The secret to posture that no one talks about. ‘Posture’ is a word that describes the state of a person’s body balance. Now most of us would think tight muscles, forward head and the physical connective tissue only. However, our body is always a reflection of our mind, psyche and belief systems. It mirrors the choices we have made in our every day life.
‘Our genes load the gun, the environment pulls the trigger’.1 Our body is a reflection of our ego. The problem being that our ego reflects other peoples belief systems and ideas. If we have not matured, we develop our sense of self from others around us, including our family, our society, our nation and our culture. Our behaviour, reflection and reaction is of course influenced by our schooling, religion, government and parenting. Change takes us to a place of FEAR ( False, Evidence, Appearing, Real), we resist and want to stay in our comfort zone.
People around us also hate change, so be prepared for a barrage of negative reactions. We all know the foods that give us inflammation, bloating and bad bowels. You may be at a work event and the foods on offer are all inflammatory, your work colleagues give you flack for not joining in their snacking. You are perhaps travelling and have grabbed some fast foods with your friends, you wan to be part of the crowd and fit in, I completely get it. But if you do not change what you put in your body, you will have a lack of connection, understanding and misguided choices that follow through to life. Thus resulting in an in-balanced posture and body. Leonardo de Vinci’s Vitruvian man shows balance and alignment, spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.
Our posture develops from the list below:
- Terrestrial/extra-terrestrial environment
- Genetic/congenital parental
- Spiritual development
- Mental ergonomic
- Emotional injury response
- Hormonal mechanical
- Visceral
- Environmental
There is an age old argument in the movement and manual therapy community, that poor posture does not matter. But they are missing the golden nugget of wisdom. We are an antenna system, and when we are in alignment with our internal and external environment, we can receive information. Rather like the five pointed pentagram. The pentagram represents the five elements and the interconnectedness between them: Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Ether (or Spirit). We contain all these five elements. In Eastern medicine the five elements or five transformations are used to explain the origins of transformations. This explains the natural cycles of life.
If we look at nature, it is a cyclical process. Seeds start to sprout in the spring , then grow more in the summer. Late summer is a time for harvesting. Autumn is a period of decline. Leave fall form the trees and start to digest. This will provide food for plants in the new year. Winter is a period of rest, and then it starts again full circle with growth and development in the spring.
Based on this circling and cyclic way of movement of the nature, where things start, develop, grow and decline, thus transform – a system was created around two thousand years ago in China, named the 5 transformations.
We are nature and each element nourishes each other. The energy system of the body works the same. The meridians are connected and nourish each other in a cyclic way. With Tao-yoga you work on restoring this cyclic movement to eliminate stagnation, strengthen the Ki in the meridians and restore the flow of energy.
Water generates wood, as rain that nourishes a tree.
Wood generates fire, as burning wood that creates fire.
Fire generates earth, as ash from burned wood that becomes part of the soil.
Earth generates metal, as metal ore is extracted and minded from the earth.
Metal generates water, as minerals are a component of water.
Any cyclical action is restoring our chi, energy, life force and prana. Remember when the body is depleted, it lies open for bacteria, fungus and parasites to take root leading to a pathway of dis-ease and dis-harmony.
Stagnation in the body can lead to various health issues plus disease. It is categorised by lack of movement or flow within the system. In Chinese medicine the disruption of chi/qi/life force, prana (life force) results in pain, reduced mobility and chronic dysfunction. The body performs best when breathing, thinking, sleeping, nutrition, movement and hydration are restored.
The sad truth is that most people will not take action and will stay as Carl Jung states the child archetype dependent on someone else or something to save them.
So here above lies the truth there is more to posture than just corrective exercise.
‘Love often leads to healing, while fear and isolation breeds illness. Our biggest fear is abandonment.’ Candace Pert
Bibliography
IMS 1 correspondence course – Paul Chek
‘Eat, move & be healthy’ – Paul Chek
Balance Your Body to Balance Your Mind – Paul Chek’s Blog
- Bray GA. Contemporary diagnosis and management of obesity. Newton, PA: Handbooks in Health Care; 1998.“Genes load the gun, the environment pulls the trigger.” 2005 research paper – Liu G, Hannon T. Reasons for the prevalence of childhood obesity – Genetic predisposition and environmental influences. ENDOCRINOLOGIST. 2005;15:49-55.