Like Japanese artists tending to a bonsai tree, chiropractors can adjust the spine to achieve greater spinal alignment.
The ancient Japanese art form of growing Bonsai trees is
fascinating. Bonsai trees are essentially normal shrubs that have been
consistently stressed in a particular way for a long time to create a
posture which would never be found in nature. Depending on how the tree
is stressed while it grows, it may end up looking like a miniature
version of a full-sized tree, or it may end up looking like a wild
tangle of branches with twists and loops. To most people, "good posture"
simply means sitting and standing up straight. Few of us realize the
importance of posture to our health and performance.
The human body craves alignment. When we are properly aligned, our
bones, not our muscles, support our weight, reducing effort and strain.
The big payoff with proper posture is that we feel healthier, have more
energy, and move gracefully. So while the word "posture" may conjure up
images of book-balancing charm-school girls, it is not just about
standing up straight. It's about being aware of and connected to every
part of your self.
Posture ranks right up at the top of the list when
you are talking about good health. It is as important as eating right,
exercising, getting proper rest and avoiding potentially harmful
substances like alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. Good posture is a way of
doing things with more energy, less stress and fatigue. Without good
posture, you cannot really be physically fit. Without good posture, you
can actually damage your spine every time you exercise.
Ideally, our bones stack up one upon the other: the
head rests directly on top of the spine, which sits directly over the
pelvis, which sits directly over the knees and ankles. But if you spend
hours every day sitting in a chair, if you hunch forward or balance your
weight primarily on one leg, the muscles of your neck and back have to
carry the weight of the body rather than it being supported by the
spine. The resulting tension and joint pressure can affect you not only
physically, but emotionally, too, -- from the predictable shoulder and
back pain to headaches, short attention span, and depression.
Poor posture distorts the alignment of bones,
chronically tenses muscles, and contributes to stressful conditions such
as loss of vital lung capacity, increased fatigue, reduced blood and
oxygen to the brain, limited range of motion, stiffness of joints, pain
syndromes, reduced mental alertness, and decreased productivity at work.
According to the Nobel Laureate Dr. Roger Sperry, "the more
mechanically distorted a person is, the less energy is available for
thinking, metabolism, and healing."
The most immediate problem with poor posture is
that it creates a lot of chronic muscle tension as the weight of the
head and upper body must be supported by the muscles instead of the
bones. This effect becomes more pronounced the further your posture
deviates from your body's center of balance.
To illustrate this idea further, think about
carrying a briefcase. If you had to carry a briefcase with your arms
outstretched in front of you, it would not take long before the muscles
of your shoulders would be completely exhausted. This is because
carrying the briefcase far away from your center of balance places undue
stress on your shoulder muscles. If you held the same briefcase down at
your side, your muscles would not fatigue as quickly, because the
briefcase is closer to your center of balance and therefore the weight
is supported by the bones of the skeleton, rather than the muscles.
In some parts of the world, women can carry big
pots full of water from distant water sources back to their homes. They
are able to carry these heavy pots a long distance without significant
effort because they balance them on the top of their heads, thereby
carrying them at their center of balance and allowing the strength of
their skeleton to bear the weight, rather than their muscles.
Correcting bad posture and the physical problems
that result can be accomplished in two ways. The first is by eliminating
as much "bad" stress from your body as possible. Bad stress includes
all the factors, habits, or stressors that cause your body to deviate
from your structural center. Bad stress can result from a poorly
adjusted workstation at work, from not having your seat adjusted
correctly in your car, or even from carrying too much weight around in a
heavy purse or backpack.
The second is by applying "good" stress on the body
in an effort to move your posture back toward your center of balance.
This is accomplished through a series of exercises, stretches,
adjustments, and changes to your physical environment, all designed to
help correct your posture. Getting your body back to its center of
balance by improving your posture is critically important to improving
how you feel.
