Experience yourself in 3D (it’s not just for movies with funny glasses)

When you combine anatomical embodiment with awareness of your ribs and lungs you get a great result… true postural integrity.

We now get to our final week of five clusters dedicated to posture and I am hoping that you are noticing some positive shifts in your alignment, body awareness and tension levels.

I find it amazing the difference that seven days can make

Think of doing no dynamic exercise (workouts, HIIT, sport) for a week. The likely end result would be low energy and feeling on the weak side. Compare that with two energy boosting HIIT sessions, a strength workout and a game of competitive (but fun) pickle ball. Then you’ll likely end up feeling quite spirited, on top of your game and ready for the next session.

Or how you might feel after a seven day holiday (refreshed) compared with a week at the office to meet a deadline... (likely mentally fried and physically exhausted). Another example would be posture... I am sure you can imagine the difference between slouching for a week, verses enjoying great breath capacity, work life, day to day movement and sport from an optimal, toned and natural alignment.

Paradigm shift

My first awareness of alignment coaching was in 1989 during an assignment at college and ever since, I have been using postural assessment to assist the function and wellbeing of my private clients. And of course, the same concepts filter into my online classes.

2D verses 3D

Most traditional postural assessments, exercise coaching, sports teachers and physio-therapists  see and treat the body in a linear and two dimensional way. This was me too until I met Judith Aston (in 2000) and I started to appreciate the three dimensionality that matches natural human movement and all our physiology.

It’s the same in nature; with sound, water flow, trees, bones, etc…

no straight lines!

So, when I invite you to sense (to quietly feel) your body before during and after our classes, I am encouraging you to picture, feel and experience yourself in 3D!

And this is especially true of your mid to upper torso which includes your thoracic spine, ribs, serratus muscles, shoulder girdle and of course diaphragm and lungs. And it’s the flexibility and resiliency of these areas that has big ramifications on your posture, spinal comfort, breath capacity and even organ health.

Let’s focus on the ribs

When it comes to 3D awareness and postural integrity, no location is more significant than your rib cage. Here are 10 considerations:

1. Support of shoulder girdle above. If your ribs are too tight or too loose it will be difficult to release tension from your shoulders and neck (no matter how many massages you get)
2. Being effective with any kind of sports that involve your hands above your head
3. Abdominal tone (muscles around ribs are a key part of your core support)
4. Overall postural integrity (which helps with body confidence)
5. Breath capacity
6. Digestive support
7. Reduction in tension levels
8. Connective tissue attachments to/from spine, chest-bone, diaphragm and abs
9. Movement and breath relationship with pelvis and spine
10. Effective protection of organs

This week’s cluster of Dojiva classes are all about finding a fulfilling three dimensional space in your lungs, ribs and torso. And you get to embody all this theory with a combination of movement, self touch and awareness.

Judith Aston describes it perfectly in two words:

Internal volume

Summary

As always, for maximum effect you need to bring awarness to your body (and in this case torso) beyond the gym, dojo, yoga studio, pilates class etc. As you go about simple day to day living, I encourage a sense a fullness to your torso.

If you tend to be round shouldered that would mean imagining your chest bone and front upper ribs being more lifted. Like taking off a cape, tossing it behind you and taking a deep inhale at the same time. If, however you tend to be a shoulders back and chest puffed up type person, that might mean softening your posture slightly to feel more volume between your shoulder blades.

All is explained in this week’s mini video

 Thanks for reading

Take care

Danny

To access all Dojiva classes, start the 10 day trial - click here

Members, log straight in here