I hope your week is going fantastically!
I also hope that you have had a chance to ponder (particularly if any were new to you) and/or explore (particularly if you had heard of but have not dabbled) and/or rediscover some of the sub-principles/thoughts/suggestions that help us stay lubricated (AKA Thing 1)
And, if you didn’t get a chance to read last week’s email or it’s already been squeezed out of your brain by the million other busy details that life has to offer, no need to leave - I got you… the quick context section is copied/pasted below (though I obviously would recommend finding it at some point to take in the sub-principles under Thing 1!). But, if you still have that part firmly held in your noodle, feel free to skip ahead to Thing #2!
Quick background/context part 1: I work part-time as a PT for a major health care provider here in the states, particularly here on the West Coast. Each day I get a handful of referrals from physicians that read something like “DJD/OA” (degenerative joint disease/osteoarthritis) or “DDD/stenosis” (degenerative disc disease/arthritis of the spine). I get them attached to people anywhere from 30 years old to 100.
Quick background/context part 2: Somewhere between our 30’s and 40’s things usually start changing (I just realized this is sort of setting up to be a similar conversation some of us may have had with a parent when we were about 13… just in reverse… don’t worry, this won’t be nearly as painful..). Sure, physiologically this is about the time where most, most things in our body start to… well… slow down (I’m sure that didn’t help… but, please, stick it out..). This slowing by no means needs to be rapid or severe, or account for those nasty labels above. But whether it's those changes combined with old injuries, poor movement habits/repetitive stress, or simply now having spent several years in the “working world” (as opposed to the “play world”), I see these labels a lot. On people of all ages. And, as an aside, if I let a physician take an image of my spine or knees, I’m sure I’d get one of these labels too…
Quick background/context part 3: The ultimate goal of Move Intelligently is to help people access as much of the world, experience as much joy, and as little pain as possible, for as long as possible.
Ok, here’s the sequel…
Thing #2: Control your posture
Boom - there you have it… just remember to stand up straight and go have a nice day (insert pat on the back here)...
As if it would be that easy with me…
You know there have to be a few sub-principles…
But first, I want to reiterate this: Those words/labels I discussed in the first email, “arthritis”, “degenerative joint”, “bone spurs”, age > 30, do not need to mean you have to stop doing a thing, be in pain, or any other predetermined future. To me, those words just equate to one thing: less margin for error.
Ok, back to posture…
When I use that word, I’m sure many of you sat or stood up a little straighter. And that’s great (maybe… unless you borrowed a little too much of that straightness from another part of your body… sorry, never mind that - we can get back to that later…)! But, as you may know, the word “posture” derives from the word “position”. And, let’s just say that I am very liberal with the word “position.” With that in mind, here are your three sub-things to keep in mind with respect to posture:
Posture is both global AND local. When we think about posture, what do we typically think about? Right, the spine. But you all remember the song from nursery school (if you don’t, I’ll do you a favor and not go any further to avoid implanting the jingle in your head for the next hour. And if you do… well, my bad…)... And, although I do think most people realize the interconnectedness (actual word?) of the body, it’s really hard to appreciate just how true it is unless you’re, well, a big movement-nerd. So, as the unofficial, self-appointed president of the movement-nerd society, allow me to analogize posture to how we parcel out land: we live on Earth, which is made of many countries, which are made of many, many states/regions, and so on and on and on down to your home and mine. And certainly we can say that what we do in those individual ecosystems (no matter the size/level) have an impact on The Earth as a whole.
Practical example #1: anyone who has worked with me has probably heard me talk at length about foot posture, which has a huge impact on the rest of our body to say the least. And, to take it a step further, our toe posture (particularly our big toe) has a huge impact on our foot posture…
Humble guidance for understanding this sub-principle more: Move Intelligently: Single Leg Stance (apologies in advance, re-watching this video makes me realize I need to redo some/many to smooth out…)
Posture is dynamic. Posture is not just position A and position B. It’s the infinite positions in between. So, yes, I am using “posture” synonymous with “form” or “bio-mechanics”.
Practical example: When I think about the golf swing, I think of fourkey postures to achieve, but then there is all that space in between where, if things get off track, you won’t get to the right destination (this is also called motor (muscle) control, which is a component of having appropriate posture).
Humble guidance for understanding this sub-principle more: Move Intelligently: Double Leg Tap/Tap (hip hinge - a very fundamental movement that most, most people struggle, at least a little, with)
Posture is contextual. What context? Whatever is meaningful to you. I’ve talked to many a plumber and electrician about the posture of fitting a larger body into a smaller space. Many a musician about slight modifications in positions to decrease stress on specific parts of the body.
Practical example: Just earlier this week I spent a half hour virtually with a woman with pretty bad neck pain, particularly while nursing her one-year-old. What did we do? Three lubricating movements/exercises (one of which, you guessed it, was included in the last email), and broke down her posture while breastfeeding. She was pretty blown away, saying she had never thought about her body when she nurses her child. (this, BTW, is not her fault. I have many thoughts on why she never would think of this, which I’m sure will gradually come out if you in the future)
Obviously a specific video would be challenging here, but I’ll do you one better - let me reiterate the fact that if you find posture in a certain context particularly challenging, I’m happy to help. For a completely free 30-minute consultation either shoot me an email or schedule here!.
(sorry, I lied… one more…) When facing each other, Thing #1 trumps thing #2. What I mean by this is that it’s not good enough/in your best interest to just have “good” posture and sit or stand behind a screen all day. I’ll leave it at that for now, but stay tuned for the “Ergonomics is B.S.” email at some future point…
So there we have it. The two things that I spend a lot of my days talking about in one form or another. I hope you found it at least a little helpful!
And, if you did, I will again humbly and shamelessly ask that you consider passing along to anyone else that you think may be interested and/or find helpful. I honestly think this is how I can best contribute to the well-being of the global ecosystem…
Until next time… Happy Movement!
Abel