Thoughts on Nutrion Provide Parallels to How we Use Our Bodies. Nutrition? Will The Posture Police be fined for going off-topic?

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Posture Police:  Hello blog readers!  I'd like to share a book that I just finished reading with all of you.  It's a nutrition book and . . .

Posture Police Police:  Let's not get off topic here.  Please abide by the blog code and stick to the topic of posture!

Posture Police:  Well, I maintained excellent posture as I was reading it. 

Posture Police Police:  Does the content of the book relate at all to the theme of this blog or are you using this blog as a soapbox for book that you happen to like?

Posture Police:  It's thematically relevant.  Trust me.

Posture Police Police:  You are risky a hefty fine by going off topic you know.  Does eating vegetables reduce back pain? 

Posture Police:  I don't know about that.  Will you get down off of my shoulder and please let me get to the point?  Thank you!  Sorry for the distraction!  Hi!  Yes, The China Study is a book on nutrition, more specifically on in-depth nutritional research on the effects of a mostly plant-based diet.  It is called the China Study because one of the major studies discussed was a large-scale study in rural China.  You may be wondering why am I bringing this up on a blog about The Alexander Technique that is focused on how we use our bodies and redefining posture.  Are you about to be convinced of the value of adopting a plant-based diet, you ask?  No.  If you want to be convinced of the benefits of that, then read The China Study. 

The book points out as flaws in research as well as flaws in how people typically think about nutrition.  I think that these are the same sorts of problems that come up in regards to how we view and care for ourselves in regards to injury and pain.  Campbell (the author) points out that nutrition is often studied one nutrient at a time as opposed to studying the effects of whole foods on our health.  In some cases, the nutrient may differ from one food to another (for example animal protein vs. plant protein).  Also, each food contains many combination of nutrients, all of which interact in your body in such subtle and complex ways that studying individual nutrients doesn't tell the whole story.  Studying each reaction to a particular mix of nutrients in anyone's body at a given time based on the combination of foods they've eaten may be impossible to research completely since there are so many potential combinations and outcomes.  The China Study and other studies of it's kind look in a very practical way how diet patterns affect health.  In this case, the bigger picture seems to give more useful information than the fine details.

In the same way, we tend to divide ourselves up into details and look at knee pain as the result of a knee problem, lower back pain as the result of a lower back problem, wrist pain as the result of a wrist problem, breathing trouble as a result of a breathing problem.  These types of issues often arise from wear and tear on the body based on a general coordination problem, a problem with how a person is using their body in every activity that they do.  Using your body in ways that create compression or excess tension results in strain.  People are often told that they have poor posture, but they may not realize that their poor posture is really a problem in their total coordination pattern that results in lower back pain, knee pain, shallow breathing, or any of a variety of strain-related issues.  Focusing only on specific areas of the body often masks a more general postural coordination issue, just like focusing on only specific nutrients in food masks more general trends in diet, such as the types of foods we choose to eat.

Think about the following:  If you thrust your neck forward and pull your head back (this may feel like sticking your chin out), you are pressing your head back and down into your spine.  If you look in a mirror or watch someone else do it, you'll see what I mean.  Now let your head drop down as if you've fallen asleep on a bus.  Your head is heavy, isn't it?  So, if you are pulling your head back and down into your spine, you are pressing the weight of your head (about 10 pounds) down through your back and legs.  This posture creates compression and distortion all the way down to your feet.  So, releasing your neck up instead of tensing it and pulling your head back will relieve a lot of pressure on your back and even as far down as your knees and ankles.  Most people pull their heads back and down into their spines without even knowing it and take this posture with them into any activity they engage in.  When humans were hunter-gatherers, we probably did this when we suspected there was a predator around the corner.  It's a startle-response and most people are stuck in it unknowingly, creating pressure in their backs and legs, yet trying to address the back and leg troubles by exercising or having surgery on those areas.  Why not address the source of the problem and stop tensing your neck?  The Alexander Technique helps people to address strain issues at the source and really solve the root of the problem.  Like Campbell's findings on nutrition in The China Study, looking at the big picture and at how everything works together will give a person more useful information that addressing fine details out of context.

Want to read more?  Check out the abstract and short video about the 2008 large-scale back pain study that was published in the British Medical Journal.  Chronic back pain sufferers who spent 21 days out of the month in pain reduced their days in pain to three after a series of 24 Alexander Technique lessons.  That's an 85% reduction in pain.  Pretty phenomenal, but not surprising.  When strain-related pain is address within the context of how a person uses their body as a whole, during their daily activities the unconscious habits that are causing the pain become evident and the person is empowered with the tools to change them.  Check out the study . . .http://www.bmj.com/content/337/bmj.a884.full

Time Travel with the Posture Police

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Back in Time!

Eleven years ago I was an acting student at New York University.  This was before I had become a "Posture Police" officer (my best roll yet!) and was just discovering the Alexander Technique through an introductory course that was part of my program.   I began to become aware of the terrible way I was using and holding my body and I have been on a path of undoing those bad habits ever since.  Over the holidays, I jumped in my Delorian ("time machine" in case you missed "Back to the Future") and took a trip back in time to see what went wrong and try to figure out why.  Check out the photos that I took along the way.  I made sure to disguise myself adequately during my travels so that I would be unrecognizable to my past self and avoid tearing a hole in the space/time continuum! 

