The Conserving of You and Your Endangered Front Line
We're regressing to our sexy prehistoric selves, click by click.
I don't mean to get dramatic, but we as a computer, tablet, Iphone addicted culture are beginning to show kyphosis of the spine as a society! Add that to the rapid decline in social skills derived from device addictions and we're not far from becoming a population of knuckle dragging, grunting neanderthals with Apple watches and Fitbits. Like the Black Rhino, the Amur Leopard, and the leatherback turtle, our neutral spines are becoming a vanishing species, save your posture from reaching woolly mammoth status and leave a legacy of lovely, lengthened front myofascial lines for future generations.
The front myofascial line...
connects muscles from toenail to temple, following a course that closely resembles the stomach meridian in Chinese Medicine. By complementing the back line, the FML works to keep us structurally balanced and homo sapianly upright. When our posture resembles that of a question mark our FML is shortened, resulting in structural compromise and energetic imbalances to the stomach meridian. The stomach meridian plays a key role in our digestion and metabolism, specifically when it comes to foods that are harder to break down, like grains (hmm... maybe that's why cave men ate paleo).
The desk job isn't the only thing poaching your front line...
Though a life time of hunkering over your computer like quasimodo is usually the culprit of the vanishing front line. Excessive strengthening of your external abdominal muscles via sit ups and crunches can create a shortening and tightening of the superficial fascia and deep iliacus and psoas muscles. This tension can result in neck pain and psoas issues including groin and low back pain and digestive disorders. Eat like a cave man because it's trendy, and might make you skinny (kidding!), not because you've squeezed your stomach meridian into oblivion and can no longer digest toast.
Save your front line from extinction
Tight quads, low back pain, digestion issues and lateral neck pain all respond incredibly well to Acupuncture and Moxibustion (the burning of mugwort near specific points to warm and lengthen the fascia). Unfortunately, unless you've decided to ditch your desk job for that dolphin training career you've always dreamt of, ergonomic changes to your desk environment coupled with conscious alignment and a consistent and responsible yoga practice are crucial to maintaining your structural health.
Leave the sit ups to your paleolithic ancestors, Access and tone your core by practicing abdominal exercises that strengthen the deep muscles of iliacus and psoas and by embodying the breath. Schedule a Private Yoga class with me to learn more.
Lastly, lose the devices and get outside with your kids, there's a beautiful, un-clickable world out there, enjoy it while you're still standing upright.