BE PROUD: WE ARE ALL SPECIAL
As mentioned in Section 1 under Objectives vs Subjectives, the Human Genome Project found that every human being shares 99.9% of the same DNA [1][2], this is the objective and defines us as the human species. This may seem a lot but when you consider that Chimps and Bonobos (2 species of the Chimpanzee), the closest relatives to humans, share 96-98.7% of DNA with us[3][4], leaving just 1.2-3.9% to separate us meaning there is actually very little which determines the human species, so we are all pretty special. Furthermore, remember the Bill Bryson quote from the Platform Menu page, well we think it fits perfectly here,
"It is a slightly arresting notion that if you were to pick yourself apart with tweezers, one atom at a time, you would produce a mound of fine atomic dust, none which had ever been alive but all of which had once been you."[5][6]
This quote does not only apply to humans, but every other living thing, break anything down enough and you will simply find a cocktail of chemical elements and nothing else. We all share a great deal not only as a species ourselves, but with other animals and nature as a whole, highlighting the importance of how special every life is.
So sharing 99.9% of DNA, the remaining 0.1% is what makes you 'you', helping to define you as an individual in your own right, and forming part of your subjectives including characteristics and personality. Our bodies all vary somewhat, some are passed down to us genetically, but some we develop post birth, meaning our development is both nature and nurture, the fact that it could be one more than the other is becoming increasingly null. Therefore, whilst we are all special as a species as we share so much, we are all special as individuals too as we are all unique. So no matter your gender or religious beliefs, or the colour of your skin, eyes, or hair, whether you enjoy reading and/or sport/s, preference to be an extrovert or introvert, or a bit of both, be proud to be you because we are ALL individuals that just need to be understood. So whilst we are all the same, our bodies can vary and we all have different interests and passions, and as long as they are morally correct and do not hurt you or anyone else, there is no reason why you should not enjoy taking part and/or doing something that makes you happy, and there is no reason why you should be judged for that either. Be happy by doing what makes you happy - simple!
The issue we have here is that many people are afraid to be themselves, scared to enjoy what makes them happy, you may be one of them, because you are afraid to be judged negatively. Pretty much every individual has at least one insecurity about being themselves, whether that is something they enjoy partaking in, or the way they look, and sadly many go onto change themselves, even aesthetically via cosmetic practices including surgery. This is not saying that all reconstructive surgeries are unnecessary, as they can be very beneficial when it relates to health including trauma, and rather we are saying that you are not alone, we may not all share the same insecurities, but we all have at least one. So as above, ensuring it is morally correct, there is no reason to feel shame or embarrassment, after all, it is difficult to stand out in the crowd of the human population if you blend in so dare to enjoy what makes you smile from the inside out and enjoy being who you are. Sometimes all it takes is finding some likeminded people who make you feel less judged when being yourself, and who make you a better person, this is much easier than wanting to be loved and accepted by everyone as not only is that lonely, but it's exhausting too. Sadly some people's passions and interests mean they are faced with a battle, particularly when it comes to improving society as a whole but imagine if the honorable Nelson Mandela didn't dare stand up against racism in the way he did, and gave in feeling the fight was too much? He stuck to his beliefs and kept his integrity despite everything he faced, knowing he was doing a good thing, and his passion meant he got noticed, and people of all races proudly stood with him in support. The adversity is that sometimes, what is deemed morally correct in certain types of societies, it is not accepted in others, and if such beliefs are held strongly, people often end up judging others for something they simply do not understand enough about. Placing labels is a prime example as modern society seems to feel the need to # everything, with even the term 'flexitarian' being used for those who eat meals with and without meat, and whilst this can help people find community, it can also do the opposite by increasing segregation, and some even feel the need to impose their choices on others rather than letting people choose for themselves. If the world was even a bit more compassionate towards each other, it would be a much happier place for us all.
