As discussed in our previous article, the idea of having good posture isn’t as simple as sitting up straight. Any posture or position held for prolonged periods can become problematic. In recent years, statements such as “Sitting is the new smoking” have been used to encourage people to avoid staying in chairs for extended periods. In reality, standing for prolonged periods is no better than sitting. A more accurate saying might be, “Your best posture is your next posture,” emphasizing the importance of movement rather than forcing yourself to remain in an “ideal” posture.

How many times have you heard someone say to sit up straight, or pull your shoulders back? Many people complain about having bad posture, but they don’t truly understand what that means. Prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour can result in muscle discomfort, or wastage in extreme situations. But majority of the time, our posture isn’t bad, it’s the general lack of movement that creates the discomfort. Posture is not just about muscles and bones; it's a complex interplay between multiple systems in the body and our emotional, mental and gut health.

Before we can pull apart what makes Pilates good for posture, we first need to understand what posture is. Generally whensomeone talks about their posture, they mean how upright their body is, usually from sitting or standing. The idea that we must stand up straight (and that slouching is bad for us) is drilled in to us from a very young age, and there is some scientific evidence that leans towards supporting this claim. For instance; Evidence of how much heavier our head becomes the further forward it sits of our midline (1) and how it can, in turn, impact blood flow and muscular function of the connected tissues. Yes, this is true, however the reality is that our posture is dynamic, and we aren’t designed to hold any one particular position for a long period of time. And although we have hundreds of muscles that support our bones to keep us upright, the majority of these fatigue within a few minutes if they are held under constant full contraction for a few minutes. So this idea of holding an upright, vertical posture can be very tricky, and also very fatiguing!

Having spent the last 2 years completing my Somatic Movement Therapy training, I have had the opportunity to work with some incredible clients as they bravely unpack the chronic pain or dysfunction they experience. Not all, but many of these journeys have ultimately boiled down to unresolved trauma held within their bodies. Being able to observe and hear real time feedback from these clients about what they feel, sense, imagine and kinesthetically experience, has fueled a passion in me to try and better understand what constitutes trauma. I am especially interested in how it manifests in the body and how to best guide someone through that experience so they can regain their power and confidence.

Recently I’ve come to realise something. Once I explore the logic, it makes total sense, but for the longest time I’d never really explored it. It’s the potential that having our technologically impressive smart watches and Fitbits attached to us 24/7 might not be as harmless as their manufacturers make it out to be. And here’s why...

They’re making us weak…

When someone sees me for a Functional Neurology session, I always do a lot of manual muscle testing - the reason being it allows me to easily show someone which muscle areas are functioning well under load, and which are struggle or simply aren’t firing at all.

After the huge success the 2018 AMN Academy Mastermind retreat was, Rob quickly signed up for the next retreat, this time held in Ubud, Bali. Rob knew whatever was covered would be really helpful for functional neurology treatment sessions at Movementality, and it was also a fantastic opportunity to hang out and work with some of the best practitioners in the world. This group of practitioners are always helping people with all sorts of ailments that would otherwise be left in the ‘too-hard’ basket by most health practitioners - insomnia, scoliosis, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain etc… So what an opportunity to pick the brains of these incredible minds in hopes of better utilising the AMN system for helping our clients move better, and reduce strain on their delicate physiological systems.

It's no secret in our business that I have a range of weird and wonderful tricks up my sleeve that Rob deploys at various stages to help sneak in bonus range of movement, maybe some pain relief, or perhaps just some homework to help someone see better. These little tricks are all derived from the growing Functional Neurology sector in the health industry. At its core, Functional Neurology is designed to work from the perspective of training the brain for balancing and normalising excess electrical charge in our naturally electrical system. The particular stream Rob has decided to go down offers both the physical training ideas that balance our sensory system, as well as a therapeutic approach to calibrate points of elevated charge, most often associated with pain or dysfunction, and create space for the body to heal in its own time. The main company I've trained with recently put together a 'retreat' in Thailand so people from all over the world could meet, practice on each other and learn new skills while refining old ones. Safe to say I've come home with a few more tricks up my sleeve!

In the previous post, I mentioned the webinar series I took part in last year. The focus of the series was around new methodologies for working with movement dysfunction and pain. ​​​​Today, I am going to review the session of Annette Verpilot of Posture Pro, who spoke about the fundamental link between our eyes and our posture.