TRY THIS!

Reposition the pelvis to be more hip-driven helping support good head position so you can hold your adjustment longer.

• Pigeon-toe your feet with toes touching.
• Tighten up your thigh muscles. You may feel like your bottoms pushing to far out but that is ok., Stand or one minutes with relaxed shoulders and your will notice your head position is now lined up with ankles. We call the “Ideal Posture.”
• This is important because you posture is your window to your spine and your spine is your window to your nervous system and your nervous system is the window to your health. Watch this video at the bottom of this story for exercises that will help you to maintain perfect posture.

When your head is pitched forward more than it should be, this position puts a kink in the spinal cord, interrupting the brain’s message to the diaphragm to breathe. The result is shallow and sometimes painful breathing. The diaphragm is meant to expand out, not up to help you fully empty your lungs.  Well, the nerve that runs to the diaphragm and helps you breathe comes from the neck. When you limit its range of motion, you put extreme stress on other parts of the body that have to compensate — namely, the neck and chest. This can lead to more pain…as you can see, the workings of a vicious cycle.

To get your breathing back on track and help your body find its natural alignment, put your hands around your waistline and take a deep breath in and out. Your diaphragm should expand outward (east-west) when you breathe in, instead of upward in a shoulders-up, shoulders-down motion. If you practice yoga, think of these as belly breaths — letting your belly expand with each breath. Practice a few times and see how it feels.

HOW TO GET RID OF PAIN WHILE SITTING

Use this method to relieve discomfort any time you’re stuck sitting for long periods of time (think long car rides or flights). The key here is to flatten out your lumbar spine, so roll up a small pillow or jacket and place the roll behind you at the base of your seat. Then push yourself back, pressing your tailbone against the roll. This will force your upper back into proper alignment with the seat. Remember, your spine has natural curvature, so you are honoring that.

HOW TO USE POSTURAL ALIGNMENT TO INCREASE ENERGY

Increasing energy is about improving lymphatic flow. Remember, the body pumps northbound, or upward, so if you are out of alignment, there will be inevitable build-up in the lymph system from the hips down, especially around the side of the pelvic girdle and hip joints. That’s because the fluid is trapped at the cellular level with nowhere for it to go.

To allow lymph fluid to flow everywhere it needs to go, stack those joints properly — toes, ankles, knees, and hips. To do this, first put your hands behind your head with your elbows extended back and shoulders pulled down. Notice how when you step, your entire foot strikes the floor. This is a key signal informing you that from head to toe, you are holding a posture that allows lymph fluid to flow. Continue to practice the exercises featured in the video at the end of this story until your body holds good posture on its own. Open your alignment and the fluids will flow again. Alignment for increased energy.