Posture Update
Related Articles
Podcast: Posture Update
Posture is an incredibly loaded topic in our culture. If you’ve been involved in yoga for any time you’ve been receiving messages about posture that may not be helping you. We have hundreds of not thousands of sources daily telling us that our bad posture is the cause of maladies such as chronic pain functional movement issues breathing issues and more.
The problem with these well meaning sources of advice, is that they are not evidence-based. We don’t really have any evidence to show that “poor posture” can cause chronic pain, in fact the opposite is true with regard to neck pain especially. We see that hypervigilance towards posture seems to be associated with higher levels of neck pain. So this class is designed to help you update your understanding of your posture. I’m hoping to provide a very affirmative experience for you regarding the areas of the body that we typically associate with the posture the upper back the chest the shoulders and the neck.
Thoracic Expression
The upper back is an area that can be a big source of tension and even pain. We also have a fair amount of cultural baggage around the appropriate way to hold our upper back. Even in the Yoga world, we tend to favor a stiff and straight upper back above other shapes. But the upper back is capable of so much more, and I believe we suffer when we get locked in to a specific posture or expression.
In this practice, we explore the capacity of the upper back to generate movements, sensations and even emotions. We will use a somatic lesson adapted from Feldenkrais Method® supported by familiar Yin Poses. Your upper back and neck will really benefit from this practice.
Yin & Somatics: Soothe Upper Back and Neck Tension
To be an adult is to sometimes struggle with upper back and neck tension and even pain. This is my professional opinion. Though this pain/tightness can really disrupt your life, it’s important not to get too tied up about it. This practice is to give you some go to tools for managing this suffering.
Getting to Know Your Back: Part 4
If you are a movement geek like me, you will be blown away by the simple complexity of this somatic experience. Prepare to feel stuff you may not have felt in your back before. We will also be touching on one more important back related topic that can’t be ignored. The influence that society and societal norms has on our experience of our back.
Back to the Shoulder
This practice will help you to build up your strength in your shoulder and it’s helpers and also confidence. The movements have been combined to maximize your awareness of these relationships so that your body may spontaneously discover more comfortable and efficient patterns of movement. It’s time to take the bubble wrap off of the shoulder. To heal you will need to reintroduce movements that feel powerful and build strength and resilience.