First stop, 1980!


Year:  1980
Age:  18-months

Here I am.  A red-shoed toddler crawling up a flight of stairs.  My head leads.  The rest of my body follows.  I bend at the major joints (hips, knees, and ankles).  I'm alert and aware of my surroundings.  Life is a piece of cake.


 

Year:  1983
Age:  4

Wow, look at that linoleum!  And here's Lindsay sitting on her sit-bones, upright, straight as an arrow. Head easily balanced on top of the spine.  Shoulders relaxed.  Legs free of tension, smiling.  Sitting up straight and feeling comfortable.    









Year:  1986
Age: 7

Smell the fresh air of that school photo backdrop!  Second grade.  My third year of school.  Shoulders pulling down.  Chest and ribcage sinking down.  Neck poking forward.  Head dropped forward compressing down onto spine.









 
Year:  1988
Age:  9

This is the summer between third and fourth grade.  Yikes!  Shoulders dropped forward even more.  Visible tension in the neck, upper back and shoulders.  Head locked back and down onto the spine.  Face tense.  No looking so happy here.  I recall experiencing chronic anxiety at this time and developing an obsession with avoiding germs. I was having trouble focusing in school and was tested for Attention Deficit Disorder, which it was determined that I had.  Medication was recommended, but my parents decided against it.


Year:  1988
Age:  9

Same summer as the previous photo.  Having a little more fun here!  I think that this is at Universal Studios in LA and I'm pretending to lift a car that is tilted onto two wheels for just such a tourist photo opportunity.  My faux-lifting reveals severe misuse of the body and demonstrates how I tended to actually lift things.  I'm taking all of the weight into my shoulder, stiffening my torso, tensing my opposite arm, and tensing my thighs. 


Year:  1993
Age:  13

Aloha!  That's a little nicer than that school photo background.  Here I am in Honolulu. Look at those palm trees!  The breeze! 
I'm enjoying this lovely weather and scenery while corseted in a plastic back brace (under my clothes) to treat scoliosis.  I had a 25 degree lateral (sideways) curve in my lumbar spine.  If I look like I'm holding in my abs, it is because th brace is holding them in.  It's hard to breathe like this!  Many cases of scoliosis are idiopathic, meaning that there is no know cause. 


Year:  1997
Age:  18
This is the day that I moved into my dorm as a freshman drama student at NYU.  I'm out of the brace at this point.  Look at my right (your left) side.  See how I'm compressing into the lateral (sideways) curve in my lower back.  My right hip and leg are lifted.  My right shoulder is pulled down.  Still a great deal of shoulder and neck tension and a general sense of disunity and awkwardness.  I generally felt uncomfortable and anxious.  My first two years as a drama student were very difficult.  I was unable to change or even recognize my ingrained physical habits.  


In 1999 I discovered the Alexander Technique in a group class in school and soon began taking private lessons.  I finally started to understand and feel what I was doing that was problematic and how to change it.  I began to excel in my classes, feel more at ease in my body, and focus with less strain.  I was finally enjoying the program I had been so eager to enter.  I felt happier and less worried.  My GPA went up.

So why did I start off so well and succumb to misusing my body so severely?  Was it the pressure of school and sitting still in a chair for hours at a young age?  May it also be related to all of the television that I watched?  Could it have to do with being taught to fear?  Fear germs, other people, traffic . . . 






Here is a photo of my youngest child that illustrates excellent use of the body and posture.  Will she maintain this good use?  How can I help her and her older sister to avoid interfering with good use, good posture, and optimal functioning in a world full of stress and danger?






What do you notice about how you use your body?  Why do you think you do so? Look through your childhood photos and see if you can see the way you misuse yourself developing.

Take a look at what I talk about on my website about Children, Learning, Focusing and School:
http://www.lindsaynewitter.com/children-learning-focusing/

Miniature New Yorkers Spotted At Prince Street! Tiny people also exhibit good and poor posture!

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Miniature New Yorkers Spotted At Prince Street!  These tiny people also exhibit good and poor posture.  Evidence of the inseparability of physical and mental states!
 
While waiting for the R train at Prince Street station in SOHO, I noticed that in addition to the commuters filling up the platform, there were these tiny little people milling about on the walls, like miniature versions of the folks on the platform.  I wondered if they were miniature versions of New Yorkers who had wandered in from another dimension.  I tried to speak to a few of them while I was waiting, but they must have still been at least partially in their own dimension because they didn't appear to hear me.  I blew my police whistle with no effect.  I gave up communicating after several attempts and instead took a few photos.  As I was photographing them, I noticed some model examples of good and poor posture (or what F.M. Alexander called good and poor "use") and I discovered that I was collecting some pretty clear evidence that physical and mental states cannot be separated.  My train arrived and as I boarded, I wondered if a miniature train would pull into the station that the little people would all board.


