Postural Imbalances
<div><p><strong><em>"This chapter examines the common postural imbalances in detail. Use table 1 below to identify which muscles are most likely to have created the imbalance in your posture. You will also find an illustration of the most important superficial muscles discussed in this book. </em></strong></p></div> <p><strong><em>Record the results of the examination of your posture in the table at the end of this chapter. These data will serve as a starting point for identifying the effect of yoga practice on the tension held in your body. For a more detailed assessment, take a photograph of your whole body, keep it, and compare it with what you see after 6-8 weeks. Mark the date you took the photograph in your calendar as the date for reassessment; it will serve as a reminder. The yoga poses recommended for correcting these imbalances are described in the following chapters of the book. "</em></strong></p> <p><strong>Mukunda Stiles</strong> has practised yoga since 1969. His first experience of yoga came while he was a student at the West Point Military Academy. In that improbable setting he had a spiritual awakening that turned his curiosity into a lifelong passion. He received a broad education in classical yoga and meditation under world-renowned teachers, including B.K.S. Iyengar and Indra Devi. He studied in the ashrams of various spiritual teachers and worked in India with masters both celebrated and hidden from public view. In 1976 he formulated the principles of Structural Yoga Therapy (TM).<br /> <br /> <strong>«Structural Yoga Therapy» (TM)</strong> is written for teachers and serious practitioners who use yoga to bring their body into a state of perfect balance. Mukunda Stiles sets out what a beginning practitioner should take into account when choosing a practice, including how to find a yoga teacher. He also shares his thorough knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology (which muscles and bones exactly are involved in a movement), so that you can understand how each asana acts on our body. Stiles will teach you how to put together a personal programme from the 24 Structural Yoga Asanas in order to optimise your physical condition and to heal.</p> <h2><strong>COMMON POSTURAL DISORDERS</strong><br /> <br /> </h2> <h3><em>LATERAL BALANCE</em></h3> <p>Look at the whole person in one general glance; this is the first stage of reading the body. Do not try to see details. Simply take in the proportions of the whole body in order to decide whether it is shifted forward or back relative to the vertical line. Having assessed the overall balance, try as far as possible to find those parts of the body that have moved out of place - the pelvic or the shoulder region, for example. Seen from the side, a naturally aligned, centred posture looks as shown in the photograph. The vertical line runs through the centre of the ear, the shoulder, the hip, the knee, and ends slightly in front of the ankle.<br /> <br /> Anterior, or forward-shifted, posture is the most commonly encountered lateral deviation, usually in the pelvic region or the lower abdomen when these are shifted forward relative to the rib cage.<br /> <br /> Posterior, or backward-shifted, posture is seen less often. In such a posture it looks as though the upper body is falling backwards relative to the waist.</p> <p> <em><br /> </em></p> <h3><em>HEAD AND SHOULDERS</em></h3> <p>Where the shoulders are rounded there may be a hollow or depression in the space between the shoulders and the rib cage. The muscles between the shoulder blades are slack, while the chest muscles, the pectoralis major, are tight. In addition, the head may hang forward. The arms tend to fall forward of the mid-line, and they are often rotated inwards with the palms facing backwards. This posture and raised shoulders are frequently accompanied by chronic tension in the neck or by headaches. <br /> <br /> Another common deviation is a raised shoulder. In the illustration the left shoulder is noticeably higher than the right. Often the shoulder is raised not simply upwards but inwards as well, making the upper arm hang away from the torso. When the shoulder is raised, the upper trapezius is chronically tight. If this is found, the person should also check for displacement of the head, the neck or the upper back, since these factors may point to a lateral curvature of the neck or to a moderate scoliosis. In general, well-balanced shoulders bring the whole line below the base of the neck into alignment.</p> <h3><em>SPINE AND BACK</em></h3> <p>When the planes of the shoulders are rotated (not shown), the shoulder blades do not lie flat against the back of the rib cage. In this case the upper edge of the shoulder blade sits behind the back surface of the arms. If you stand with your back to a wall, the shoulders will be forward, and only a small part of the inner surface of the shoulder will touch the wall. The rhomboids and the middle trapezius tend to weaken. Rounded shoulders may also be present. This circumstance often limits full breathing into the chest and increases abdominal breathing, which has a relaxing effect. <br /> <br /> Flat back posture occurs when the spine lacks its natural backward curve in the upper two thirds of the body. The spine may appear progressively straightened from the lower back and the lumbar spine right up to the neck. Although this is usually an inherited feature, it can often develop in the course of intensive ballet training in adolescence. The most common side effect of such a posture is a lack of mobility in the thoracic spine and tension in the neck. <br /> <br /> Lateral curvature, or scoliosis, is more common in women. It has several characteristic features. Most often a double, or even triple, change in the position of the spinal column is noted. Another feature may be a raised shoulder, a protruding part of the rib cage and uneven hips. If you are not sure whether you have scoliosis, carry out a more detailed analysis by asking someone to watch you as you bend gradually forward and to check whether the spine shifts or stays straight, section by section. In the illustration on the right the subject has a right thoracic scoliosis, in which the right shoulder is higher, the right arm is carried somewhat forward of the torso, the head turns to the right, and on bending forward the right side of the mid-thoracic region is higher than the left (see the illustration on the left).