Articles

Breaking the Mold
Are you ready?  Ready to break the mold of those things that aren’t working in your life right now?  It’s time to change our perception of those things that bother and annoy us into the nagging friend that finally motivates us into fresh new action to become the change we are seeking.

With so much information available and so many directions which we could move how do we know where to begin? Many of us get overwhelmed by this first step and lose motivation soon after beginning.

To help serve as a foundation for beginning I would like to bring to light the knowledge brought forth in past hopt articles. We discussed how becoming more present can deepen our awareness thus opening the channel of listening to our bodies. Practicing listening is paramount in the process of knowing ourselves and developing the insight (inward sight) necessary in becoming our own intuitive healers. Just as a musician begins every practice session with practicing “scales” we begin every session with “listening”.

Just as music becomes layered and more complex deriving its base from the “scales”, so do other tools and techniques derive from listening. We learn techniques using body, breath, mind, memory, emotion, ego and essence to channel and direct the changes in our outer world by becoming free of the things that bind us inside.

And so, in the midst of these challenging and uncertain times there is no better time than right here and now with awareness to begin our practice by engaging with a position that pulls us all into a mold of compression:  sitting at our desk. No other position has had such world wide impact on physical dysfunction and productivity and as such is worthy of a more in depth study.

Our bodies are designed to move, and in that movement, blood and lymph flow, metabolism and cellular respiration work efficiently to help the body maintain stasis. Components of our internal balance also come from a balance of right diet, exercise, fascial-connective tissue balance, low stress and rest.  Looked at another way, we are all high performance race cars that require high octane fuel and regular maintenance to perform optimally.  In other words, many of our patterns of high sodium/high fat processed foods, refined sugars, high adrenaline, prolonged positions requiring a narrow focus and shallow breathing are contrary to our optimal health.

Now let’s begin the interactive part of the article. If you aren’t already seated please take a seated position. Close your eyes and become aware of your breathing. With each breath bring your awareness deeper and deeper as you scan your body. Now start to slump down a little bit at a time to assume an exaggerated version of the classic “sitting at the computer” position;  rounded back, forward head, elevated shoulders slightly rolled inward,  sitting surface on sacrum/si joints, and compressed in chest between head and pelvis and between shoulders.  As you continue in this posture notice your breathing pattern and areas of discomfort as they arise. Also notice what adjustments your body attempts to make as you endure the posture.  Feel free to come to a more aligned position at anytime as we discuss some of the common symptoms and physiological effects of this position.

1. Forward head: due to the “c” curve of the spine the head compensates for its “jutting out” position by contracting the sub-occipital muscles at the base of the skull. This forward head creates a shearing effect at the base of the skull and can affect blood flow to and drainage from the head contributing to mental fog or dullness, dizziness and headache. Jaw clenching, tmj pain and neck pain can also ensue.
2. Tucked under pelvis: at the other end of the spine the pelvis tilts posterior taking the center of balance from the genital area to the sacrum. In order to maintain balance the lower extremities and pelvis clench creating abnormal muscle patterning throughout the lower extremities and pelvis.  This clenching pattern can contribute to symptoms of plantar fascitis, pelvic/rectal pain or dysfunction, lower extremity congestion and symptoms of restless leg syndrome.
3. Rounded upper back, compressed chest and abdomen:  this position compresses the chest in both vertical and horizontal axis creating a major front/back imbalance. The rounding of the shoulders disengages the shoulder stabilizers in the back forcing the anterior shoulder muscles to stabilize and perform upper extremity tasks. This imbalance can lead to shoulder instability, impingement syndromes of the upper thorax, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow and carpal tunnel. Compression in the anterior thorax can lead to shallow breathing making a person more susceptible to infection and decreased energy levels. In the diaphragm and abdomen the compressive environment can contribute to reflux, poor digestion and elimination and compromised blood and lymph flow to the pelvis and lower extremities.

All of the above postural compensations are a result of compression and a shortening of the connective tissue that runs continuously from head to toe. These compensations can develop from accidents or injuries, asymmetrical patterns like sitting on a wallet or leg crossing and poor postures held over time. Greater imbalances in our body require more energy to perform our daily routines.

Myofascial release treats and addresses these imbalances directly, helping the body reestablishes more balance and improve function with less pain.

At this point many of us may recognize a few patterns and /or symptoms from our sitting patterns. So, what to do?

Awareness and recognition are the first step followed by a desire and commitment to seek, start and sustain a healthy practice that fosters and deeps our relationship with ourselves as we travel through the ups and downs of our daily lives. The best exercises are the ones we do in an actual and practical way that fit into our routines and ones that we enjoy doing.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Start in a seated position, allow your body to start to sway back and forth, slowly include head and neck and exaggerate the movements as your body starts to warm up and loosen. Take this motion into standing ad turn it into a full body movement experience. Let out some sound as you move allowing for variations in movement speed and amount.
2. Once the body has warmed up a bit then start some focused stretching opposite to the positions you are normally in each day. Some suggestions include:
   1. Sitting edge of a chair stretching arms up the wall, shoulder blades pulling toward each other and away from ears maintaining slightly arched back.
   2. Standing with back to corner of the room, stretching arms back with slight backward lean and heart opening to the sky.
   3. Telescoping one arm at a time into the wall, heel of hand to the wall and fingers actively stretching, twist body around arm allowing thorax to twist as well.
   4. Place a towel roll along your spine as you lay on your back allowing your chest to open as you reach with fingers to opposite sides.
   5. Place two tennis balls in a sport sock with a spacing knot between the tennis balls and a closing knot at the end. place along spine lying on back.

Our website has a new section entitled, “exercise tips”, which will highlight and add new exercises each month.

Stretches should be performed 2-5 minutes moving slowly and mindfully into and out of each stretch. Try to breathe into the areas of pain slowing down and listening to enjoy this moment with ourselves.

We at hopt encourage and support your process of breaking the molds that bind you and encourage you to do something constructive daily to aid you in deepening your inner awareness through these articles, stretch and exercise classes and wellness packages to enhance and deepen your experience and journey into wellness.