Exhibit A: First, I noticed an older woman exhibiting typical signs of age - a compressed spine, resulting in a hunch.  The downward pressure from her upper body clearly affected her legs, as her gate was stiff and she shuffled her feet.  Her gaze was focused downward and all of her attention appeared to be focused on making sure that her feet stepped where she wanted them to step, as if she didn't trust that they would obey her commands without her looking at them.  What this woman is doing might be viewed by many as a condition of old age, whereas she likely created this condition herself through years of misusing her body.  

 
Exhibit B:  I glanced to my right and saw an encouraging, though less common site - what appeared to be an older woman who carried herself more upright than most teenagers.  Her head was poised atop her spine and she maintained her full height without compressing herself.  She exuded confidence.  She looked relaxed and aware of her surroundings.  Becoming as compressed and physically disconnected as the first woman is not an inevitable symptom of age.  If we use ourselves well, we can continue to maintain good use.  Now, here's a question . . . Who would you be more likely to ask for directions?  The woman standing more upright, right?  Why?  Probably because she seems more like she knows what's going on.  I would expect the first woman might be confused, afraid of falling, and so narrowly focused that she might have trouble answering a question (also, typically symptomss of old age, no?) - clear evidence that the physical and the mental are inseparably intertwined and that how we use ourselves affects how we function.

Exhibit C:  Next I spotted a young woman walking briskly.  She employed a great deal of strain to move about.  She appeared to be leading with her chin and thereby tipping her head back and down (rotating the head back), resulting in tightness in her neck, upper back and shoulders.  Her lower back looked tight and it seemed as though she was squeezing and compressing all of herself in order to move forward.  She appeared to be taking the weight of the bags that she was carrying into her shoulders, further exacerbating the problem.  Interestingly, there was nothing unusual or extreme looking about the way that she was holding herself or walking, yet she was using herself quite poorly.  

Exhibit D: Next I spotted a second young woman walking briskly, also carrying an object - quite a heavy-looking object!  She appeared to be exerting no excess effort to hold the chair that she carried in her right hand.  She didn't tighten her shoulders and the weight of the chair seemed to be evenly distributed throughout her body.  She walked upright,at her full height, and did not stick her chin forward and rotate the head back.  She maintained an straight, yet relaxed torso and she easily stepped about as her legs weren't stiff.  She appeared to be moving and reckoning with the weight of the object in her hand with just the right amount of effort.  Lovely to see, but a rare sighting!  Who would you be more likely to ask for directions?  I would ask the woman carrying the chair.  Even though she may be walking quickly, she appears more present and like she might be able to easily answer my question without becoming frustrated or slowing down.  The first woman looks as though she would be disturbed by someone stopping her and annoyed to have to think about my question while carrying bags and trying to move along quickly.   


Exhibit D:  Next, I happened upon two folks engaging in a popular activity of late.  Using a cell phone!  They were likely texting or checking email.  Prince street is one of those stations that I always get reception in.  Very convenient!  I immediately noticed differences in the posture and use of these two people.  The person on the left appeared closed in on herself, focused on her phone at the expense of everything else.  She dropped her head down, dragging her neck and back with it and adopted a similar stance and attitude to older woman in Exhibit A.  The person to the right looked down at his phone, but allowed his head to rotate up and over to move down instead of just dropping down.  The result is that he moveed his head and neck down in space without compressing down in himself.  He seemed relaxed and composed.  The person to the left seemed stressed and agitated.  As in the other comparisons, I would likely ask the relaxed, upright, composed person for directions.  I would expect that he'd be able to pause reading an email or writing a text message, calmly answer my question, and then return to his phone.  I'd expect that the person to the left would be frustrated about having been interrupted and might have trouble going back to what she was doing.  The act of focusing need not involve strain and a complete narrowing of one's perspective.  It is possible to remain composed, alert, and concentrated on a task.


There were many more tiny people to observe on both platforms at Prince Street.  Take a look yourself if you happen to be in the station and let me know if that tiny train ever shows up!



Surgeons and Actors spotted taking Alexander Technique lessons!

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Surgeons and Actors spotted taking Alexander Technique lessons!?!?  Librarians across the globe are dizzy with panic in regards to how to categorize this mysterious technique with such a wide array of applications.  Rumor has it that they are organizing to stage a protest of the disruption of their carefully-constructed classification systems.

Surgeons at have recently been reaping the 
benefits of Alexander Technique lessons to improve their job performance according to a recent study at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.  Cat A. Gory, a librarian who had filed "Alexander Technique" under "Acting", panicked at the prospect of re-cataloging literature on the subject.  After discovering that surgeons were studying the Alexander Technique, she did some Googling and found that all sorts of people take Alexander lessons and find them useful, from actors to athletes, to office-workers, to dishwashers.  She has reportedly spent the all past week hunched over her computer, looking for a proper way to file literature on the technique and is now suffering such severe neck and back pain that she's filing for worker's comp.  

Ms. Gory placed a call to the Posture Police to see if she could get some help.

Posture Police:  Hello, Posture Police.

Cat E. Gory:  Yes, My name is Cat E. Gory.  I'm a librarian at the district library and I'd like to make a  request, no, really a demand of Mr. Alexander.  His new Technique has wreaked havoc on my classification system.