<br /> <br /> There are two types of scoliosis. Structural scoliosis is an inherited trait.<br /> Often the parent of the same sex has a similar curve. The severity of this type of scoliosis can increase with age. In the worst case - though this happens fairly rarely - the curved spine distorts the shape of the rib cage to the point where the ribs become compressed. Surgery is then prescribed to implant a metal rod, so as to prevent the curve from degenerating further beyond 40 degrees. In my experience, curves below this degree can be visibly corrected by 30-50% with the help of Structural Yoga Therapy. The best results have been seen in clients who set out purposefully to master precisely those structural yoga asanas that are required to change the structure of their skeleton.<br /> <br /> The other type is called functional scoliosis, and it develops out of one-sided activity such as waiting tables and carrying trays on one hip, bowling, golf, tennis, or pitching in baseball. In these cases people who have spent long hours developing their skills create a curvature of the spine and a displacement of the ribs that make them more specialised in their activity. This type is easier to correct immediately after the person finishes their training session. It is possible to reduce the residual effects of the tension that follows twisting movements while still preserving athletic performance. <br /> <br /> Kyphosis, commonly called a hump, is seen as a large backward curve, usually in the upper thoracic region. In this curve the shape of the ribs, as well as of the spine, is distorted. As a result the posture can look like a sunken chest with suppressed breathing and excessively rounded shoulders. A determined student can correct such a posture, but it becomes harder and harder after the age of 30. <br /> <br /> Lordosis, an excessive curve in the lower back, in the lumbar region, is obvious when the shape of the lower back cannot be seen from the side. The hands conceal the outline of the back. The depth of the curve is far greater than normal. A great many different muscles are involved here, including those of the hips, the sides and the abdomen. The largest of the muscles involved produces the gripping of the lower back; it runs from the groin, on the inside, through the pelvis to the front of the lumbar spine. How far correction is possible depends on the individual case.</p> <h3> </h3><h3><em>KNEES</em></h3> <p>The knees are considered hyperextended when the view from the side reveals the back line of the knee joint (see the illustration on the left). This position of the knees may be inherited, or it may develop because pressing the knees back was encouraged in the early years. In such a case there may be an overstretching of the ligaments of the knee joint rather than of the musculature. This condition is often marked by tight hamstrings and a weakened lower quadriceps. It is frequently accompanied by an increased lumbar curve and weak abdominal muscles and/or hip flexors. Some people with this trait also have excessive mobility in other joints, especially the elbows. Knock knees appear when the knees touch along their inner surfaces while the ankles do not touch on the inside (see the illustration in the centre). Often the inner surfaces of the thighs are fully in contact as well. The adductors tend to be tight, while the hip abductors (the gluteus medius and the tensor fasciae latae) are slack. In most cases the shape of the bones is altered, although this too can be corrected by diligent practice, as it was in my own case.<br /> <br /> Legs are called bowed when the inner sides of the knees do not touch one another while the ankles are touching (see the illustration on the right). This is the opposite of the previous case: that is, the muscles of the inner side, the adductors, tend to weaken, while the outer sides of the hips, the abductors, are tight. Changing the strength of the weakened muscles makes it possible to increase the flexibility of the joints, and with a certain persistence these postural faults can be noticeably corrected.<br /> <br /> Tibial torsion (not shown) shows itself in the knees pointing inwards while the feet point straight ahead. To check for this, look closely at the flat surface of the kneecap to see that it is parallel to the mid-line of the body. This position arises from the structure of the bones and does not depend on the stretching or shortening of the musculature.<br /> <br /> Hip rotation (not shown) is revealed when standing feels more comfortable with the legs turned outwards, the toes to the sides, while the knees are aligned straight ahead. This differs from tibial torsion, even though the relationship between the knee and the hip appears to be the same. This posture can be changed by the realignment process of Structural Yoga Therapy.<br /> <br /> Feet turned in (not shown) are noticeable when the natural position is with the feet turned inwards; this is usually called being pigeon-toed. Such a position arises from increased inward rotation of the hip and can be corrected by stretching the external hip rotators, which lie deep in the gluteal region and the lower back.</p> <h3> </h3><h3><em><strong>ANKLES AND FEET</strong></em></h3> <p>Pronated ankles tend to curve inwards, which shifts the weight of the body from the feet onto the inner ankles (see the illustration on the left). The tibialis anterior becomes weak. This can be corrected by tightening and spreading the toes, raising the arch of the foot. Sometimes people with pronated ankles also have flat feet. <br /> <br /> A true flat foot does not allow the muscles of the foot to be engaged. If it is associated with pronated ankles, however, the arch can be lifted. With a flat foot, or a so-called fallen arch, the arch of the foot sits far closer to the floor than it should. The opposite fault, that is, a raised arch, shows itself in the front of the foot lifting along with the arch.</p>