Natural Posture for Pain-Free Living: The Practice of Mindful Alignment
by Kathleen Porter
In a culture of cocked hips, sauntering models and slouching TV watchers where “chin up, shoulders back, stomach in” is believed to be good posture, we have forgotten what healthy alignment looks and feels like — leading to chronic neck, shoulder and back pain for millions.
Sharing photographs from around the world of “gurus” of natural posture and authentic strength, such as women in their 80s who easily carry heavy loads on their heads and toddlers learning to walk, Porter shows what natural skeletal alignment truly looks like.
With insights based on the fundamental laws of physics and detailed full-color diagrams, she guides you through an understanding of the body’s naturally pain-free design.
She explains that when the body is aligned as nature intended, your weight is supported by your bones rather than your muscles, allowing a release from chronic muscular tension.
She offers 12 physical exercises to become mindful of your posture and discover healthy alignment of your body.
Providing easy-to-follow instructions for mindful alignment during ordinary daily activities, as well as a chapter on practicing yoga safely, Porter shows how returning to our forgotten alignment from childhood can offer relief from chronic pain and tension and can provide flexibility, enduring strength and vitality well into old age.
$21.95 — Healing Arts Press, One Park St., Rochester, VT 05767.
Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 32, Number 5, October/November 2013.
September 12, 2015
Book review, October/November 2013 Issue