The Gravity Affair

Imagine, you have just spent nine months in the comfortable womb – feeling almost weightless in the warm water that surrounds you. But one day, unexpectedly and surprisingly, strong forces push you out of your little safe zone. Your head and limbs are being squeezed against walls in a tunnel until you pop out in a bright, cold and noisy room. Hands carry you towards your mother’s breasts and for a while you feel the comfort again. Days and weeks go by – all you do is sleep, eat, pee and poo.

But one day while you lay there on a soft pink or blue blanket on the grass in the park, you suddenly get aware of your surroundings. You see the colors around you, the trees, and a few birds flying in the sky. And then a new urge sets in – you want to move through space! You have a new and almost overwhelming need to grab, feel and explore the things around you. “How fun this will be!” you think and aim for that bird over your head.

Then...one of the toughest parts of this reality we live in strikes you - GRAVITY! You become aware of an invisible force that is pulling you down into that blanket and keeps you there. It never gets tired. It’s an even grip it has on you there...

From that moment in the park, and for the rest of your life, you’ll have to deal with it. You are basically married to it! And it is one of these complex marriages...

On one hand gravity is a constant restriction. It holds you back, making moving around more or less a struggle. It likes to have you home.

On the other hand you totally depend on having this force in your life. Imagine life without it – drifting around in outer space is not much fun in the long run, and quite lonely too. The challenge is to learn to work with gravity and not fight against it – always a lost war. Divorce is not an option, it’s against the laws of this universe.

There are two sides to your partner in life. That gravity is pulling you down means that there will also be an equally strong contrary force pushing up.

Try pushing your hand down into the table. The more you push down the more the table push back up. Of course, if there is no table, you fall down.

But most of the time you spend safely placed on firm matter; the streets, the floor, your bed etc. This gives you two forces to have a meaningful relationship with. With the two in combination you can play around and explore new and better, more fun, more comfortable or just odder ways to move around. The possibilities are endless. If you need instant inspiration check out these links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x98jCBnWO8w&NR=1

But before you go all crazy about it, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

At least you should know about the basic principles for human motion.

There are three main elements that determine your moving possibilities:
1. Gravity
2. Your skeletal structure
3. Your will (mind-nerves-muscles)

The force of gravity pulls on our bodies - every second, every day of our life. How we align our body plays a vital part regarding the muscular tension we build over the years, and how much energy we have to use in order to move around.

The skeleton, made up of 206 bones in adulthood, is what gives us the shape we have, and the power to move.

Gravity and skeletal structure tend to be constant non-changing elements, but will is definitely flexible.

The key is to know where the line of gravity falls in your body, and then choose to align your body around this line the most efficient way - not only while standing, but in all positions and movements. Where is your head placed in relation to your chest? How does your spine curve? Do your hips swing in space?

The human body is designed to function problem free in the gravitational field. Problems usually arise when the body is out of balance. Being out of balance is necessary though in all movements. We are in balance only while lying down – not moving. We don’t go anywhere without first being off-balance for at least a millisecond. The problem starts when being out of balance becomes a state of being. When one stands or moves out of balance over time one must constantly "fight" gravity rather than flowing through it.
It’s the same with our mind – being out of balance for a few seconds or minutes might mean that great ideas are coming up, but over time it makes life more of a struggle. It’s all about finding that good dynamic exchange of energy and forces.

Our skeletal system is designed to work in concert with gravity. And with like any orchestra, it’s the dynamic rhythm between the different instruments that creates the music – our movements. The question is: Do you play like an ompa music orchestra or like a smooth string quartet?

Let’s go back to that park...
You still want to grab that bird, or at least climb the tree. Your iron will makes your body fight that gravity because of your natural urge to grow and improve, and after a few months of trying and failing you finally start to make it around. Not like you expected, maybe. Those birds stay out of reach, but you can soon walk, run and climb. You learn fast - new movements every month. Then they slowly get programmed in you – every movement pattern you adapt become like riding a bike. You don’t have to think about it. Not that you ever did.

I’m sorry to put it this way but one problem with this programming is that you were the main programmer...and your mind where not really focused on designing the best movement patterns at that time, was it? You never sat down and planned it, did you? You just started to move that amazing structure of a body like a hungry 12 y.o. boy rides his bike on the way home for dinner.

Another programmer was your surroundings – mainly your family. You picked up bits and pieces, unconsciously, of how they did it; walking, running and climbing – and they didn’t think much either. They were too busy cheering you and your new moves.

But don’t blame yourself here (or your parents). Remember that there has been little or no instruction in how to get the best out of our particular model.

Good news are that with the just some of the anatomical knowledge available these days you can completely redo the damage.
For a quick kick-off start, try applying these simple rules to your daily movement operations, from brushing your teeth to walking to the grocery store.

Basic rule nr 1
Align your body parts vertically as close to the line of gravity as possible.
This makes the pull from gravity will less. Fast check: ears, shoulders, rib cage, hips and feet vertically placed on top of each other in one straight line.

Basic rule nr 2
Never lift something up if it isn’t necessary.
For the same reason you don’t lift a heavy rock and carry it around for no use, try not lifting your shoulders when that movement is not required.

Basic rule nr 3.
If something goes up, another thing goes down.
You have to push your feet down in order to jump up. When walking up stairs, see if you can focus on dropping your spine and hips downwards as your knee lifts up. Doing this prevents you from holding unneeded tensions around your joints, making movement go smoothly and effortless.

“The Perfect Walk” could be defined as whatever feels good there and then. It might feel like walking in a flow, with the least resistance possible, maybe smooth, light yet powerful, dynamic and in perfect harmony between yourself, the ground, the air around you, and that wonderful force of gravity – your stable mate for life.
So even if it is one of these arranged marriages, it can turn out to be a quite good one; a marriage that gives you the needed support, inspiration and safety. You just need to see the possibilities it gives you and start working with it, because this partner will never leave you.