Poise, Posture And Performance
Poise is not acquired through conventional exercises that generally concentrate on the muscle. As discussed earlier in this section, many exercises lead to loss of poise through the piecemeal approach to developing individual muscles or muscle groups in isolation. Poise comes with an understanding and experience of free movement. Balance is vital for poise. The common response to perceived loss of balance is to stiffen in order to prevent a fall. We need to feel at ease with movement to remove the fear of falling. When we use inappropriate corrective actions in response to a perceived loss of balance we increase the risk of a fall. The grace exhibited by practitioners of the martial art Aikido (see 4.6) is due to their ability to fall without fear of injury. Regardless of the condition of the nervous system, balance can be improved by learning how to eliminate the unnecessary preparatory acts that we usually associate with a given movement. Applying the wrong kind of effort leads to a misuse of our mechanisms for movement – see later. Once our complex systems for balance are impeded all resulting muscular actions will be corrupt and inappropriate. Poise can only be attained when the habit of interfering with the mechanisms for balance is removed, see later in this section.
Improving PerformanceThere is more to improving performance than just improving fitness or strength. It is about making the right decisions and acting in a suitable manner on those decisions. This necessitates the need for accurate information. The effect on an athlete without poise is twofold as the condition corrupts data coming via the senses and subsequently impedes the resulting action.One point worth considering in relation to performance is that we receive precious little information on what happens in the process of a movement. Dr T.D. Roberts, a neuro-physiologist writes in his book Understanding Balance: - In other words, we cannot know exactly how we perform a move. What Roberts is implying here is there are too many variables in maintaining balance for us to be able to do it consciously. We should therefore be wary of 'doing' too much in relation to movement as we could interfere. Feedback following a movement tells us only that it was completed not how it was accomplished. This is pertinent to performance enhancing techniques. Athletes are encouraged to remember what a good movement feels like (kinaesthetic feedback). However, as Dr Roberts states there are a number of variables influencing the outcome of a movement that are not made available to us. We could repeat a number of identical moves that feel the same but use varying amounts of effort and muscular involvement. Alternatively, movements executed with identical actions could feel different. Because we cannot be sure of what efficient movement feels like we are limited to how we can directly influence it. A more subtle indirect approach is needed to ensure optimum movement. The main threat to poise is the habit of trying too hard. As Alexander once said to a pupil: “You can’t change the course of Nature by co-ordinating yourself!“ Unfortunately, as experience has taught us, it can be difficult to change a habit. Nature devised an efficient way to achieve balance in an upright stance by utilising gravity. This is achieved by a mechanically advantageous lever configuration at the opposite end to the feet, i.e. the head and neck. The Control MechanismsIt would be impossible to directly control and co-ordinate all actions necessary for even the simplest of movements. We have developed a number of mechanisms, such as postural reflexes, to maintain balance and enable movement.Specialised centres of the brain act upon information received with regard to the position of the body in relation to gravity. The regulation of these mechanisms is at a level below consciousness for one obvious reason, that is, if we had to control each muscle individually it would take hours just to get out of bed in the morning! Alexander discovered what he called the Primary Control. He found the dynamic relationship between the head, the neck, and the torso had a major influence on the co-ordination of the whole organism in conjunction with the balance organs. He wrote: - Try the following experiment.
Observe most people walking or running and you will see heads held in a number of positions though rarely left free to balance. The muscles of the neck play a vital role in maintaining balance and controlling movement. Medical scientist Dr David Garlick has conducted a number of studies on The Alexander Technique and describes in his book, The Lost Sixth Sense (1990), what happens when a local anaesthetic is injected into one side of the subject neck muscles: -
The high concentration of muscle spindles in the muscles attached to the base of the skull give an indication of their importance to the nervous system. Their role is thought to be that of feeding back information on the position of the head enabling the righting reflexes to maintain body position in relation to its movement (see Fig 8.2). This explains why the neck hold is so effective in combat sports as it can immobilise a contestant, the same technique can apparently be used to restrain a bull!
The complex reflexes of this region can be impaired by excessive tension in the neck muscles. For example the deeper, highly sensitive sub-occipital group of muscles cannot adequately be lengthened, thus activating the stretch reflex, if the outer trapezius is pulling the head back, see fig 8.1. Because the stretch reflex is fundamental to movement, the efficiency of any action is reduced if initiated by stiffening the neck. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of the sub-occipital muscles on the function of muscles in the lower back and legs( Pollard & Ward (1997)). The weight of the head on the spine acts as a first class lever to counteract gravity. If the head is allowed to balance, that is unimpeded by unnecessary activity in the neck and shoulder muscles, its weight provides an upward pull on the attached muscle increasing tone. The slight forward rotation of the head on top of the spine increases the distance between the back of the skull (occipital and mastoid bones) and the vertebral column, sternum and clavicle. This stretches the muscles attached at these points eliciting the stretch reflex. An increase in muscle tone supports the structures beneath, reducing the amount of unnecessary tension. Rather than holding up the body in individual segments, the structure is supported effectively from above - courtesy of gravity. When the head is balanced its weight is transferred down the spine as nature intended, calling into play the hydraulic property of the intervertebral discs. The lengthening of the spine increases flexibility, improves muscle tone and the ability to absorb shock. The next chapter looks at the core muscle myth!
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