Does Your Posture Give Away Your Age

Osteo Pilates Blog

Quotes from the Conference April 2010

Monday, 19 April 2010 17:41 | Author: Karena Lineback |

Really invaluable quotes from the Body Mind Spirit Expo in Santa Clara, California April 2010. These quotes are only from the instructors I worked with... Can you imagine if we could collect all the amazing quotes from all the instructors there??? If you were there and have a quote to add, please do!

P.S. Most of the quotes are from Mary Bowen. She was our wonderful keynote speaker, instructor and I had lunch with her one afternoon. And let's face it. She is extremely quotable! Inspire

'My spine finally released at 75 years old. I can't die now I have so much more to do!'--Mary Bowen, 80-years-old at the time of the conference

'There are as many ways to do Pilates as there are people doing Pilates. There is no method that will adequately represent you. The more original you get the more successful you will be.' --Mary Bowen

'I love cats. Cats taught me how to release the spine.'--Mary Bowen

'I didn't breathe until I was 37, after work with Joe stopped. Everything was too locked and tight and breathing only happened in the chest.'--Mary Bowen

'Joe left you very creatively, freely to explore. If he approved of what you were doing, he [Joe] would gruffly say, 'That's good. Use your whole body.'--Mary Bowen

'At the conference, do your second best. You'll have a much better time and it will give you some breathing space.'--Mary Bowen

'I just love this necklace. It is made up of the fur of all my dead cats.'--Mary Bowen

'To be terrific, you have to be specific.'--Allen Menezes

'Effortless power.'--Eric Cobb

'Google out, Zoom in.'--Madeline Black on assessing your client's alignment

'Shotgun approach.'--Madeline Black on looking at a global approach as opposed to looking singularly at one system

'Don't have an enemy because you'll turn out just like that person.'--Mary Bowen

'I give absolute permission for each of you to do Pilates however you want to do it. As long as you are genuine.'--Mary Bowen

'There are people out there, they call it classical, they call it original. They are just sticks in the mud. There's no spirit in it.'--Mary Bowen

'I couldn't create a training program because it means committing to one god.'--Mary Bowen

'If you are doing what you love and doing it from the roots of your being you are going to be valuable. It's going to work out.'--Mary Bowen

'The most important thing you can do is get them [your clients] in the soles of their feet and keep them there. Then they know where they are coming from.'--Mary Bowen

'Never assume that what you say, they [your clients] know.'--Pat Guyton

'Star everything you don't like to teach and practice it. Figure it out.'--Pat Guyton

'No breath, no core.'--Allen Menezes

'I move my body and see if the equipment follows, that's my journey right now.'--Pat Guyton

'You call need to take the PMA exam.'--Mary Bowen

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Last Updated (Monday, 19 April 2010 18:30)

For Professionals: Extension Intolerant/Flexion Intolerant

Saturday, 10 April 2010 11:07 | Author: Karena Lineback |

Just a little tidbit for the Pilates professionals... When you are working with a new client, you can begin to assess the product of their current or past pain and decide how you will begin working with her just by watching how she sits in your reception area. It's an easy way to begin assessing your client... and they'll think you are psychic to boot!

Observe how your client is sitting. Is he slumped? And how did he stand up? Did he press his hands into his knees? Yes, on both? He is very likely flexion intolerant and has some history of back pain even if he is not in pain right now. Avoid all flexion until you have a better feel to how he will react.

What if your client is sitting like she just stepped out of military training? Ramrod straight and even a little extended with the shoulders thrown back towards the wall behind her. Yep. Extension intolerant. Avoid all extension until you have a better feel for how her body will react.

So you can see, this is not rocket science. In fact it is right up there with the difference between long box and short box on the reformer. Complicated stuff, that.

For more information on flexion intolerance.

For more information on extension intolerance.

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Last Updated (Saturday, 10 April 2010 11:23)

Does your back hurt when going down stairs?

Saturday, 10 April 2010 10:50 | Author: Karena Lineback |

If so, then you might be what we call in the biz 'extension intolerant'. Simply means that it hurts to bend backwards, even slightly. Besides having pain in your spine when you are going down stairs, you are probably also uncomfortable lying on your stomach, standing for long periods of time and some of the sports you played like basketball and golf have gone by the wayside. So what do you do with this information. You don't bend backwards ever again. I know, brilliant, huh? Here's the issue:

What's happening with 'Extension intolerance':

More than likely you have something pinching a nerve in your spine. This pinching could be caused by a number of reasons:

Arthritic changes in the vertebrae are pressing on nerves.
A disc herniation is pressing on a nerve.
Swelling/inflammation is pressing on a nerve.
A fatty deposit or tumor is pressing on a nerve.

