Posture, It’s Not Just About Standing Up Straight

How your spine is functioning; how the energies in your spine are functioning right now determines almost everything about where you go. – Sadhguru

 

65 million Americans suffer from back pain; it’s the second most common reason for a medical visit. If you ask me, that’s a staggeringly huge number.

Let me ask you, have you ever noticed how you stand at home compared to your stature at work? You may have a self-assured and confident stance in your personal domain but when you enter your workforce you may subconsciously shrink into yourself, almost as though your frame was a protective shell for your feelings and emotions. Or maybe you wake up with an energy and vigor that gives you an added two inches but after a grueling day in class you can barely keep your chin up.

But let’s take a moment – remember the last time you got all dressed up for a date? Whether it’s the first date, 25th date, or your 50th anniversary, how did you feel? I’ll almost guarantee that you couldn’t have stood any taller and that your mood was above average the entire night. Now, you could attribute this to the clothes, to the food, or just to something that’s different from the daily grind, but you know what? You’re happy and when you’re happy your body knows and shows it.

Let me give you an example, I’ve been walking around with slightly rounded shoulders, with an accompanied sunken chest and rib cage for most of my life. It wasn’t anything too noticeable, but when my trainer put me in a position of power (chest lifted, shoulders back and chin up) I giggled. He asked me to look to the side and into the mirror to observe my posture. I immediately broke the posture and started laughing. “I can’t walk like that.” I said. “Why not? Own that piece of yourself.” He bounced back.

And I realized, in that moment, that’s exactly what I felt – a loss of self-worth and my own personal power as I slumped inward. This posture led to an intermittent achy shoulder and tight neck that I had been dealing with for most my life. I learned to compensate by sleeping on the other side, not lift my arm too high…you get the drill.

But more than a loss of physical mobility or ease I had lost a bit of vigor for life. I had unknowingly been caving inwards; consequently stifling my spiritual self as well. There were signs, little moments here and there where my subconscious knew, but I ignored it, pushed it to the side denying my spirit the joys of being uninhibited, strong, and standing up straight.

Now, if you don’t mind, I want to pause right here and lead you in a brief exercise.

Take a deep breath through your nose. Hold it. Now exhale out your mouth…slowly. Do it again; let it fill you up making you feel whole. Now, this time, focus on extending your spine. Reach it up, up, up towards the sky. Feel your chest rising and find your focal point, that space that’s at the center of your spine behind your heart and hold it. As you maintain that lift draw the connection to the point that supports your entire spinal column – your sacrum.

Did you know that there are multiple energy centers within the spine? Carl Jung first proposed the idea that there was an unseen, or unconsciousness that dwelled within each of us. This unseen part of our spirit served as a bridge connecting us to our highest potential. And you know what I think? I think all of this chronic back pain and injury isn’t just because of poor posture but it’s because we’ve lost sight or have never even found our spirit. We’ll never truly be able to heal until we find our soul, whether we know it or not.

That’s essentially why I’ve opened my studio. I want to guide you and introduce you to your long lost spirit and you’ll be amazed; once you become in tune with that inner force everything else will fall into place. So join me on the quest of connecting your body to soul and, in turn, improving your stance on life – physically and spiritually.

 

Xx~g.

 

 

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