Posture Police:  Mr. Frederick Matthias Alexander?  The Alexander who developed the Alexander Technique?

Cat E. Gory:  Yes, that's him.

Posture Police:  Mr. Alexander's Technique is around 100-years old.

Cat E. Gory:  Hold on, let me Google that.  Oh, yes.  I see.  I see.  Yes, now I recall reading that.  Oh my!  It's been filed incorrectly all this time!  Dewey isn't due to be revised for another two years, so I can't change the classification categories.  I've got to find a way to fit it in and it's just impossible!

Posture Police:  Do you mean John Dewey, the renowned American educational philosopher and contemporary of Alexander's who was an avid proponent of Alexander's work and the significance of it to education?

Cat E. Gory:  No, I mean the Dewey Decimal Classification System devised by Melvil Dewey.

Posture Police:  Oh, yes, of course.

Cat E. Gory:  Though what you just said complicates things even more.  Educational philosophy!  My word!  I was moving toward the "Health" category again.  Is this about health?  Education?  Posture?  Acting?  Ow, my neck.  (sigh)

Posture Police:  All of the above, really.

Cat E. Gory:  I was afraid you'd say that!  I'm really trying hard to get this subject to fit neatly into a category.  Would you please help me?  I was already in a bit of a tizzy when I tried to put it in the "health" category, but then I found out that not only did it have something to do with health, but it was also related to education.  I mean, really, why would someone want to be educated about their health?  Then I began to wonder if it had something to do with saving time, like, I don't know, getting vaccinated for measles while doing Math homework, so that health and education would be happening simultaneously.  I was relieved when I discovered that F.M. Alexander was an actor and that the technique is offered as a course in many acting school.  I figured the whole health thing was a rumor, so I stuck it under "Theatre Education" next to Stanislavski.  I had just started feeling ok with the whole thing when that study from Cincinnati came to my attention.  (gasping for air)  I just I just couldn't handle it!  Surgeons and actors using the same technique to improve their jobs!  What on earth could they have in common?  (Choking back tears).  Things really began to unravel when I googled "Alexander Technique" and discovered that all sorts of people use it who have absolutely nothing in common.  I mean absolutely nothing! Oh, God my neck hurts so badly and I've hardly moved from this computer for the past week!  What on Earth could I have done to it?  So, after reading the study, I was looking a the Health classifications again, but now you're talking about educational philosophy and I've just about had it.  Anyway, my neck and back hurt so badly.  I guess it's from all the stress of trying to figure this thing out, though I don't really know.  In any case, it hurts so badly that I think I'm going to have to stop working.  I demand that Mr. Alexander present me with a proper Classification of his work that will fit into the system.

Posture Police:  Ms. Gory, F.M. Alexander passed away in 1955.  

Cat E. Gory:  Oh, yes, that's right.  I'm reading that now.  Well, what should I do.  Who can I blame for my neck and back pain.

Posture Police:  I suggest that you take some Alexander lessons and learn how to stop your neck pain and how to avoid it in the future.  Hello?  Hello?

(several minutes later)

Cat E. Gory:  Hello Doctor.  My neck and back are in terrible shape.  Could you proscribe me some pain killers.

Doctor:  Why do your neck and back hurt?

Cat E. Gory:  I don't know.  I've been working very hard at my desk all week and I'm in agony.  Could you prescribe me something?  I'll need surgery, won't I.

Doctor:  I suggest taking some Alexander Technique lessons.  I was just reading some recent research on the technique.  I think that it could really help you.

Cat E. Gory:  Oh.  Thanks.

(several minutes later) 

Cat E. Gory:  Is this the Posture Police?

Posture Police:  Oh, it's you again.  We must have had a bad connection.  Did you find your answer.

Cat E. Gory:  I'm going to take an Alexander Technique lesson and find out about it for myself.  My doctor says that it will help my neck and back and maybe I'll finally understand how to file the topic.  Can you tell me where I can find a teacher?

Posture Police:  Of course.  Visit www.lindsaynewitter.com

Cat E. Gory:  And one more question.  What on earth do actors and surgeons have in common?  I must know.  There must be something!

Posture Police:  They are all human, and like most humans they tend to misuse themselves by creating unnecessary strain in order to maintain upright posture.

Cat E. Gory:  Oh my.  The answer was right under my nose.  I'm so sorry that I hung up on you earlier.  I don't know where my mind went!  Of course.  We're all human, so we must all have some common issues regardless of our professions.

Posture Police:  Yes, but I should amend what I said about all actors being human.  My cat is a pretty good actor sometimes!

Performers (actors and musicians) have know the value of the Alexander Technique for a long time.  Most MFA acting programs include The Alexander Technique in their program of study.  The Alexander Technique deals with how we use ourselves on a very fundamental level.  Therefore,  it  is just as much an acting or singing technique as it is a walking or running technique or a technique for doing the dishes or maintaining comfortable posture while performing surgery.

