Education

Postural or movement education should be about principles, first and foremost. What are some of the principles of neutral alignment? Neutral alignment effectively demands stabilization of itself (as does poor alignment). It is not an imposition or a struggle. Neutral alignment poises one segment on top of another, so that each segment is in its…

When we’re not deliberately doing anything about our posture, it’s a perfectly harmonious version of a pattern—even if the pattern is very crooked. If we change our posture, every part of the body has to change, if we’re to arrive at a different harmonious pattern. It’s effectively impossible for us to consciously understand and control where all…

As many practitioners know, pelvic torsions are very often held in the pubic symphysis and can be neutralized by resisted adduction. It’s the one alignment pattern for which I’ll interrupt a standing palpatory assessment, since it’s so quick and easy to fix. For years, I’ve had a habit of asking clients to do this maneuver to themselves (usually…

I recently realized that I have had a blind spot—with a few dimensions—about feet.    I have high arches, and I’ve sometimes had foot pain. I’ve had a bit of plantar fasciitis, but more commonly I’ve had pain in the left mid-foot. My improved clarity came when I realized that the foot pain seemed to…

I’ve always been suspicious of practices or disciplines that involve deliberately tightening a muscle—even though I know that others use this strategy with great success. The reasons for my suspicion are that: (1) you can tighten a muscle without significantly changing your alignment and (2) it seems to me that the body has already worked out the…