The Power of Posture & Art of Alignment Disclaimer - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Power of Posture & Art of Alignment

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Disclaimer

• Mindfulness + Physics = Complex puzzle
• Not all puzzle pieces are represented – Not all

relationships are represented

• The following information is not absolute and is

intended to be used for understanding

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Learning Outcomes

• To understand the importance of posture in terms of

efficient movement and injury prevention

• To explore some basic anatomy and physiology
• To encourage research, questioning, experimenting

and learning

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

What do we mean by posture?

“Proper posture is believed to be the state of musculoskeletal balance that involves a minimal amount of stress and strain on the body”

Yip et al, 2008

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Posture

Perry (1992) describes good posture as ‘quiet standing’ and suggests that during perfect alignment the only required muscular activity is that needed to accommodate the pulsatile surge 


• f the circulation

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

‘Quiet Standing’

• Important to obtain optimal neutral upright standing

position, to provide the base point for efficient movement

• Connect the dots to create a line through ankle, hip

and shoulder and balancing head on top of spine, with ribcage over pelvis – building our column

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

“…correct human alignment does not imply that there is one body position that we should be using all the time. In fact, it is often our determination to maintain a ‘good’ fixed posture that is undermining our health”

Bowman, Katy. Move Your DNA

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Alignment & Relaxation

• In T’ai Chi the image of Needle in Cotton is

considered the guiding principle of efficient movement

• Needle is a strong axis running vertically through 


the body

• Cotton represents the moving parts, relaxed where

appropriate and moving fluidly around the needle

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Central Movement Principle

• A sense of being centred, focused and strong, both

physically and emotionally

• Dantien – energy centre / life force
• Moving from the centre
• Working from inside out

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Dantien

• Body’s centre of mass and point from where we

visualise movement starts and energy begin to flow

• Focus at the dantien stimulates an unconscious

action of core stabilisation, controlling pelvic/spine alignment during movement

• Part of the emotional / spiritual core
• Many people have lost touch with this area,

physically and emotionally

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Planes of Movement

Sagital Plane Frontal Plane Transverse Plane Body Planes

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Movements of the Body

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Skeletal system

• Acts as a

framework on which muscles attach

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Other systems

• Musculoskeletal
• Cardiovascular
• Lymphatic
• Nervous
• Endocrine
• Integumentary
• Digestive
• Excretory
• Reproductive
• Immune

Postural alignment is important in terms of

• Breathing
• Digestion
• Circulation
• Energy / Chi
• Dispersion of stress
• Communication
• Performance

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

What is the Core?

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

What is the Core?

If you disconnect the arms and legs 
 the core is what remains

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

The Functional Role of the Core

“The ability of your trunk to support the effort and forces from your arms and legs, so that muscles and joints can perform in the safest, strongest and most effective positions”

Elphinstone and Pook (1998)

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

“Core endurance is more important than core strength in regards to injury prevention.”

Carla Cupido, D.C. 2011

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

The anatomical core

Deep layer

• Spinal joints –

vertebrae, disks and ligaments

• Position sense

muscles and accessory muscles responsible for controlling movements that occur within a joint

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Middle layer (inner unit)

• Stabilise the spine and form a

working foundation from which the arms and legs can function optimally – includes TvA, internal obliques, diaphragm, psoas and pelvic floor

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Outer layer

• Muscle slings that contribute to

the ability to maintain an optimal working relationship between joints and to integrate body segments for successful motion – includes external

• bliques, latissimus dorsi,

gluteals

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Stabiliser muscles

• Control posture, muscle

actions and excessive range of motion (example gluteus medius)

Mobiliser muscles

• Move muscles through

predominantly concentric muscle action (example latissimus dorsi)

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Myofacial Meridians

“Our organs and muscular system are encased within a kind

• f connective tissue called fascia. Fascia is known as a

systems-wide communication network, linking our thoughts, emotions and beliefs with our body 
 and vice versa”

gammamindset.com

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

The body is composed of myofascial meridians with all systems intertwined

• Superficial back line
• Superficial front line
• Lateral line
• Spiral line
• Arm lines
• Functional lines
• Deep front line

Thomas Myers Anatomy Trains

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Superficial Back Line

• Supports the body in full upright

extension

• In terms of movement, creates

extension and hyper extension with the exception of knee flexion

• Includes plantar fascia, which is
• ften a source of trouble that

communicates up the rest of the line

• Primary slow-twitch (endurance)

muscles

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Superficial Front Line

• Balances the SBL
• Tensile support from the top lifts the

parts of the skeleton that extend forward of gravity line

• Flexes trunk and hip and extends

knee

• Primary fast-twitch (quick reactive)

muscles

• Common imbalance between SBL &

SFL is that SFL is pulled down and SBL pulled up

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Lateral Line

• Functions as a ‘break’ for

lateral and rotational movements of the trunk

• Stabilises the body in sagittal

movement

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Spiral Line

• Helps maintain balance

across all planes

• Connects foot arches with

pelvic angle

• Movement function is to

create spirals and rotations in the body and to steady the trunk and leg to keep it from folding into rotational collapse

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Arm Lines

• Connect seamlessly into
• ther lines
• Strain for the elbow

affects mid back, and shoulder malposition can significantly drag on the ribs, neck and breathing functions

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

• Can be considered as

appendicular supplements to the spiral line

• Appear as spirals on the body
• Work as helical patterns
• Example of use is contralateral

counterbalance between shoulder and hip when walking and running

Functional Lines

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Deep Front Line

• The body’s myofascial core
• Fundamentally fascia in nature
• Integral to breathing and rhythm of

walking

• Provides stability and subtle position

changes to the core structure to enable the more superficial structures to work more efficiently

• Predominantly slow-twitch

endurance

www.chirunning.uk #chirunninguk @chirunninguk CHI RUNNING INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME

Recommended Reading

• Anatomy Trains – Thomas Myers
• The Endless Web – R Louis Schultz, Rosemary Feitis
• Move Your DNA – Katy Bowman
• The Concise Book of Muscles – Chris Jarmey
• The Concise Book of the Moving Body – Chris

Jarmey