Click below to read "Artistic Discipline Meets Modern Technology to Enhance Surgical Proficiency"

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/artistic-discipline-meets-modern-technology-to-enhance-surgical-proficiency-104198763.html

"Minimally invasive procedures require surgeons and assistants to maintain awkward, non-neutral and static postures of the trunk and extremities. This limits the natural shifting of their posture and can lead to discomfort, fatigue and even injury."

Image credit:  <p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2692">Image: taoty / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

Come back here with you're head up, Charlie Brown!

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The Posture Police caught up with Charlie Brown coming out of a humiliating therapy session with Lucy that was not worth the nickle he spent.  Let's see if we can give him some tips to turn Lucy's mean-spirited criticisms into constructive observations that he has the power to change.  

Take a look at what just happened . . .



Charlie Brown:  Oh, good grief.  What now?

Posture Police:  Lucy came down on you pretty hard there.

Charlie Brown:  You can say that again.  I'm just a failure.  That's all there is to it.  The harder I try, the worse I get.

Posture Police:  That's because you're end-gaining.

Charlie Brown:  Good grief, I can't stand anymore criticism! 

Posture Police:  Now hold on a second.  Lucy listed for you and showed you all of your shortcomings . . .

Charlie Brown:  I know!  That's all I am.  Millions of faults all stuck together forming something that sort of looks like a human.  Why do I have to be me?  I wish I were some with no faults or maybe just three faults.  I think I could handle three.  But all faults?  I can't do anything but be discouraged.

Posture Police:  Charlie Brown, you're "faults" as you call them are what you do.  They're not written in you're genetic code.

Charlie Brown:  They're not?

Posture Police:  No.  If you're doing something one way, you can change how you're doing it right?

Charlie Brown:  I guess so.  But how?  I try so hard.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  Just Do It, Nike.

Posture Police:  I think that whoever said those things was giving some pretty poor advice.

Charlie Brown:  But I have to try, right?  What else can I do but try?  Oh, I'm so sick of trying.

Posture Police:  So stop trying!

Charlie Brown:  You want me to give up?  I'm only eight years old!  Oh, but I should give up.  I'm a total, utter, failure.

Posture Police:  I'm not suggesting that you give up.  I'm suggesting that you do something different instead of always trying to do the same thing.  It's like you're running faster and faster in a circle.  You try harder and harder, but with the same habits that just get you right back to where you started.

Charlie Brown:  What habits?  You mean my faults?

Posture Police:  Yes, you're faults, but let's be less judgmental and call them habits that get in the way of you achieving your goals.

Charlie Brown:  Lucy said that I lack coordination and that my movements are erratic.

Posture Police:  I saw the instant replay of you running and I agree with her.  She wants you to fail, so she doesn't offer you an alternative for your "faults".

Charlie Brown:  Ok, I'm listening.

Posture Police:  When you were running to kick that ball, do you remember how you were going about running?  Were you aware that you were moving erratically?

Charlie Brown:  No.

Posture Police:  And there's the problem.  How can you change that if you aren't aware if it while you are doing it?

Charlie Brown:  Good grief.  This is complicated.

Posture Police:  I think it's pretty simple.  As I mentioned before, you were end-gaining.  You were thinking only about kicking the ball, but you were ignoring the means-whereby you got there.

Charlie Brown:  The means where-who?

Posture Police:  The means whereby you do something.  They way you do something.  The steps involved in doing something.

Charlie Brown:  I understand.

Posture Police:  Good.  You ignored how you were getting to the ball and were only thinking of the end goal - kicking it.  You completely stressed out about getting to the ball and exhibited poorly coordinated, erratic movements as pointed out by Lucy.  Lucy isn't helping you though by simply pointing them out.

Charlie Brown:  I should have kept that nickle in my pocket, but I was so desperate.

Posture Police:  Let's look at what you are doing when you run.  Here's a ball.  Go over there and run and kick it.

Charlie Brown:  Are you going to pull the ball away?

Posture Police:  No.

Charlie Brown:  Ok.  Here I go.

Posture Police:  Ok, stop just a minute.

Charlie Brown:  But I didn't even get to the ball yet.

Posture Police:  You're already end-gaining.  Just like in the instant replay, you are pulling your head back and down, and therefore compressing your whole spine.  That pressure in turn prevents your legs from moving freely under your torso.  You're not present as you're running.  It looks like you're only thinking about the ball and you're forgetting how you're moving and where you are in space.  Can I put my hands on your neck and back to show you what I mean?

Charlie Brown:  Ok.  Oh, wow!  Now I feel what I'm doing.  You're right!  I feel that I am pulling my head back and down.  Even when I'm just standing here.  So I must be doing it even more when I'm running.

Posture Police:  Now you are getting the idea.  Pulling the head back and down is a startle response, like if you just saw a grizzly bear over there!  If you do that while you run, you'll slow yourself down and will interfere with your natural, efficient coordination.  You are naturally well-coordinated, Charlie Brown.  You just need to get out of your own way.  You're not doomed to be a failure if you learn how to change your habits.

Charlie Brown:  Wow, thanks.  I don't feel discourage anymore.  I think I have a lot of work to do, but there might be some hope for me yet!

Posture Police:  Glad to be of help.  You are a good man, Charlie Brown!

