Retrain your brain, keep an eye on your posture and practice repetition to improve posture. Courtesy image
By JACCI GRUNINGER, MS, C-IAYT, ERYT
Los Alamos
Poor posture is a common problem for everyone whether you work at a desk, drive a car, use computer, phone and tablet devices or just sit for long periods of time vegging out. In addition, we can add stress, injuries, athletics and more to the list. Poor posture is usually due to certain muscles being tight and our losing control over them (muscle amnesia).
In addition to repetitive movements and habits tightening muscles, as we age we also lose our proprioception of our muscles. We become unable to sense where we are in space, how we are moving and how our muscles are or are not functioning. Because of this, it can be difficult to retrain our posture.
Over time, we lose the sensation of what a relaxed muscle feels like but we also lose the sensation of any tightness. It’s like we have blocked out the sensation. When this happens, it’s hard to retrain our muscles to feel and return to a normal state. What actually happens in this instance is that we lose our sensory adaptation.
“Sensory adaptation is the process in which changes in the sensitivity of sensory receptors occur in relation to the stimulus. All senses are believed to experience sensory adaptation.” (www.explorable.com).
If a sense is exposed to a stimulus for a period of time it loses its ability to notice the stimulus.
For example, a smoker often doesn’t notice the smell of smoke on their clothes or in their home. Or you might experience a jacuzzi as being very hot upon submerging yourself and then it doesn’t feel as hot.
With regards to posture, we are concerned with the adaptation of our vestibular system and our proprioceptive systems.
Our vestibular system (located in the inner ears) is a sensory system that helps us balance and coordinate our movements without falling over. If you have ever had vertigo your vestibular system was a bit out of whack and it may have been hard to balance or even walk.
Our proprioceptive system senses where we are in space. Proprioceptors are located in our muscles and joints. When we are moving the proprioceptors help us detect various planes of movement in our joints and we respond accordingly. However, when we sit or aren’t in motion, they tell us very little about our posture and allow us to be still in very unnatural positions. Slouched on a couch or at your desk is one of those positions. And, if we aren’t aware of what we are doing, the muscles develop a habit of being in that position and it becomes normal.
In addition, our brain keeps us in this position and our vestibular and proprioceptive systems reinforce the comfort of the position. It is a vicious cycle and one that is hard to break. Our rounded posture starts to feel good while trying to stand or sit tall creates pain or deep sensation until the rounded posture or head forward position causes us pain.
Retrain your brain, fix your posture.
The first step is to move in a way to reset the muscles and neural pathways in the brain. When muscles and connective tissue pull the bones out of alignment creating poor posture, we can use Pandiculation to release these muscles and reset the neural pathways to return the body to a neutral and healthy position. Granted it doesn’t happen in one session, but often people start to feel better (few aches and pains, headaches etc.) after just one session, however, over time habitual patterns of holding can be erased.
Pandiculation is the process of loading and unloading a muscle or muscle group with the assistance of gravity and body weight and then pausing between each sequence or repetition to reset the brain. Pandiculation can also include using your own touch for additional resistance or the touch of a trained yoga therapist, gentle somatic educator or massage therapist. When done properly, pandiculation can help reprogram the brain and body and diminish or release pain and stiffness.
Two other things to consider are seeing yourself in a mirror or getting a third person view of your posture. This helps to match what you are seeing in your body with what you are feeling. You will want to use a mirror or third-person when moving into correct posture.
The final step is repetition. It was repetition that created the posture you currently have, it is repetition that will help to unwind that posture. It is important to regularly check-in with your posture throughout the day. The goal is to feel relaxed, not strained in your new, healthier posture.
A quick check is noticing where your head is in space? Are you jutting your chin forward or down or up? Try sitting tall, elongating the back of your neck, chin parallel with the floor. Just notice what it feels like. Then relax, notice what feels natural. Keep playing with the proper alignment until you begin to notice when you are out of alignment.
About Jacci Gruninger
Jacci Gruninger is a Certified Yoga Therapist, Thai Yoga Massage Therapist, Focusing Coach and Facilitated Stretch Practitioner. She regularly helps clients manage the ups and downs of life with yoga, meditation, breathwork, focusing, stretching and bodywork. Her Wellness Center is at 190 Central Park Square #212. For her current in person and online teaching schedule and information on her other services, visit her website at www.highmountainwellbeing.com.
