“The real guide to your true age lies not in your years, but by the degree of natural and normal flexibility enjoyed by your spine throughout life. If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old, if it’s completely flexible at 60 you are young”.
Joseph Pilates’ views on the spine tend to be controversial, in part, I believe, due to a misunderstanding of his writings. He stated that the spine, as intended by nature, should be straight. as in that of a baby, and that the curves developed in adulthood are due to poor muscular development and inactivity. However, in photos of him exercising and in demonstrating the ideal posture with a plumb line running from ear to ankle, there remains natural curves to his spine. Anatomy and biomechanic experts today, say the spine should indeed have natural curves to support the weight of the body. So, let’s take a closer look at these natural curves of the spine.
The primary curves of the spine (thoracic and sacral curvatures) form during fetal development (Rolling like a ball, Stomach Massage, Frog) The secondary curves develop after birth. The cervical, or neck curvature forms as a result of lifting the head (Swan) and the lumbar curvature forms as a result of standing and walking.
Our four-legged animal friends have not developed a lumbar curve because they are not upright. So, a small lumbar curve is necessary for us to be able to stand. However, the problems occur when those small natural curves become exaggerated or altered due to inactivity, misuse or overuse of certain muscle groups to the detriment of others, weak trunk (core) muscles, scoliosis, aging, mental or emotional stress, and technology. From a health perspective, poor spinal alignment can wreak havoc on your body and mind. The spine protects your spinal cord and all the nerves that emanate from it to the rest of your body and brain. If you have severe misalignments, you may develop back or neck pain, headaches or nerve impingement. Poor posture creates compression of the lungs and internal organs which effects breathing capacity and digestive issues. And your mood or mental health may be affected. Remember we talked about what happens in the body is reflected in the mind? Your posture can make you feel confident or timid, energetic or lazy, light or heavy (as in the weight of the world is on your shoulders), happy or depressed. Changing your posture can change your mood immediately.
From a purely physical standpoint, a straighter spine makes you stronger and more balanced. In designing a bridge, architects will choose an arched bridge over a straight beam bridge for strength. However, vertically, a straight post is stronger than a curved one. This relates perfectly with the design of the human spine and how it functions best. For example, a plank or the Long Stretch on the Reformer is more challenging because the weakest point of a straight line is in the center, where the Up Stretch or Elephant creates a natural curve in the center to support the position in space. There are many examples of this in the system.
So, if posture is so important, what can we do to maintain or improve it? I’m glad you asked! Fortunately, the spine responds well to correction when given the proper exercises performed in the right way. Reclining exercises, in particular, allow gravity to be our friend, eliminating unnecessary tension in the muscles and impact on the joints. They reduce excess strain on the heart and give the internal organs space to realign. The rolling and unrolling movements will help restore the suppleness of the spine allowing it to return to its natural state and creating a more flexible ribcage to allow for deeper breathing. Also, The Law of Natural Exercise states that “companion” or reciprocal movements are necessary for normal development of the body. Thats why you’ll perform a few exercises with a flexion, or forward bend, followed immediately by extension or back bending exercises. Balancing these types of movements will create balance in the spine.
Simultaneously, and equally important, is stability. Stability doesn’t necessarily mean still, you can create stability while in motion. The body is stable when it can control its position. If you can’t control the range of motion of your joints, then that flexibility is not functional for you. Exercising your core muscles will provide strength and stability to the spine. These muscles help take pressure off the spine and protect it against forces exerted on the body during everyday activities, such as reaching forward, walking up and down stairs, carrying groceries, picking up something from the floor, or walking at a fast pace. However, when we’re talking about the entire core, there are more muscles involved than just the 4 layers of abdominals: your pelvic floor muscles, the hips and glutes, back muscles, and your diaphragm are all part of your core.
In order to engage these muscles correctly, it’s important to use the breath deeply in coordination with the movement. Deep respiration while exercising increases your spine’s stability naturally. As we breathe in, the diaphragm lowers a bit within our ribcage and presses our internal organs down into the pelvic area, then as we exhale the pelvic floor muscles push them back up. This internal pumping action is what gives us the massage of our internal organs and builds strength of the fascia surrounding them to create support. When lifting your pelvic floor muscles, you’ll be focusing on engaging the area right below your navel without allowing any movement of the pelvis itself. The exhale also activates the Transverse abdominals which are the deepest and closest to the spine. They run from your pubic bone all the way up to the bottom of your ribcage and wrap around your torso. There’s a good book called Pelvic Power, by Eric Franklin, if you’re interested in further study. In the meantime, here are a few tips and suggestions to help improve your awareness and postural alignment.
Standing Practice: Visualize a plumb line running down the side of your body, with ears over shoulders, shoulders over hips, hips over knees, and kneecaps balanced over the arches of your feet. Your weight is primarily on the balls of your feet with knees slightly bent. Your arms should rest at your side with your hands falling slightly in front of your thigh. When holding this perfect posture, if you get tired, you can shift your weight from one side to the other like a gentle sway, never rest by pushing one hip out or locking your knees. If you’ve been told, “head up, shoulders back!”, this is not correct. The adjustment happens in the spine only, forcing your shoulders back may cause you to throw your ribs out and arch your back and creates unnatural muscular activation. There should be a ‘simultaneous drawing in of the stomach and throwing out of the chest.”
The Wall can be used to practice and receive feedback. If you stand with your feet pressed back to the wall, there should be no more than 2 inches of space between your lower back and neck from the wall. If that’s not possible for you, then move your feet away from the wall until you can achieve that position.
Walking should be a slightly more forward lean of your perfect standing posture.
Sleeping: Use a firm mattress to support your spine. And, only use a pillow if you are a side sleeper, and a very small or no pillow at all if you are a back sleeper.
Office/Sitting: Make sure your chair is the correct height so your computer screen is at eye level. Knees should be at or slightly above your hips. You may need a foot rest and/ or a pillow behind your back for support. Most importantly, take several small breaks every 20 minutes, if possible, or at least every hour.
Joseph Pilates designed furniture including beds and chairs for people to use in their homes to support their natural anatomical postures. Here is an hysterical video of Joe demonstrating various positions in his V Bed. I was excited to try it out for myself when I attended a conference at Jacob’s Pillow, it was surprisingly comfortable!
