Table Of Content

THE NEW RULES ---------------------------- OF---------------------------- POSTURE HOW TO SIT, STAND, AND MOVE MAR BOND T H E N E W R U L E S “Mary Bond’s talent and expertise extended my professional dance career until age 52! Anyone who suffers from body dysfunction and pain must read her book. Actually, it should be mandatory reading for all institutions offering anatomy, kinesiology, and medi cal courses.” BONNIE ODA HOMSEY, FORMER MEMBER OF THE MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF AMERICAN REPERTORY DANCE COMPANY “I have long searched for a book that addresses the human body as a whole, and with clarity, guidance, and completeness. This book is a multi-faceted gem offering all of that and much more. I highly recommend it to teachers of movement and to anyone eager to learn how to become a better occupant of their body. ” MARIE-JOSÉ BLOM-LAWRENCE, PILATES SPECIALIST AND PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY, DEPARTMENT OF DANCE, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY “At last, at any level of knowledge of the body and movement, everyone will have the joy of a discovery that can profoundly change our relationship to ourselves, to others, and to the beauty of the world.” HUBERT GODARD, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF MOVEMENT AND RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF PARIS T H E N E W R U L E S ----------------------- O F ----------------------- P O S T U R E HO W TO SIT, STAN D , A N D MOVE IN TH E M O D ER N W O R LD M A R Y B O N D Illustrated by Stephen P. Miller Healing Arts Press Rochester, Vermont Healing Arts Press One Park Street Rochester, Vermont 05767 www.HealingArtsPress.com Healing Arts Press is a division of Inner Traditions International Copyright © 2007 by Mary Bond All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any infor mation storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Note to the reader: This book is intended as an informational guide. The remedies, approaches, and techniques described herein are meant to supplement, and not to be a substitute for, professional medical care or treatment. They should not be used to treat a serious ailment without prior consultation with a qualified health care professional. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bond, Mary, 1942- The new rules of posture : how to sit, stand, and move in the modern world / Mary Bond. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-59477-124-8 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 1-59477-124-3 (pbk.) 1. Posture. 2. Rolling. I. Title. RA781.5.B66 2007 613.7'8—dc22 2006027435 Printed and bound in the United States of America by Quad/Graphics 10 9 8 76 Text design and layout by Priscilla Baker This book was typeset in Sabon, with Copperplate, Shelley, and Agenda used as display typefaces To send correspondence to the author of this book, mail a first-class letter to the author c/o Inner Traditions • Bear & Company, One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767, and we will forward the communication. C O N T E N T S Foreword by Leon Chaitow, N.D., D.O. ix Preface xi Introduction: What Are the New Rules of Posture? 1 ■ PART ONE: AW ARENESS 1. Your Conscious Body 16 2. Your Body’s Internet 34 H PART TW O: S TA B ILITY 3. The Root of Posture 54 4. Healthy Breathing 72 5. Core Connections 91 s PART TH REE: O R IEN TA TIO N 6. Your Heart’s Messengers 114 7. Footprints 134 8. Facing the World 154 H PART FOUR: M O TIO N 9. Healthy Walking 170 10. Articulate Living 195 8B Afterword: Explore the New Rules of Posture, Together 215 H Appendix: Therapeutic Resources for Healthy Posture 216 Bibliography 220 Index 223 E X P L O R A T IO N S A N D P R A C T IC E S 1. YOUR C O N SC IO U S BODY Your Neutral Breath 17 A Stressful Moment 21 Simple Pleasure 23 Walking Inventory 24 Your Best Foot 25 Heel Strike 26 Pelvic Mobility 27 Arm Swing 28 Spinal Mobility 29 Head and Neck 29 Stabilizing Actions 30 ■ 2. YOUR BO DY’S IN TE R N E T Postural Sway 3 7 Fascial Continuity 39 Sacroiliac Rocking 45 Holistic Impact 48 Counterrotation of Pelvis and Chest 49 Curling and Arching 50 ■ 3. THE ROOT OF PO STURE Pelvis Palpation 57 The Pelvic Floor Diamond 59 The Anal Triangle 59 Slouching 63 Supported Sitting 64 Bending Over 65 Perceptual Fine Tuning 66 Smart Reclining 70 s 4. HEA LTHY B R EA TH IN G Quiet Breathing 74 Active Breathing 75 Global Breathing Awareness 84 Breathing in 'Your Back 85 Inhaling Beauty 86 Exhaling Surrender 86 The Spaciousness and Weight of Breathing 87 Breathing in Gravity 87 Slowing Your Breath with Sound 89 Healthy Breathing, Healthy Posture 89 S 5. CORE C O N N EC TIO N S Activating