The ideal, natural and most efficient posture for humans (assuming no underlying genetic, bone or joint disorders/disease etc...) is actually quite straight forward to describe, visualise and understand.
Basically, we evolved to stand up straight on two legs and that is exactly how we should stand.....up straight!
Observed from the side, in the sagital plane, you should be able draw a straight vertical line down the side of our bodies, it should run through our ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles, in perfect alignment.
From the front, in the coronal plane, you should be able to draw a vertical centre line through the belly button and nose (or down from the shoulders, as in the example below running again through the hips, knees and ankles) and then perpendicular lines across the shoulder, hips, knees and ankles.
Something like this....
Simple right? But yet, it still seems to be massively overlooked as a really important factor in our general health and well being. Perhaps THE most important factor, at least that is my increasing believe based on my research and discoveries with my own body so far.
If we cannot hold ourselves and stand with a natural and upright posture because of underlying restrictions and bio mechanical dysfunctions in our body, then how can we expect to function in life without injury and pain, at our maximum efficiency and potential?
When we add movement into the mix and start considering the 4th dimension of time and our movement through it, the dysfunctions seen when standing are exasperated and will cause compensatory muscles patterns to occur when in movement, meaning our muscles are not all operating on their primary function/s or at maximum efficiency.....
"Establish movement quality first!.......Then increase volume, intensity and complexity, without every compromising the movement quality which you first established." Erwan le Corre (MovNat)
Tight calves and tender ankles/feet for example (I certainly do).....quite likely could be caused from over use of the associated muscles because of muscle compensation from an underlying postural dysfunction. So if for example, our natural posture has some sort of forward lean/tilt from the pelvis (which seems to be quite common in today's society), then the upper body is not being properly supported and balanced ('stacked') above the hips. Therefore, we have to compensate with other muscles to support our structures and remain upright and that is likely the cause of tight calves, from over use.
Tight next and shoulders.....could well be caused from our head 'slumping' forward from our 'centre line'. The head is then not being properly supported by the spine, so muscles in the back and neck have to compensate to support our head and hold it up. This then causes over activation of the muscles in our back and neck, followed by tightness and restriction in that area. This forward slump is actually making our heads weigh a lot more than they should.....see below....
I am very much simplifying things here, I know....but hopefully you get the simplified picture that I am trying to paint of muscle compensations that can be caused from postural misalignment.
According to James Earls and his fascinating research into Myofascial Efficiency and the Body in Movement, one of the hallmarks of efficient walking is the absence of active muscular contraction, maximizing the recoil efficiency of the fascial tissues.
So how and why do humans develop poor posture............??..........well I think I'll leave that as a topic for discussion and consideration in a future blog! :)
I'll just leave you with some images of postural corrections from Structural Integration body work, also a topic for a future blog!
Basically, we evolved to stand up straight on two legs and that is exactly how we should stand.....up straight!
Observed from the side, in the sagital plane, you should be able draw a straight vertical line down the side of our bodies, it should run through our ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles, in perfect alignment.
From the front, in the coronal plane, you should be able to draw a vertical centre line through the belly button and nose (or down from the shoulders, as in the example below running again through the hips, knees and ankles) and then perpendicular lines across the shoulder, hips, knees and ankles.
Something like this....
Simple right? But yet, it still seems to be massively overlooked as a really important factor in our general health and well being. Perhaps THE most important factor, at least that is my increasing believe based on my research and discoveries with my own body so far.
If we cannot hold ourselves and stand with a natural and upright posture because of underlying restrictions and bio mechanical dysfunctions in our body, then how can we expect to function in life without injury and pain, at our maximum efficiency and potential?
When we add movement into the mix and start considering the 4th dimension of time and our movement through it, the dysfunctions seen when standing are exasperated and will cause compensatory muscles patterns to occur when in movement, meaning our muscles are not all operating on their primary function/s or at maximum efficiency.....
"Establish movement quality first!.......Then increase volume, intensity and complexity, without every compromising the movement quality which you first established." Erwan le Corre (MovNat)
Tight calves and tender ankles/feet for example (I certainly do).....quite likely could be caused from over use of the associated muscles because of muscle compensation from an underlying postural dysfunction. So if for example, our natural posture has some sort of forward lean/tilt from the pelvis (which seems to be quite common in today's society), then the upper body is not being properly supported and balanced ('stacked') above the hips. Therefore, we have to compensate with other muscles to support our structures and remain upright and that is likely the cause of tight calves, from over use.
Tight next and shoulders.....could well be caused from our head 'slumping' forward from our 'centre line'. The head is then not being properly supported by the spine, so muscles in the back and neck have to compensate to support our head and hold it up. This then causes over activation of the muscles in our back and neck, followed by tightness and restriction in that area. This forward slump is actually making our heads weigh a lot more than they should.....see below....
I am very much simplifying things here, I know....but hopefully you get the simplified picture that I am trying to paint of muscle compensations that can be caused from postural misalignment.
According to James Earls and his fascinating research into Myofascial Efficiency and the Body in Movement, one of the hallmarks of efficient walking is the absence of active muscular contraction, maximizing the recoil efficiency of the fascial tissues.
So how and why do humans develop poor posture............??..........well I think I'll leave that as a topic for discussion and consideration in a future blog! :)
I'll just leave you with some images of postural corrections from Structural Integration body work, also a topic for a future blog!
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