I also know that moving stiffly--ambulating with the bare minimum of joints engaged--becomes a habit that can’t entirely be blamed on my bodily tissues. Habits take place in the brain. The more often I move stiffly, the more familiar and less optional that way of moving becomes. I can choose how I move.
Read MoreNot merely aware of the space around them, our ancestors were integrated into their surroundings. We can imagine that they viewed themselves—if they viewed themselves at all--as aspects of the tensional integrity of all life.
Read MoreWe can imagine this biblical hero raising his left leg first when he puts on his boots. The entire right side of his body is compressed, and this compression would have been reflected in his gait.
Read MoreToes love having something to do--they love feeling and pushing off from the ground. Happy, useful toes impart lift to your body as they impel your heart forward into the world.
Read MoreContemporary living undervalues body awareness and overrides it most of the time. But could it be that listening to our interior body signals has an evolutionary advantage? If so, we undervalue this capacity to our detriment. We need to practice activating it.
Read MoreLooking at computer screens creates a habit of narrowed vision. This use of the eyes draws the neck forward, stiffening it, and interfering with overall body balance. Mary Bond, author of “The New Rules of Posture,” suggests this exploration to heighten body awareness and improve alignment. Cultivate Two Way Vision: Stand comfortably. Now focus your eyes tightly on an object in front you…
Read Moreあなたの姿勢を癒すために、私はいつも姿勢よりも知覚を練習するよう求めています。私はあなたの肩の姿勢や、首の位置についてアドバイスをしません。むしろ、あなたに内側のバランスの感覚や大文字の P と共にいる感覚（過去や将来の不安なしに今ここにいる状態）を発見するよう手伝おうとします。
あなたが３次元の空間でオリエンテーションを維持している間に、真に地面が下からあなたの身体を支えるのを許しているとき、いつでもこのバランスと今ここにいる経験を受け取ります。（空間というのは人々にとって省略された言葉です、ものごとやイベントが生じるところです）。もしこのことが不可解なら、私はいい本とDVDをお勧めできます！
Read MoreTo “heal your posture” I always invite you to practice perceptions rather than positions. I don’t advise you about the set of your shoulders or the placement of your head, but rather try to help you discover an internal sense of balance, and presence with a capital P…
Read More(Posture Tips for 2013) Magazine writers often ask me about quick fixes for poor posture. While this isn’t my real mission (see mission statement at the bottom of this page), I try to translate my teaching into tips. I like how a recent interview turned out, so I’m sharing the whole thing below. Looking forward with eyes and heart: 1. Can you offer a few tips for improving your walking stance and posture? When walking, look forward to your destination with both your eyes and your heart. It’s fine to glance down to be sure of your footing, but avoid fixing your gaze on the ground…
Read MoreHere are two great suggestions for your holiday shopping: first, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. This clear and interesting read applies the insights of neuroscience to the mundane matter of changing our habits. Our brains are plastic—bodies too!—so why not use that plasticity to our advantage? Duhigg says a habit is composed of a cue, a routine, and a reward. It only takes a little self-examination and some perseverance to unpack these parts and make a change. The other suggestion, of course, is my DVD, Heal Your Posture, and my New Rules book, which tell and show you how to change your brain’s postural mapping of your body…
Read MoreWhat are you doing with your body when you find yourself at an edge? Are there places in your life where your body defaults to a curl or twist? Concealed at those same edges may be opportunities for changing habits, postural or otherwise….
Read MoreI like this illustration for The New Rules of Posture so much that I’ve begun using it as a logo for my work in general. It depicts one of the characters in my book as she cleans a chandelier. Here’s the story with its “posture moral” at the end.
What I’ve called “posture zones” are muscular and connective tissue structures that lie roughly perpendicular to the body’s vertical mid-line. When we’re under stress—even a pleasant stress like Alison’s excitement at discovering an Art Deco treasure in her new apartment—one or more of the posture zones tightens in order to keep the body stable. The posture zones are like valves whose closing deforms the body’s mid-line and in so doing distorts posture…
Read MoreRolf Movement Instructor Mary Bond has a gift for relating ideas on functional ease in movement to daily life, offering ways to practice whether at dinner, while brushing your teeth, changing a light bulb, or standing in line. She did this in her book The New Rules of Posture: How to Sit, Stand, and Move in the Modern World (Healing Arts Press, 2006; now also available as an ebook), and she offers more in her recently released DVD Heal Your Posture: A 7-Week Workshop with Mary Bond, which I consider an invaluable resource for both Rolfers and our clients…
Read MoreWhen do you become most aware of your posture? When you’re checking out the fit of some new jeans? When walking into a new situation, uncertain as to how you might be received? You can be dressed to the nines, but if your posture projects shyness or uncertainty it sabotages the impression you want to convey. But by then, it’s too late to develop good posture…
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