-Line.
Dynamic Posture—Movement.
Want to ‘center yourself ’ and experience a sense of enlightenment?
But what is a “good” position for your body to be in? What is a good posture?
A go-ogle search for “good posture” returns various definitions:
Positioning of the head and joints …
Correct curvature of a neutral spine …
Alignment of various parts of the body …
Visual inspection (+/​- plumb-lines and grids).
Traditionally the subject is stationary or doing specific actions e.g. leaning forward/​back/​side to side—part of a “routine exam” of posture.
Computerised assessment of the body in motion—“gait analysis” etc. offers increased detail—but all methods tend to focus is on the positioning of bones and joints (especially the spine).
(BLTH Part 1, 2,4, 5)
The maintenance of a ‘functional posture’ (see below) at the subconscious level.
Conscious thought about “how you are holding yourself”.
The body is dynamic—our posture is continually changing on some level.
Good postural habits can be formed by working with the right muscles for a sufficient length of time. i.e. An active posture becomes the passive norm when the relevant connections between mind and muscles have been ‘wired in’.
Restrictions in the body’s connective tissues reduce range of movement and add to poor posture. These restrictions can be released through movement when working with the right muscles.
But what muscles to focus on? A go-ogle for “posture muscles” names a lot of different muscles—too long a list for me to work through here (I’m happy to discuss specific muscles in comments) but nowhere gets it ‘right’ as far as I can see. According to my Base-Line theory of human health and movement:
the 5 (paired) muscles to focus on for a “better posture”.
These muscles (when fully utilised and the body is free of physical restrictions in connective tissues) create a “good posture”—whatever position the body is in, for whatever it is doing.
Our ‘Base-Line’ muscles (pelvic floor ‘Base’, rectus abdominis ‘Line’) are the primary muscles to focus on. The core support from where the rest of the body extends and from where movement should originate.
5 main muscles made easy—introduction to the anatomy.
Base-Line Breathing Techniquehow to find your Base-Line.
The body provides more sensory feedback about its positioning than can ever be supplied by external sources. Becoming aware of this sensory feedback is the basis of conscious proprioception (increased awareness of your sense of position, motion and balance). Connecting with your ‘Base-Line’ develops this connection between body and mind, bringing the benefits of:
Increased awareness your body’s positioning.
Feeling for the body’s state of balance and alignment.
Micro-adjustments in positioning can have wide effects throughout the body (everything’s connected) which can be felt when the body-mind connection is strong.
nuchal/​supraspinous ligaments (between the trapezius muscles)
A good posture—when the main muscles of movement support the body and our midline anatomy can be aligned on the median plane. We can stand upright with ease, with no excess strain on the spine (see below for details on a ‘neutral spine’). Movement is easy and unrestricted.
“Use your core” is oft-repeated advice—but what does it really mean?
“Core muscles” has many definitions and it would not be helpful to add to this over-used term—but think of your Base-Line as your core pillar of strength.
For a neutral spine, the rectus abdominis muscles need to be “long and strong”, fully extended and taking the strain between pelvis and chest.
The rectus abdominis muscles should be ‘long and strong’ to allow the spine to be in a neutral position.
Posture isn’t static. We are constantly on the move.
In an ideal posture stresses are distributed and dissipated in the best/​safest/​most efficient possible manner for the activity being undertaken, permitting dynamic stability through a full range of natural movement.
An ideal posture provides the maximum capacity to deal with external stresses—the body is as strong as it can be.
There are many disciplines that appear to represent ideal postures, demonstrations of the body’s capabilities when it is functioning at optimal. (Caveat—I can name a few, but have little formal knowledge and no experience in most.)
The asanas of yoga—snapshots of the body with a full range of natural movement. Named poses (see below) that can be perfected when the body is truly balanced.
Pilates, tai chi and other internal martial arts, ballet—demonstrating the grace and freedom of movement possible with dynamic alignment.
A ‘functional posture’ is what the brain/​body uses day-to-day when an ideal posture cannot be achieved. Subconscious adjustments are made throughout the body—twists, kinks, tilts and compressions—as the brain sees fit to keep us going—the development of a “bad posture”.
Keeps us facing/​moving forward.
The ‘wrong muscles’ are used to attempt to compensate for misusage in the main muscles but the body is imbalanced. myalgia of imbalance.
When faced with a task, the body/​brain prepares by activating muscles into an ‘anticipatory posture’ - bracing yourself.
An anticipatory posture should be the ideal posture for the activity—using the main muscles of movement to their full potential, but if that is not achievable, the body braces into a functional posture with the use of other muscles.
e.g. downward dog, half lotus, plank pose ….
A full assessment needs a starting reference—a Base-Line—from where the rest of the body is positioned relative to.
The body is always moving. Infinite possibilities … Never the same position twice?
The movements of breathing, vibrations in the cardiovascular system, muscle activity etc. means the body’s exact position changes moment by moment even when trying to be still. Stillness is finding the perfect oscillation for equilibrium.
On what scale is exact position considered? Movement at the cellular level—a twitch of a muscle fibre? At the electro-chemical level—movement of molecules and ions? Unimportant to my theory, but something to think about.
You want to know what body alignment feels like? Work towards aligning the linea alba and nuchal/​supraspinous ligaments.
Con­scious Pro­pri­o­cep­tion. by leggi (4 Oct 2019 4:33 UTC; 21 points)
The Five Main Mus­cles for a Full Range of Nat­u­ral Move­ment, Dy­namic Align­ment & Balance. by leggi (1 Sep 2019 3:22 UTC; 16 points)
Fibromyal­gia, Pain & De­pres­sion. How much is due to phys­i­cal mis­al­ign­ment? by leggi (29 Oct 2019 14:58 UTC; 5 points)
leggi's comment on Phys­i­cal al­ign­ment—do you have it? Take a minute & check. by leggi (8 Feb 2020 5:05 UTC; 2 points)
leggi's comment on What are good re­sources for gears mod­els of joint health? by Randomized, Controlled (13 Jun 2021 5:45 UTC; 1 point)
leggi's comment on What are good re­sources for gears mod­els of joint health? by Randomized, Controlled (6 Jul 2021 8:37 UTC; 1 point)
leggi's comment on The Five Main Mus­cles for a Full Range of Nat­u­ral Move­ment, Dy­namic Align­ment & Balance. by leggi (17 Oct 2019 8:27 UTC; 1 point)
Part of the sequence:base-line to en­light­en­ment—the phys­i­cal route to betterPrevious: Con­scious Pro­pri­o­cep­tion.Next: Fibromyal­gia, Pain & De­pres­sion. How much is due to phys­i­cal mis­al­ign­ment?
ryan_b 6 Dec 2019 16:09 UTC
I can vouch for sudden and significant gains in comfort and functionality by focusing on improving your posture. The method I used was less thorough than here—instead I just used an exercise band and a few stretching exercises to improve the shoulder position. This provided improved comfort immediately, and significant reduction in the fragility of my back in a matter of days.
leggi 14 Dec 2019 5:00 UTC
I’m wary of ‘leading questions’ but - as you were working your shoulders—how did you feel the improved positioning?