Penalty For Failing To Bend Over Properly: Back Pain!

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Dog walkers of NYC are responding to increased fine from $450-$4500 and are diligently cleaning up after their dogs.  Unfortunately while doing so, they've caught trying too hard to "bend properly".  Could this sign be responsible? 

 


Why is the Red Stick Person on the sign bending like that?

Let's find out!







Posture Police: Excuse me Red Stick Person. . .

Red Stick Person:  Good evening officer! 

Posture Police:  I'd like to speak with you regarding how you're bending over to clean up after your dog.

Red Stick Person: Isn't this how you are supposed to bend?  I've always heard that I should bend like that in order to avoid hurting my back - bend the knees, not the back and keep the back straight, right?

Posture Police:  Yes . . . and no.  Let's start by talking about what the "major joints" are - HIPS, KNEES, ANKLES.  If you bend at these joins as opposed to bending your back, you are less likely to put stress on the smaller joints formed by the vertebrae of your spine.

Red Stick Person:  Does that mean that I must always bend at the major joints or else I'll be bending wrong and hurting yourself?

Posture Police:  No.

Red Stick Person:  Does that mean that if I always bend at the major joints that I'll be bending correctly and never hurt myself?

Posture Police:  No.

Red Stick Person:  Uh-oh, so how do I know if I'm bending correctly and not hurting myself?

Posture Police: Pay attention to how you are using yourself regardless of your bending position.

Red Stick Person:  Uh . . .What do you mean "using myself"?

Posture Police:  I mean are you compressing in on yourself?  That would be an example of poor use.  Are you you compressing your spine?  Also poor use.

Red Stick Person: In which situation?  Am I compressing when I bend my major joints or when I bend my back?

Posture Police:  In either situation.  How you use yourself permeates all situations, positions and movements.

Red Stick Person:  So bending at the major joints can help me to avoid back injury, but what really counts is how I'm using myself!

Posture Police:  You've got it.  Bending at the major joints is what Alexander Technique teachers call "mechanical advantage".  It helps to set up the potential for good use, but it doesn't guarantee good use.

Red Stick Person:  Great!  Um, but how do I know whether or not I'm using myself well?

Posture Police:  Well, you may not know.  Compressing can become a quite habitual and unconscious habit.

Red Stick Person:  Can Alexander Technique lessons help me to identify my unconscious habits?

Posture Police:  Yes!

Red Stick Person:  How?

Posture Police:  By helping you to actually feel how you habitually compress yourself, so you can stop doing that and allow yourself to relax and come up to your full height.

Red Stick Person:  Instead of scrunching myself down?

Posture Police:  That's right.

Red Stick Person:  I'm standing here all day on this sign demonstrating to passers-by that they should clean up after their dogs.  I always see people walking along hunched and squeezed and pulling themselves down.  And some of them try to keep their backs straight when they pick up their dog's poop, but they look so stiff!

Posture Police: I think you've got the idea!

Red Stick Person:  So, where can I find an Alexander Technique teacher?

Posture Police:  You're lookin' at one, Red Stick Person!  Here's another tip.

Red Stick Person: Yes?

Posture Police: Learn from your Red Stick Dog!  Your dog,  like most animals and small children has incredible use!

Red Stick Dog: Woof!

Red Stick Person:  Yes, she hasn't interfered with her natural balance and coordination.

Red Stick Dog:  Woof!  Woof!

Posture Police:  I have one more question.

Red Stick Person:  Yes?

Posture Police:  Why don't you bend your elbows when you scoop your dog's poop?  You look rather stiff!

Red Stick Person:  Doggonit!  I didn't realize that I was straightening my arms like that!  Thanks for cluing me in to how I was holding my arms!  Ahh! That feels much better to let my elbows bend a little!  Hey, did anyone ever tell you that your hat is kind of old-fashioned!

Posture Police:  Ah yes, but some habits I choose not to change, my friend!!!

PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC ALERT: Sightings of shoes wearing people!

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Wearer Beware:  Cunning pumps and sneakers spotted all over New York City and in towns and cities around the world wearing people instead of people wearing them!  The "worn" pedestrians, young and old alike, appear completely oblivious to the con job being pulled on them by their swindling souliers (a French word for "shoes").

Two journalists have taken it upon themselves to inform the public!!!  Take a look at the articles mentioned below!
If your shoes don't fit properly or are restricting, they can effect how you use your entire body.  How you interact with your shoes, regardless of fit, is equally important.

Article number one reveals the benefits of spending as much time as possible barefoot.  This is especially true for young children.  Unfortunately, when browsing through a children's shoe store, one of the first things a parent may notices is the abundance of high-top shoes.  Finding myself in this situation when shopping for my older child's first pair of shoes, I asked a sales associate what the benefits of high-top shoes were?  I was met with the response:  "To support your child's ankles".  I wondered why a child would not naturally be able to support his/her ankles and if the stiff ankle supports might actually interfere with the child's natural development and balance and if this ankle stiffness might contribute to compensatory stiffening in other areas of the body.  Other walking animals don't wear ankle supports.  Why would humans need them?  We then noticed that most of the shoes' soles were very stiff.  How could stiff soles promote natural walking?  I was also concerned about the arch supports interfering with the natural development of my toddler's arches.  Babies are born with flat feet and arches develop over time.  We sought out shoes that were as close to barefoot and our children are almost always barefoot at home.  The clearer the contact with the ground, the more readily you spring up from that contact to your full height.

Follow this link to read more on the topic of children's feet and shoes:

Article number two talks about Alexander Technique teacher and high-heel expert, Chyna Whyne.  Heels tend to lose their sexiness when the wearer is clearly uncomfortable.  When I was first introduced to the Alexander Technique, I swore off heels for awhile, but once my back became stronger, I discovered that they could be enjoyable to wear from time to time if I allowed the shoes to almost become part of my feet and to let my weigh distribute evenly over them.  Mindful wearing of high-heels can be fun!

Read more by following the link below:

INTRO TO THE BLOG: TAKE THE POSTURE TEST!

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What is "Good Posture"?
Take the Posture Test!
by Lindsay Newitter, AmSAT-Certified Alexander Technique teacher

The Alexander Technique is often spoken about in connection with posture.  People often pursue  Alexander Technique lessons in order to improve their posture.  So, is the Alexander Technique really a method for improving posture?  Let's find out!
Poor posture is a symptom of an underlying coordination problem involving the total patter of how you use your whole body.
What does that mean???
Let's put that idea aside for a moment and come back to it.  
  
Now take a moment and answer this question for yourself:  What is good posture?    Do you define good posture as standing or sitting up straight?  Most people do.  I did.
Do the following . . .
For the purpose of the experiment, let's say that good posture is standing up straight.  Now, try the following.  Find a mirror in which you can see yourself from at least the hips to the top of your head.  Turn so that you see yourself in profile and pretend that someone has just asked you to stand up straight!  Now stand up straight.

And now two questions about how you are standing:

1) Are you actually standing up more straight?  If you do what most people do, you arch your lower back and thrust your chest forward.  Take a close look.  If you are doing what I am presuming in order to straighten yourself, you are actually pulling yourself down (back and down that is).  You are exaggerating the lumbar curve (in the lower back) and decreasing your height.  It's slumping, but slumping backwards!

2) How do you feel?  I am guessing that you probably feel uncomfortable.  Perhaps you are holding your breath or your breathing has become more shallow.  If standing up straight is so good for you, why does it feel so terrible?
Now for part two of the experiment . . .RELAX!  Relaxation is good for you too, right?  Just like good posture is good for you?
What happened when you relaxed?  Did you slump forward?  Did you arch your lower back?  Did you poke your chin forward?  And now try to sit up straight again.  Are you again arching in your lower back and stiffening so much that your breathing is constricted?  Most people pull themselves down and collapse in on themselves when they "relax". 

Most people fluctuate back and forth between collapsing down on themselves and stiffing to do what they think is "relaxing" and sitting or "standing up straight".  Neither of these states is natural.  Our bodies naturally support themselves with their postural support muscles (for example the muscles that run along either side of the spine.)  You don't need to do any exercises to make those muscles work.  If you learn to get out of their way, they will support you and you'll put an end to the uncomfortable and perhaps painful flipfloping between holding yourself up and pulling yourself down.

So, what is "good posture"?  Instead of defining "good posture" as standing up straight, let's call it getting out of your own way and allowing yourself to come to your full height.

What does "Getting out of your own way mean?"  What is "your full height?
Many people overuse the muscles in their shoulders and upper back, resulting in a "hunch" forward.  If they stop overusing those muscles, then tone will be redistributed to the back and the legs, which will allow for more release in the shoulders and then more tone in the back and legs.  This give and take over a period of time results in a much more balanced distribution of tone (without doing any dedicated excersizes).  An indirect result of this redistribution of tone will be that the person finds themselves standing up straight without extra effort because the muscles that are well-suited for postural support are doing their job properly.    For most people, coming to their full height will look like standing up straight.  For others, coming to their full height may not equal looking completely straight . . .

Here is in example as to why someone might not stand straight, but still have excellent posture:
I have scoliosis in my lumbar spine.   In the past, I alternated between collapsing into the curve and willfully holding myself up so that I wouldn't look crooked.  I caused myself great discomfort by engaging these habits.  Through practicing the Alexander Technique, I learned how to become aware of and stop what I was doing and to allow my postural support  muscles to do the work of supporting me.  I can now come up to my full height without unnecessary tension and discomfort.  It's unlikely that the lateral curve in my spine will completely straighten out, so my "full height" includes an extra curve in my spine. 

Good Use vs. Good Posture
Alexander Technique teachers, through hands on, kinesthetic re-education, teach people how to become aware of habits that prevent them from standing, sitting, moving, and breathing naturally.  F.M. Alexander, who developed the technique, referred to these habits as the way in which we "use" ourselves.  The way in which we use ourselves affects everything that we do.   

If you improve your use, you will come up more to your full height.  What we call "poor posture" is not a condition.  It is something that we do to ourselves by using ourselves poorly.  People who study the Alexander Technique note improvement in their posture, but not by directly trying to fix it.  If you use yourself well  you'll likely come up to your full height . . . and receive many compliments on your improved posture!
   
