Chronic Pain and our Relationship with Gravity

by Liam Keever of www.BodymindResources.com

Today I would like to talk to you about the structure of the human body. As a structural bodyworker, people come to me with a million different kinds of pain. One thing I know, is that whenever there is pain or dysfunction in the body, you will almost invariably find some distortion in the body's physical structure. Maybe the arms are rolling forwards and inwards. Maybe there is a swayback in the lower spine. Perhaps the knees are not directly underneath the pelvis. Most likely it is a combination of all these structural distortions because the body is not made up of a bunch of isolated parts, but instead functions as a whole unit. What do I mean by that? I mean that if there is a problem with the structure in any part of your body, the rest of your body will have to adjust itself, structurally, to balance out the original problem.

Why must we balance ourselves in this way?
We must balance ourselves in this way, because human beings must function within the force of gravity. Gravity forces our body to function as a unified whole. Our ability to balance ourselves within gravity determines our relationship with this force. Our structural relationship with gravity actually determines whether gravity feels heavy or light in our bodies. Our ability to balance ourselves is determined by our posture, or a better way of putting it�our body's structure and how we use it. So you see, structure is actually pretty important to our quality of life. Structure determines the effects of gravity on your body by determining your relationship with gravity. At this point it is important for you to know what causes these structural distortions.

Muscular Holding Patterns
You have an intricate system of musculature set up throughout your body. These muscles cross the joints in your body connecting the different bones to each other for the purpose of facilitating movement. A common problem arises in people where a certain muscle or grouping of muscles decides to shorten into a contraction and remain tight and shortened. This is what we call a holding pattern and it can come about for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you were injured in that area and although the injury has healed, you are still protecting it. Maybe you had some emotional trauma that made a part of your body feel too vulnerable and so you closed it off. Maybe you just watched the way your parents functioned within gravity and decided to copy their holding patterns. However it came about, you now have this holding pattern and the rest of your body has had to adjust itself within gravity to accommodate it.

These holding patterns accumulate with age as you accumulate injuries and emotional stressors. The closer you can bring your body to letting go of its dysfunctional muscular holding patterns, the better organized your weight will be distributed within gravity. You will literally feel lighter within gravity. This has serious implications for those suffering from arthritis, and many kinds of nerve impingements. You are not stuck with your body as it is. You can change the structure of your body by shifting your habitual holding patterns!

How do you do this?
You must learn enough about balancing your musculature to be able to affect it in an educated way through stretching and bodywork. Through very educated stretching and soft tissue manipulation, you can come to recognize and release your holding patterns. You can become aware of negative movement patterns in your daily life and alter the way in which you habitually use your body. Once you have begun to let go of your holding patterns, your relationship with gravity changes from one in which gravity is your wear and tear abuser to one in which gravity is your advisor. In this new relationship with gravity, you know that whenever gravity begins to tug on you with its heaviness, that you have a holding pattern that needs releasing. When you feel weightless, gravity is leaving you alone, because your structure is properly aligned.

For those of you who are interested in putting your structure back together and healing your dysfunctional relationships with gravity, I have created a series of nine classes dedicated to teaching you how to do it. It is called the Heal Thyself Series and it is free of charge. You can find it on my web siteHttp://www.BodymindResources.com .
Here you will also find classes for the non-surgical treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and even a class on do-it-yourself Connective Tissue Face Lifts! I hope to see you all there and remember that without conflict there could be no growth. Enjoy your journey to vibrant health!