Your TA through the Pelvic Floor 97 Activating Your TA from a Table Position 99 Activating Your TA Lying Down 101 A Shortcut to the Inner Corset 102 Flying Table 104 Bending Forward and Bending Down 107 Posture as Relationship 110 ■ 6. YOUR H EA R T’S M ESSENG ERS A Tour of Your Shoulders 115 Closing Your Shoulders 116 Shoulder Expression 117 Leverage 117 Shoulder Blade Pulses 118 Handprints on the Wall 120 Serratus Shortcut 123 Seated Sphinx 123 Reaching 124 Wall Traction 126 First Aid for Your “Mouse Arm” 128 Sacred Touch, Living Touch 131 Two-way Touching 132 Lifting Something Heavy 133 ■ 7. FO O TPR IN TS Self-assessment of Your Feet 136 Your Foot’s Dimple 138 Relaxing Your Arches 141 Footprints on the Wall 142 Opening Your Feet 142 Alternating Pressure between Forefoot and Heel 143 Rocking from Stance Foot to Walking Foot 143 Stepping into Your Whole Heel 144 Help for Bunions 145 Aligning Your Legs 147 Shifting Sands 149 Sitting to Standing 151 Pushing the Floor 151 Sacred Ground 152 H 8. FACING THE W O RLD jaw and Tongue Tensions 158 Nose and Palate Tension 159 jaw and Inner Ear 160 Distinguishing Cranium and Face 161 Narrow Focus and Open Focus 162 Releasing Eye Tension 164 Receptive Eyes 164 Welcoming the World 166 ■ 9. HEA LTHY W A LK IN G Stop and Go 175 Wall Traction Enhanced 178 Flying Table Enhanced 180 Hip Rotation 184 Counterr otation 185 Pelvic Gyroscope 186 Seated Spine Spirals 187 Initiating a Step 189 One Step 190 One Step with Rotation 192 Forget About It 192 a IO . A R TIC U LA TE L IV IN G Body Parts Art 197 Acceleration 203 Your Best Walk 210 Your Worst Walk 211 Walking Your Way out of a Funk 211 F O R E W O R D Although there are sometimes structural reasons that prevent balanced pos ture and good use of the body, most of us are guilty of misusing our body machinery due to habit. As with all habits, these postural ones seem to be such a large part of our make-up that change appears impossible, difficult, or unnecessary. What Mary Bond has succeeded in doing in this delightfully written text is to demystify the processes required for the creation of better body usage. The fact that most visits to physicians involve pain as a major symptom, and that most pain problems relate to the muscles and joints, shows just how important better body usage is. The muscles and joints are the tissues that bear the strain—and end up complaining—-when we misuse our bodies while sitting, standing, walking, lifting, driving the car, and performing the multiple movements, in a host of postures, that make life worth living in our work and in our leisure activities. Body usage—good and bad—also has a direct impact on how our inner world of communications (nervous system), circulation, digestion and other functions work (or don’t work), and is also a representation of mood, feelings, and personality. In addition to healthy muscle and joint usage, The New Rules of Posture explains the importance of the wonderful connective web that invests and supports all other soft tis sues: the fascia. At its very simplest it is worth remembering that the musculoskeletal system is the largest energy user in the body by a large margin, and when we misuse it and waste energy we are also loading a burden of strain onto areas (whether feet, knees, pelvic joints, spine, or neck) that will ultimately demonstrate disapproval of being misused by becoming tired, painful, and dysfunctional. As our joints and muscles start to complain, we too may also find ourselves becoming tired, pained, and less functional. Poor postural habits are, however, only part of the story. This book also contains an excellent exploration of breathing, another area of poor habit ix X FOREWORD that has enormous implications in relation to well-being—both physical and emotional. Mary Bond explains all this material in an uncomplicated, elegant style. Using examples and experiential exercises combined with science- and experience-based explanations of what needs to be done—and how to do it—she shows how to reverse the inevitable decline into pain and dys function that follows misusing what has been called the “primary machinery of life.” To change any habit—and poor posture and poor use are mainly habits—requires, as a starting point, understanding. The explanations given in this book set the scene for understanding, making possible the next stage of learning—how to use our bodies more efficiently and safely. Therapists as well as anyone seeking relief from the pain that results from poor postural habits should explore this gem of a book and follow its advice. LEON CHAITOW, N.D., D.O. HONORARY FELLOW, SCHOOL OF INTEGRATED HEALTH UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON