Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE
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Natural poise
‘Why stand when you can sit, and why sit when you can lie down’, I once heard said. And pretty sensible this is, as there’s nothing like standing for long periods as to cause us to wilt with aches and stiffness. Just being slightly off balance causes stiffness, tired legs, sore feet, back ache, sciatica, neck pain and even poor breathing. Yet there was a time in our lives when we were able to stand with perfect poise. As toddlers, we may have wobbled a bit, but up we came on our feet, unaware of the precariousness of our situation as we struggled to find our balance, as gravity would quickly have us on our bottoms should we wobble too far. At that age we managed to stand with ease and comfort; we were light, buoyant and springy. So why can’t we do it now?
The answer is that we don’t use our muscles in the same way as we did then; we have acquired bad habits in the intervening years. The unhealthy stoop and James Dean slouch that afflicts so many of us has taken its toll. We’ve got postural habits that we didn’t have as a child, interfering with our muscle co-ordination. But it’s our birthright to have good poise and we have the inbuilt mechanism to balance well without strain. After all, it’s taken millions of years for our species to evolve into the 21st century biped that can send men to the moon but ironically seems to find it increasingly difficult to stand comfortably on earth! Maybe we should all go to the moon where gravity is a bit kinder!
Gravity has its benefits; it keeps your tea in your cup for starters and ensures that kicked balls come back to earth. We do however, need to pay attention to how we walk and stand. If we were to take a builder’s plumb line, we’d see that when standing, our body weight should ideally fall vertically down through our ankles. Next time you pass a shop window, take a look at your posture and see if you’re tilting forwards. Most of us have the tendency to lean, consequently we have to stiffen and brace ourselves, which causes discomfort, tiredness and strain.
We can help ourselves now to overcome our bad postural habits by becoming more aware and just thinking the right thoughts. Firstly ensure that you’re upright. Secondly make yourself loose. If we tell ourselves to be loose, we will become freer. Thirdly if we think tall, we will come upwards to our full height, but it’s important that we do not make effort as this will cause stiffening. Think loose and tall no matter where you are, be it walking down the street or standing in a gallery.
As children we will instinctively learn to stand, but it takes a thinking adult to stand like a child! We can learn from observing them. Children don’t lean, at least not continuously, proving that it’s possible to stand tall and loose all at the same time. This quality is not unique to them. This is the way nature intends us all to be, even in adulthood. To stand and move comfortably really should be child’s play.
(And if you hadn't guessed, the picture is of me aged 3. Nothing special....if we're healthy, we've ALL got good natural poise at that age.)
:-)