A relatively easy argument for a more compassionate society is that we must learn to become more compassionate towards ourselves, mentally and physically, as some of, if not all of the most successful battles start with facing the issues within first. Accepting ourselves for who we are naturally makes us more compassionate in accepting others for who they are too, thus feeling free within yourself makes you feel in control of yourself, making the the need to control other parts of your life less. A well known chocolate wafer has been promoting it for years, but when was the last time you gave yourself a break, and felt more compassionate towards your insecurities? If we can learn to accept ourselves for who we are, then it is much easier to accept others for who they are. The song "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sun Screen)" by Baz Luhrmann is very apt here, and if you haven't heard it yet, we highly recommend listening to it, because he shares some very helpful wisdom in it which complies here.
PAIN - HYPERMOBILITY - PERFORMANCE - BREATHING PATTERNS - TMJ (JAW) WORK
FASCIA - BIOTENSEGRITY - RECOVERY - SINUSES - REHAB/PREHAB - ANATOMY TRAINS - STRESS
MEDICAL CONDITIONS - INJURIES - HEALTH - ALIGNMENT - BIOMECHANICS - POSTURE
SPORT - REMEDIAL - PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES - MAINTENANCE - HOMEOSTASIS
- BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE BY SEEING THE BEST -
.jpg)
.jpg)
PERFORMANCE SOFT TISSUE THERAPY
SPORT AND REMEDIAL MASSAGE
(BTEC LEVEL 5)
SPECIALTIES: PERFORMANCE (SPORT AND ARTS), HYPERMOBILITY, PAIN AND RESPIRATORY
REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR THE SMA (EAST ANGLIA AND EAST MIDLANDS) - SPORTS MASSAGE ASSOCIATION
Know Your Body
BLOG
RECOMMENDED THERAPISTS
SEARCH
BOOK CONSULTATION
RECOMMENDED READING LIST
MY ACCOUNT
YOUR PERFORMANCE
SECTION 6
ALIGNMENT
6.1: ALIGN AND BE MORE THAN FINE
So now you know more about how the body works, how does it all fit together to create the complete puzzle? Nobody likes to be ‘all the gear and no idea’, so this section is all about how to apply all of this information to yourself.
– this section therefore explains how we do this so you will be able to do this yourself somewhat, but also increase your knowledge and understanding for what decent therapy involves. The regulation of the health and fitness industry is relatively poor, Kim alone has had many experiences of poor treatment and has seen numerous clients who have experienced this in the past, you may have experienced this yourself, so one aim of this platform is to raise the standards of what YOU expect, reducing the likelihood of such experiences.
NOTE: THESE ARE GENERAL NOTES FOR YOU TO IMPLEMENT. IF YOU WANT A MORE IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS SO YOU CAN IMPLEMENT IT BETTER, THERE IS THE OPTION TO SEE KIM IN CLINIC, KIM CAN COME TO YOU, OR YOU CAN BOOK AN ONLINE VIDEO CONFERENCE WITH KIM. FURTHERMORE, KIM HAS A GLOBAL NETWORK OF HIGHLY REPUTABLE PROFESSIONALS, AND IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO ADD TO THE NETWORK, SO KIM MAY ALSO BE ABLE TO RECOMMEND A PROFESSIONAL IN YOUR LOCAL AREA.
NOTE: THESE ARE NOTES FOR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE. THE STRONGER YOU BECOME WITH IMPROVED ALIGNMENT, THE MORE ABLE YOU WILL BECOME TO PERFORM DIFFERENT MOVEMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE IN SQUATS, THE HEAVIER YOU GO, THE MORE OUTWARD ROTATED THE FEET NEED TO BE, HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE WEAK WHEN SQUATTING WITH FEET STRAIGHT, YOU WILL BE WEAK WITH FEET ROTATED OUT – DO NOT FORGET THE BASICS, AND RATHER MAKE SURE YOUR FOUNDATIONS ARE STRONG FIRST.
INSIGHT (REQUIRES 2 PEOPLE):
To help people understand how simple postural changes can either help or reduce balance, Kim has a little trick and is based on the big toe to hip relationship.
