Movement Matters.Posture

"The shape, or pattern, of the body is therefore a moving one, dynamic, not static."

THE THINKING BODY

The Thinking Body - The Psychophysical Basis of Posture

Should the term “posture” seem to convey a fixed outline or shape, recall that the body, like all other objects on earth, is continuously subject to the pull of gravity and to inertia and must incessantly meet them. As it is being drawn toward the earth’s center, it maintains itself by constant movement of the various parts; and it must as persistently withstand a tendency to continue moving in the same direction or to remain at rest. The shape, or pattern, of the body is therefore a moving one, dynamic, not static.

In the human body, posture is the pattern of many small parts moving definite distances in space, in a scheme perfectly timed, and with the exact amount of effort necessary to support the individual weights and to cover the time-space-movement.

To understand the structural balance of the human body, we must develop our awareness of its component parts, their relationships, and the forces acting upon and within them. We must understand its materials and their functions and behavior. Understanding the mechanical principles of weight support which apply alike to animate and inanimate structures must be a part of this knowledge.

The bones are the weight-bearing parts, and gravity the primary force to which they are subjected. The balance of bones at their contacting surfaces, the joints, as well as their movement by the muscles, must be taken into account if economical adjustment of materials of the body is to be attained.

This adjustment involves psychophysical reactions as well as the purely physical reactions to the forces of gravity and inertia which operate alike on organic and inorganic mechanisms.

With its infinite branches forming a network throughout the body, the nervous system is constantly acting on all structures and organs, conveying impulses to and from the centers in the brain and the spinal cord. Stimuli are ceaselessly producing reactions. All are recorded in the nerve centers; some we become aware of at once, others do not rise immediately into the field of consciousness.

There can be no such thing as fixity in such a fluctuating mass. Every sensation from the outside world, every activity and thought within causes a change somewhere in the organism. This balanced adjustment may be disturbed by jarring forces, whether they be physical or emotional circumstances, and the balance can become seriously impaired.

The ability to improve a pattern of support and movement for the reduction of mechanical and emotional stresses comes from the study and appreciation of our proprioceptive sensations, the organic sensations which identify our self. Through this process we are able to bring about a better balancing of parts, and thus coordination of the whole

The Thinking BodyMabel Elsworth Todd©1937

Movement Matters: Balance

Balance isn’t just about staying steady on one foot—it’s the foundation of every movement you make. Whether you’re navigating stairs, playing sports, going on hikes, or simply getting out of bed, maintaining a steady balance helps you stay safe and active.

Mindful Moments

The following piece is an excerpt from a book called To Bless the Space Between Us, by Irish poet, philosopher,author and priest, John O'Donohue.

...Change arrives in nature when time has ripened. There are no jagged transitions or crude discontinuities. This accounts for the sureness with which one season succeeds another. It is as though they were moving forward in a rhythm set from within a continuum.

To change is one of the great dreams of every heart – to change the limitations, the sameness, the banality, or the pain. So often we look back on patterns of behavior, the kind of decisions we make repeatedly and that have failed to serve us well, and we aim for a new and more successful path or way of living. But change is difficult for us. So often we opt to continue the old pattern, rather than risking the danger of difference. We are also often surprised by change that seems to arrive out of nowhere.

We find ourselves crossing some new threshold we had never anticipated. Like spring secretly at work within the heart of winter, below the surface of our lives huge changes are in fermentation. We never suspect a thing. Then when the grip of some long-enduring winter mentality begins to loosen, we find ourselves vulnerable to a flourish of possibility and we are suddenly negotiating the challenge of a threshold.

At any time you can ask yourself: At which threshold am I now standing? At this time in my life, what am I leaving? Where am I about to enter? What is preventing me from crossing my next threshold? What gift would enable me to do it? A threshold is not a simple boundary; it is a frontier that divides two different territories, rhythms and atmospheres. Indeed, it is a lovely testimony to the fullness and integrity of an experience or a stage of life that it intensifies toward the end into a real frontier that cannot be crossed without the heart being passionately engaged and woken up. At this threshold a great complexity of emotions comes alive: confusion, fear, excitement, sadness, hope. This is one of the reasons such vital crossing were always clothed in ritual. It is wise in your own life to be able to recognize and acknowledge the key thresholds; to take your time; to feel all the varieties of presence that accrue there; to listen inward with complete attention until you hear the inner voice calling you forward. The time has come to cross.

To acknowledge and cross a new threshold is always a challenge. It demands courage and also a sense of trust in whatever is emerging. This becomes essential when a threshold opens suddenly in front of you, one for which you had no preparation. This could be illness, suffering or loss. Because we are so engaged with the world, we usually forget how fragile life can be and how vulnerable we always are. It takes only a couple of seconds for a life to change irreversibly. Suddenly you stand on completely strange ground and a new course of life has to be embraced. Especially at such times we desperately need blessing and protection. You look back at the life you have lived up to a few hours before, and it suddenly seems so far away. Think for a moment how, across the world, someone’s life has just changed – irrevocably, permanently, and not necessarily for the better – and everything that was once so steady, so reliable, must now find a new way of unfolding.

Though we know one another’s names and recognize one another’s faces, we never know what destiny shapes each life. The script of individual destiny is secret; it is hidden behind and beneath the sequence of happenings that is continually unfolding for us. Each life is a mystery that is never finally available to the mind’s light or questions. That we are here is a huge affirmation; somehow life needed us and wanted us to be. To sense and trust this primeval acceptance can open a vast spring of trust within the heart. It can free us into a natural courage that casts out fear and opens up our lives to become voyages of discovery, creativity, and compassion. No threshold need be a threat, but rather an invitation and a promise.

Whatever comes, the great sacrament of life will remain faithful to us, blessing us always with visible signs of invisible grace. We merely need to trust.

— From To Bless the Space Between Us, by John O’Donohue