See the common thread? Something is pressing on a nerve. And that something is jammed into the nerve each time you extend the spine or lean backwards: that is why you get those sharp 'zingers' or pains. So what you need to learn to do is to hold a neutral spine throughout your daily activities. It's not easy but you can do it. Professional football players that continue to play into their late twenties and these days into their forties learn how to tackle and fall with a neutral spine. If they can do it while getting roughed around like that then you definitely will be able to learn to do it during less arduous activities than football. Good luck and the explanation for finding your perfect neutral spine is in the previous blog. Follow this link.

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Last Updated (Saturday, 10 April 2010 11:25)

Does it hurt to bend forward?

Saturday, 10 April 2010 10:24 | Author: Karena Lineback |

If it does, then you might be what we call in the biz, 'flexion intolerant'. Simply means that it hurts to bend the spine forward. If you are flexion intolerant it is painful to bend forward; learn to maintain a neutral spine

If you are flexion intolerant it is painful to bend forward; learn to maintain a neutral spine

It probably also hurts to bend over the sink to brush your teeth, or do the dishes. Sitting for long periods of time either in the car or in front of the tv is probably not your friend either. So what do you do with this information? The short answer is to not bend forward. The long answer is this:

Train your spine to work in neutral.

A neutral spine means that you are neither bending forward or backward. You are in your perfect alignment. Here's how to find your perfect neutral alignment:

Lie on your back with your knees up and the soles of feet planted on the floor.
Rock your pelvis back and forth between an arch (pulling away from the floor) and a curve (pressing into the floor).
Gradually make the rocking smaller until you rest somewhere in the middle.
That is your neutral position. It's a little different for everyone. Some will be able to slide their hand under their low back in this position and some may be able to put a small pea under their low back.
Now use this position when you are standing. You can practice the pelvic rocking using a mirror and find your neutral while upright.

Important: In order to hold the position you will have to brace the muscles around your new posture until your spine and abdominal muscles get used to holding it, otherwise the muscles will pull you back to the alignment that you are used to. To get the muscles to hold your new alignment, imagine that a two-year-old is getting ready to punch you in the back. You brace to keep the blow from hurting. Remember, though, this is a two-year-old punch not a twenty-year-old punch. Don't overdo it.

Now, when you brush your teeth or do the dishes you are no longer going to bend forward from the waist. You are going to brace your neutral spine and if you have to bend forward it will be from the hip joints so that the spine can maintain neutral.

A Tip from the Golfers...

When you watch golfers pick a golf tee up they don't bend forward at the waist and they also don't squat down and use their knees. They cantilever over. They put one hand on their thigh and the other leg swings behind them as they reach down to grab the tee. It's excellent biomechanics. I recommend that you practice that one for all the lightweight things you need to pick up from the floor.

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Last Updated (Saturday, 10 April 2010 11:07)

Does your Posture give away your Age?

Wednesday, 31 March 2010 18:26 | Author: Karena Lineback |

When I walk the dogs in the morning I don't wear my glasses. My eyes aren't all that bad and when I see someone walking towards me I can almost always guess their age. And I'll bet you can, too. We pick up these clues from someone's posture and by their gait, or how they walk, and there is one woman at the park that I aspire to be.

Without my glasses on, this woman appears to be in her late 20's early 30's. With my glasses on, she's clearly in her mid-late seventies. Pretty cool, huh? That's what I want to be like when I grow up. She has great posture and she kind of just kicks along when she strides. Most women her age are standing/walking with their chins jutted forward (forward head) and their backs hunched (kyphosis). Their arms no longer swing, they just kind of hang there. Most of them also limp or shuffle, not picking their feet up when they stride. Not this lady. She looks like a model. I love her; she's my inspiration and I've never said more than, 'Good Morning', as I go through my morning wrestling match with the dogs.

Here's an easy way to begin correcting your posture: 3-dimensional posture correction
1. Sitting on a ball or a desk chair, rest your forearms (fingertips touching) on a desk or table.
2. Drop your mid-back towards the floor.
3. Pull your chin towards your neck as you press the back of the head against an imaginary board lying on your back from your head to your hips.
4. Also press your low back into the same imaginary board.
5. Once you have found your position. Brace all the muscles in your hips, arms and spine. Bracing these muscles is like clenching your fist. You have put your spine into a new shape and you are bracing your muscles to hold your new alignment. Hold the bracing for 10 seconds.

This exercise is not as easy as it looks. It's not too hard to drop the spine or to pull the chin in but you have to also pull the low back towards that imaginary board. You cannot make a correction by correcting only one segment of the spine. The mid-spine is not hunching all by itself. It is being allowed to hunch by the weaknesses above and below it. Address all three areas and the change will be rapid.

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