Oh, dear!
I know a little about this guy.
Because our rental car wasn’t available, my husband and I had to spend an unscheduled night in Des Moines, IA. The inn we stayed at had stopped serving food because of Covid, so we walked to the nearby convention center for breakfast. To our surprise, we found hundreds of people there, attending a national kickboxing competition. A lot of young adults were there having breakfast – but also sparring, kicking, running, and jumping in place.
Across from where we dined sat a row of competitors with spines much like the one above. Check out the distortion of his spine and how his ribcage forms a “shell” on his back. No doubt this guy is “strong” and adept at kickboxing. However, long term, no one gets away with a misaligned, distorted skeleton like this, or the one below.
The two things I know about this young woman are that she was traveling out of SFO and that she took on this posture unknowingly. She just wanted to fit in, so she took on the “cool” postures of 21st century America. The result is a rounded upper back and an extreme head-forward position.
Misaligned Bones Cause Painful Distortions
Unfortunately, postures like these are not unusual. More and more people, young and old, are sitting in ways that cause varying degrees of nagging discomfort and compensating distortions, like the “shell” on his back and the extreme forward head position of the young woman.
Most people believe the cause of such distortions is aging. But why is it that young people, even kids, have excessively curved spines, knocked-knees, flat feet, forward head position, and slouched shoulders?
Balance is Alive and Well All Around the World
Compare the kickboxer and traveling woman to the image (photograph by Kay Hackney) of the woman at the top of this post.
This Vietnamese woman unknowingly embodies the solution to almost all muscular-skeletal problems. She sits in a way that every joint from head to toe is aligned naturally. There is no undue pressure, holding, or friction anywhere.
How do we know? From studying populations of people all around the world who live in line with gravity. The researcher who discovered this optimal alignment of the human body was Noelle Perez at the Institut D’Aplomb in Paris. She was my main teacher from 1994 until her death in 2019.
Your Best Health Insurance
With minimal Balance education, you can begin your journey to recover comfort and your god-given strength. It is your best health insurance. Balance guidelines are unknown to doctors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, coaches, personal trainers, etc. The fact is that these experts suffer from back and joint pain just as much as the general population.
You can begin Balance right now by signing up for the Free Class Reduces Pain or purchasing a class on sitting, standing, lying down, walking, etc. The cost of this “health insurance” is minimal and totally effective. There is no equipment other than a chair, or a bed necessary. Once you know the basics you don’t have to take any time out of your day as you are always in a posture and can practice everywhere. You can learn on your own time clock, in your own rhythm.
For people who attend the online class Wednesday at 5:30 pm PT or Friday at noon, PT, we will be exploring side planks for symmetry. The class will conclude with lying on our sides so bring pillows, or you can simply practice in bed.
~ Jean Couch
