Bodyreadings MJ2011 PDF
Bodyreadings MJ2011 PDF
Bodyreadings MJ2011 PDF
BY THOMAS MYERS
left
inhale
anterior shift
Right rotation
left tilt
medial rotation
of right scapula
Posterior tilt
left bend/
right rotation
right tilt/
anterior tilt
R-lateral rotation
R-lateral rotation
R-Medial tilt
A B
The marks show the tilts, bends, rotations, and shifts we see as we start; your intended strategy for the session can be marked in another
color, or on another sheet.
Last time, we saw that bends and plumbers and lumberjacks (it gives them
tilts could be backward, forward, or that little vertical smile in back when
sideways left or right (sagittal and their jeans hang low), the increasing
coronal planes), that shifts could use of improper sitting (on the tailbone)
be all of these plus up or down, and in front of computers is giving this
that rotations (a complex series of postural pattern a real comeback.
events in most people that we could
merely touch on in an article) could Posterior shift/anterior tilt, Image
be right or left, or medial or lateral 2B. Favored by toddlers everywhere,
in the paired structures (all in the the hips are pushed back but the pubic
horizontal or transverse plane). bone pulled down with hip flexion. A
We saw that use of just these four Normal for a toddler (who has yet to
descriptors could bear the weight of a develop balance in the psoas complex
body-wide detailed analysis, or simply and deep lateral rotators), but if you
to sketch out the major features of a see this pattern in the adult, one
pattern. Here is a chart, Image 1B, can suspect neurological deficiency
the kind we commonly use in class or somatoemotional immaturity.
(don’t get married to it, we change
these charts frequently as students Anterior shift/anterior tilt, Image
suggest improvements). The marks 2C. This pattern creates a lot of
show the tilts, bends, rotations, and compression in the low back and strain
shifts we see as we start; your intended along the front. This person needs B
strategy for the session can be marked relaxation along their back line, and
in another color, or on another sheet. some toning in both the superficial
The rest of this article is a bit of a anterior muscles and their core. This
ragbag of elements that do not fit easily dumping forward is exactly what
into the positional vocabulary of the both Ida Rolf and Joseph Pilates saw
previous installment. We start from the a lot of and were trying to correct.
most objective and move toward ever
more subjective psychosocial factors. Anterior shift/posterior tilt, Image 2D.
Perhaps the most common posture you
FOUR PELVIC TYPES will see—anteriorly shifted because C
There are many details of complex we are all trying to get ahead in this
bits of anatomy like feet and shoulders world, and staying on your toes is how
that just cannot be stuffed into these you do it. This one can be deceiving,
short articles. One factor, however, because with the anterior shift, the
commands attention because of pelvis can look anteriorly tilted as
its centrality—the pelvis. well, but often another look (sorry,
If we posit that tilt is the tilt of but look at some of your yoga/Pilates/
the pelvis on the femur, such that fitness-obsessed clients to see this
anterior tilt equals hip flexion, and in action) will show you these folks
posterior tilt equals hip extension, are really tucked under, overly tight
D
and we remember that pelvic shift is in the pelvic floor or surrounding
either a position anterior or posterior ligaments, and not the happiest of Each of these pelvis types
to the line of the ankle, then we get campers, despite all their work. can come with a host of
the following four pelvic types. So which type is the person individualized postures, but
you are working on? The strategies each type has some features—
Posterior shift/posterior tilt, Image 2A. differ. For more detail on these structural and psychosomatic—
This pattern often presents with a pelvis types, visit Liz Gaggini’s in common.
flattened (flexed) lumbar curve, and site, www.connectivetissue.com.7
(excuse me) no butt, because the pelvis
is tucked under. Once only found on
ORIENTATION
Some people orient more to the ground,
and then reach out from there. Others
orient by reaching out to others, or
into the environment, and then find
their ground from that connection. A
simple test shows which is dominant
(and an indeterminate result indicates
balance between the two):
Stand behind the client and have
her jump lightly and repeatedly on the
balls of her feet. It does not matter how
high or well she does this. Make two
tests, repeating these movements on
successive jumps. Either: 1) Lift her
slightly from the sides of her rib cage
as she goes up, or 2) Press her lightly
into the earth on her shoulders as she
comes down. Which slight impetus
A B C movement produces the more organized
result in the client—pressing down
Bodies tending toward ectomorphy (6A), mesomorphy (6B), and endomorphy (6C).
or lifting up? The ones for whom a
slight pressing down results in a more
organized spring up are oriented to
“wrong” in any way, but you will find muscular, and fat are the simplest ways the ground; those for whom even a few
that this dichotomy is expressing to characterize these somatotypes, ounces of lift on your part produce
itself in their life. That knowledge the truth is more complex. a large result in terms of height and
can help you help them—to resolve Ectomorphs are tuned more to their delight achieved, are oriented out into
it, or at least make a better marriage skin and nervous system and are highly the environment around them.10
between their left and right sides. reactive; mesomorphs more tuned to
People with strong front/back their blood and muscular systems and BREATHING TENDENCY
imbalances often have strong public/ are big on doing; and endomorphs more Breathing patterns can hover around
private issues—what they show and governed by their organs and intuitional one end or the other of the respiratory
what they (try to) hide. Someone with feelings. Everyone lies somewhere in cycle. Those stuck on the exhale side
a Napoleon complex, for example, the triangle made by these extremes. of the pattern tend toward depression
may puff up in front to make himself If your client is toward the center and introspection, relying too heavily
look big, not realizing how small of the triangle, this is probably not on their own internal world, while
he then looks from the back. so useful a distinction to make. If, those stuck around the inhale end of
Strong top/bottom dichotomies however, she tends strongly toward the cycle tend toward a bluff heartiness,
seem to correspond to introversion/ one or the other of these types, it is relying too heavily on the impressions
extroversion; the person with worthwhile knowing that each type and responses of others for their
the proportionally large top is responds differently to soft-tissue sense of self. Artists of all sorts tend
usually an extrovert, while the change. Basic information on the toward the former, the latter can
person with a proportionally larger types is available in a lot of places often be found among car salesmen,
lower half is often introverted. (if you are familiar with ayurvedic TV talk show hosts, and politicians.
medicine, these types correspond to the Soft-tissue work around the affected
SOMATOTYPING doshas), but the basic work comes from parts, along with reeducation of the
This is a large discussion, which we William Sheldon, and is documented missing part of breathing, can often
must leave for another venue, but it in The Varieties of Human Physique.9 help bring these folks toward balance.
is useful to place your client in the
triangle of ectomorphic, mesomorphic,
and endomorphic. Though thin,