Breaking Body Myths: "Stand up straight"
So after a full week of applying th principles of using my spine to hold and head, relax my back and allow the weight of my upper body to rest in the pelvis when I sit… I wondered, while sitting in church – how does a person apply this to standing?
So I stood – being in Orthodox services there are plenty of opportunities to stand for long periods of time.
So I did – and I applied the same intentional relaxation techniques to the process. That was when I discovered that when I stand, I lock my knees. What happened if I let that tension go? Would I fall to the floor?
I tried it. And I discovered what I believe is terms the “position of mechanical advantage.”
At rest, my shoulders felt like my arms were pulled forward – but I looked in the mirror – nope – THEY LOOKED NATURAL when I inspected it later.
This is a fun exercise. Stand in front of a mirror and relax your body and imagine in your mind what your body looks like. THEN look at yourself in a mirror. You’d be surprised at how natural the pose looks…
So back to church, I stood – I was about an inch lower and suddenly I felt three things as I paid attention to it:
1) My knees and buttocks were keeping my pelvis and spine vertical and bouyant.
2) My knees were not used to this kind of workout, even thought they were only holding up my body!
3) I could feel the weight of my body all the way to the soles of my feet – on the balls of the feet and in the heels.
So I kept this stance up. I will not lie, I was SWEATING. It was a workout that I did not expect. That night – this is YESTERDAY – my knees felt sore – these are the same knee muscles designed to balance out my ITB band on the right leg! Outstanding! But I was glad to be off my feet.
Today – in the shower – I could stand on one leg without even thinking about it. Once again, I cannot stress how little time or effort this result took. I simply needed to use my legs properly and allow my legs to hold my pelvis and back, instead of standing tall – straight legged, knees locked, passing the burden of weight management into the backs of my legs and my lower back.
It occured to me that this was why I have always had a hard time dancing… if your legs are locked when you stand, releasing that tesion allows the pelvis and spine to have fluidity of movement – a sway – and this is something that I have seen in martial arts but I had never considered it in standing or day to day operations.
If your legs are doing the work, dancing, hula hoops and other activities that require swift movement of the uppoer body become possible.
Do guys have a harder time dancing because they are trained culturally to stand tall? I have to wonder…
In any case, I am looking forward to the application of ‘mechanical advantage’ in my daily routine – definitely an exciting period for me.
Do take a look at the Alexander Technique if my experiences sound like something you would benefit from… if you can find a local teacher to support that would be ideal.
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© 2008 Jacob Gorny