If you understand what I've said and you're trying to apply it on your own and find that you're not making progress, that is very normal.  Most peoples' sense of how they are holding themselves and is not accurate.  What feels right is often what is habitual.  A quick and efficient way of breaking long-held habits (habits so deeply ingrained that you may not be able to feel them) is to have a new experience.  Alexander lessons will give you a new experience, which will tune you into your old habits.  Once you become aware of your old habits, you can start to change them.  How can you change something that you aren't aware of?
And one more thing . . . the "new" experience of improved posture, balance and coordination that people have when studying the Alexander Technique isn't really new.  It's a restoration of your oldest experience.  It's what you were likely born with and embodied as a young child, but had long forgotten! 

This blog examines the subtleties of how we use our bodies and the day-to-day choices that we make that effect how we use our bodies and in turn our posture.0

For more information regarding the Alexander Technique, visit my website www.lindsaynewitter.com or email Lindsay at lindsay.n@gmail.com.




 

Apprehended and Awaiting Trial: Computers and office furniture.

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Apprehended and Awaiting Trial:  Computers and office furniture.
 
Plea:  Not guilty

Writers, E mailers, Programmers and Internet Surfers file a class-action lawsuit Computers, chairs, desks, keyboards, technology, and society!  The accused have not offered any comment and have placed their fate in the hands of an Alexander Technique teacher. 
Can you relate to this picture?  The means whereby people create and communicate are increasingly computer-based.  Whether you write novels, edit photos, develop software, create PowerPoint presentations or compose emails to your friends and family, are your creative endeavors spent on a "mental" island, leaving your "body" to sink below sea level.  Do you find yourself wondering why your back, neck and shoulders ache after spending time at the computer?  Perhaps someone has told you that it's because of your poor posture, but posture may be the last thing on your mind when you are in the zone.

The PC user often spends hours on end in a fixed position making minute movements to type and execute mouse clicks.  A lot of the strain that we generally experience comes from engaging in sedentary activities such as working at the computer.  People are often tempted to blame their computer, their job, their chair for their troubles.  Purchasing a new computer or chair or finding a new job may not be necessary.  Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1.  Is the work you do at the computer a physical or mental activity?  
The answer is BOTH.  Computer work may seem like a mental activity as it seems to involve quite a lot of thinking and not a lot of moving.  Sure, it's not an athletic or aerobic activity and it may be more intellectual, but  your whole self is just as present as it is when you are playing a game of basketball.  We tend to categorize activities as "physical" or "mental" based on how much we sweat.  The mind and body are equally involved in all activities.  If you behave as a creative or intellectual entity operating outside of your physical being while you work at your computer, you will likely pull yourself down (like in the picture), and may find that your back aches, your neck is sore, you feel exhausted and maybe even less creative.

2. Is your workstation set up to your advantage? 
Using yourself well will give you the greatest advantage, but why not create a work environment that presents less potential for strain? Are you arms parallel to your desk or do you have to raise or lower them to reach the keyboard?  Do your feet touch the floor?  are your eyes level with the middle of your screen?  If the answer to any of these questions is "no", then adjust your chair according and invest in a device to raise your screen or a foot rest if needed.  These are simple, inexpensive solutions that do not involve replacing your desk.  If you have a small laptop with a small keyboard, you may want to attach a full-size or ergonomic keyboard to your laptop.  If you want to do your best work, get yourself off to a good start with a workstation that is adjusted for you.
3.  Are you balanced when you are sitting?  
Most people flip-flop from collapsing down (like in the drawing above) and squeezing themselves to sit up straight (how one would typically stand at attention).  What people do to sit or stand up straight is often just as bad as the collapsed down "poor posture".  They pull their heads back and down, thrust their chests forward and create a downward pressure in the lower back.  This kind of sitting up straight is accomplished by pulling and squeezing back and down, which creates undue pressure in the lower back and is usually pretty uncomfortable and not sustainable.  Balanced sitting involves allowing the sit-bones (the two bumpy bones on your bottom) to contact the chair and to allow yourself to easily balance on them with out squeezing and compressing to hold yourself up.  If you are sitting in a balanced fashion, you should feel comfortable and you should not be interfering with your breathing.

4.  How are you concentrating on your work?  
See if you can remain focused on your work while acknowledging what you see in your peripheral vision, taking note of the sounds you hear around you and the odors in the air.  Keeping all of your senses awake while you work will help to keep you alert and will help to prevent you from straining to concentrate.

5. Take some Alexander Technique Lessons!
Alexander Technique lessons can help people to unlearn their poor habits of sitting so that they balance easily on their sit bones and naturally come up to their full height without any excess strain and can help people concentrate without straining.  The tips mentioned above may be useful on their own, but you will have more tools with which to apply them if you are getting the regular hands-on reinforcement of an Alexander Technique teacher.

Don't you find it easier to think and create when you feel comfortable, energized, and free of aches and pains?

 
Image by:  <a href="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=2565&picture=creative-daydreaming">Creative daydreaming</a> by Frits Ahlefeldt