To start, stand facing each other close enough to touch their shoulders. One of you moves your feet so they are pointing outwards, and the other GENTLY pushes them backwards on the shoulders and see how good balance is with feet pointing out. The person with the feet pointing outwards then points them inwards, and the other again GENTLY pushes them backwards on the shoulders and see how good balance is with the feet positioning compared to feet pointed outwards.
The concept is that balance SHOULD be better with feet pointed inwards (not necessarily the case all the time such as hypermobility can impact how well this works ). This therefore highlights the importance of alignment – and how this works will all be explained in this section!
Collagen fibres have a triple-helix structure[i][ii] which influences and creates multi-directional layers that enables absorption of pressures from a variety of directions, yet through repetitive movement patterns, more fibres will be formed and will align to the direction of strain[iii]. Put this in conjunction with poor posture which generally creates poor biomechanics, more collagen fibres will be lay down augmenting the poor posture and biomechanics. Therefore, dysfunction in posture and biomechanics can cause dysfunction in the fascia by increasing friction and thus reduce proprioception due to restricted movement.
[i] Shoulders, M. D., & Raines, R. T. (2009). Collagen structure and stability. Annual review of biochemistry, 78, 929-958. Doi: 10.1146/annurev.biochem.77.032207.120833
[ii] Brodsky, B., & Persikov, A. V. (2005). Molecular structure of the collagen triple helix. In Advances in protein chemistry (Vol. 70, pp. 301-339). Academic Press. Doi: 10.1016/S0065-3233(05)70009-7
[iii] Vader, D., Kabla, A., Weitz, D., & Mahadevan, L. (2009). Strain-induced alignment in collagen gels. PloS one, 4(6).
6.2: ALIGNMENT: HOW TO APPLY IT TO YOU
Ulitimately, alignment includes ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles, and a 'plum line' can be useful to help measure this. As discussed, you will be aware that how you hold your head can impact pressure in the lower back, and how the position of your pelvis can impact pressures in the upper back, neck and head. Thus, how you hold yourself in gravity can impact structural and biomechanical pressures. It is all connected!
You are about to be taken through the various parts of the body to enable you to apply the end objective more subjectively. This is VITAL because it will help you apply subjective techniques which help tailor your posture improvement and training specifically to you, for you. At the end of this Section, you will get insight into how to apply these various parts for overall alignment. Feel free to just read the parts which are more relevant to you, however, by reading through them all not only will you will be able to understand the final part of putting it all together, but you will be able to help prevent potential future pain or injury elsewhere. If you do something, you may as well do it properly the first time, and plus, you will find it all helpful for the test at the end.
NOTE: If you have pain, aches, or weakness in one or more areas of the body, this section will help you advance your understanding on how to improve your situation yourself through simple postural and biomechanical changes. Consider it this way, the pain/ache/weakness is there due to something, and it will continue until positive change has been made, to which MSK pain can be both eased and somewhat prevented through better posture and biomechanics - thus, positive change. So let's get going with positive change...
LOWER BODY
feet and ankles, and knees, including ankle sprains, toe deviations, knee stability and knee ligaments
HIPS AND PELVIS
Iliopsoas, glutes, postural pelvic deviations, including leg length discrepancies, Sciatica, Sports Hernia
TORSO
abdominals, rib cage, and spine including spondylolisthesis and spinal deviations with associated back pain
UPPER BODY
elbows and wrists, shoulders, neck, and head/skull including carpal tunnel, rotator cuff and stress headaches
HYPERMOBILITY
SO NOW YOU KNOW WHAT ALIGNMENT MEANS TO EACH AREA OF THE BODY, SO LETS PUT IT ALL TOGETHER FOR OVERALL ALIGNMENT
ALIGNMENT: CONCLUSION
IF THERE WAS NOT A TOPIC COVERED THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN, PLEASE STATE BELOW IN THE COMMENTS AND/OR BOOK AN ONLINE CONSULTATION FOR A MORE IMMEDIATE SOLUTION
DONE!
DID YOU FIND THIS SECTION INTERESTING?
YES NO
DID YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW?
YES NO
Again, better format with selection buttons. Information to be stored and used for website management.