If you would have told me ten years ago that I would talk to people about the quality of their energy as they moved I would have laughed in your face—but now it is all I see. The way we walk and stand determines whether we are successfully harnessing the body’s energy potential.
A properly aligned psoas major is the key that turns the body’s engine on, working like a pulley with the hip to stack the spine above the pelvis. You can see this for yourself in a mirror. When people stand with their pelvis tucked under the psoas major moves to the front half of the body at its base. When this happens the spine can no longer get vertical support from the legs and pelvis.
A well aligned psoas allows for the erector spinea muscles of the spine to do their job—that is what you will see in the mirror when the spine lifts up. Tuck your pelvis under and watch and feel the spine collapse at the back forcing your lower back to compress and your head to jut forward. Stick your butt out slightly and you might see and feel the length and extension that the spine can find naturally.
The same energetic collapse happens while walking. If you walk with the pelvis tucked under the legs externally rotate and the spine collapses backwards—energy spilling out. Take the thighs back setting up the psoas to help you walk and feel your energy lifting up, harnessed within the body.
This might seem a bit esoteric but try it and see what you think. Good movement patterns maximize the body’s potential for living and healing. Poor movement patterns will ultimately take their toll on the aging process and many people don’t recognize this until it is too late.
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