Posture Fitness of the Egoscue method®

When people ask me what exactly the Egoscue method® is, I have to come up with a short description that a person without any knowledge of anatomy can easily understand and relate to.

Saying that it is a postural alignment therapy immediately triggers a very natural response – people are trying to straighten up. What they don’t realize is that a conscious attempt to keep the body straight does not always result in a straight posture. And even if it did, nobody can be constantly aware of their posture throughout the day

Posture is NOT something we can control consciously. More so, we often perceive a compromised posture as a correct one. We all know that hunching over is bad and keeping the abdomen in is good (not exactly true from the Egoscue perspective), but there are many other things that people are not aware of. 

 

Try the following posture test: 

1.      Stand with your back against the wall, feet shoulder-with apart pointing straight forward. Your heels, hips, upper back and head should be touching the wall. If it is hard for you to keep the head on the wall, place your head in a relaxed position; do not force it to touch the wall.

2.      Relax your stomach and your arms and allow your body to stay in this posture position for 2 minutes. Don’t forget to breathe and keep your stomach muscles relaxed.

This position (similar to Tadasana, yoga Mountain Pose) imitates a proper postural alignment with a wall used as a map. As simple as it is, it can be quite difficult for many people.

You should not experience any strain while touching the wall with your heels, hips, upper back and head. You should have a small space underneath your waist where your low back naturally curves in. Notice how staying in this posture transfers your weight to the balls of your feet.

If you cannot get your head against the wall without straining, it is an indicator of a thoracic (middle) back problem. If you feel pigeon-toed, it is a sign of your feet being habitually pointing outwards (everted). If your waist is completely on the wall, it means your low back lost its arch into a slumping posture and your pelvis is out of its neutral position. If your hips start hurting after a minute or two, they are misaligned. Experiencing any of these signifies a compromised posture (see my previous blog: Posture As Reflection of Musculoskeletal Health).

What you just did was an Egoscue exercise called Standing at Wall. This exercise promotes proper posture by positioning of all load joints against a wall as a map. For many of the clients, this is the beginning of the posture recovery process. The Egoscue method® allows the body to be in the proper alignment in a way that a person does not have to make a conscious effort to hold a straight posture.

It is achieved by re-training the weakened and incorrectly used muscles with individually selected and specifically targeted Egoscue method® exercises, many of them as simple as Standing at Wall. Each of them provides stimulation to specific muscle groups, joints, and functions that are not being used adequately or that are being abused by skeletal misalignment - from Pete Egoscue book “Pain Free at Your PC”.

A postural alignment specialist (PAS) trained in the Egoscue method® works with each client to select the exercises that will correct his/her specific postural deviations.  A client plays just as an important role in the process of posture recovery as a PAS selecting exercises for them. A client has to do these exercises and communicate changes, improvements, or pains so necessary adjustments can be made.

Please visit my Upright Posture Fitness website: www.uprightposturefitness.com for more information.