Sister Marguerite to the rescue, part one

One of the effects of the passage of time — even of time please, ladies and gentlemen — is a need to repair, maintain, renovate and hopefully refresh one’s own body – while, of course, not forgetting about one’s soul.

I am struck every waking day by how many of us have bulging bellies, stooped shoulders, bent necks, weaving backs, and a whole array of other warning signs of things to come. As a result, I decided to ask my elder sister, Marguerite (Osler) van der Merwe, who lives in the coastal village of Kleinmond, to recommend some gentle, floating, slow and regular exercises one could do on one’s own, or even in a volunteer group.

Marguerite is eminently suited to doing so — as she explains below, she is a lifelong student and teacher of various therapeutic and healing systems, notably the Alexander Technique and T’ai Ch’I Chu’an, and the author of EVE-OLUTION: THE ART OF WALKING.

So just what is to be done? I asked her, and also to keep it short and simple (KISS). She has replied as follows:

////////////////////////

SO WHAT’S TO BE DONE? PART ONE

By Marguerite (Osler) van der Merwe

Eleven exercises for improving your posture as well as your health

I have been asked for advice on how to address problems many people experience in respect of general health, food issues, and specific ungainly/painful body conditions. As we now know, these problems arise from our lifestyles, opinions, personal habits, age, upbringing, whether we live in urban or rural environments, and so on.

Here – in KISS (‘Keep it Simple’) form – are my suggestions for addressing poor postural alignment, movement, and stress/anxiety issues. They are based on my lifelong study and teaching of scientific, therapeutic and healing systems, notably the Alexander Technique (which is relatively ‘modern’) and T’ai Ch’I Chu’an (which is ancient – a ‘soft’ martial art).

These systems teach us how to use our bodies naturally and without effort/easily throughout our lives. When we encounter problems such as poor posture, as well as painful backs, shoulders, knees, and so on, these are generally unnoticed distortions of our skeleton/bone structure that require an Alexander teacher’s gentle hands to ‘readjust’ the body.

Added to this, the ‘sufferer’ should be taught to return to basic movement patterns (lie, roll, crawl, sit, bend, stand, walk-run, and so on). When we are children, these patterns unfold naturally. Sadly, age and lifestyles start to cause the abovementioned problems, to the point where we need to ask ourselves: JUST WHAT IS TO BE DONE NOW?

Most of these problems arise from ‘using our bodies’ incorrectly in the ways we stand, walk, sit, bend … which damage our structure and body. If you drive your car badly, you’ll damage the mechanisms. Same thing! Only you can ‘fix’ yourself by stopping the wrong/damaging way. by attending to how you do basic actions every day – and if they’re incorrect and harmful – CHANGE! Don’t slouch, slump, not care.

That said, herewith some basic tips for how best to use our bodies, to recover our natural inheritance of a strong, supple, and balanced BodyMind, and to counter the problems that arise when we finally look in a mirror and see our unwanted distortions/problems clearly.

Success depends on recovering our Natural Postural Alignment & Movements. All these exercises should be done often, even several times a day. They can be done anywhere and at any time. Ideally, they should become permanent features of daily life.

1. STAND: tall, upright, feet hip-width apart, wide in chest and shoulders – breathing easy – alert and conscious.

2. SIT: tall, balanced. Whole back upright. Technology devices: if writing at a laptop or computer, back bends forward from hips, torso tall, check level of eyes. Don’t lower head & neck to read/work. CELLPHONES: Bring cellphones UP towards your eyes & head – don’t incline your head and upper back to the device. Don’t let young children abuse their bodies at any time or anywhere.

3. CHAIRS: Don’t use large, wide, soft ‘comfy’ chairs – they distort the body. Plain ‘kitchen/restaurant’ chairs are best for staying upright and maintaining good posture. Even better when feet are on the floor.

4. BEND: like a primate/monkey. Standing, feet slightly apart, tip torso (head-back) forward from hips. Knees release forward to balance. More details in the next instalment.

5. WALK: tall, posturally upright, proud, poised. Do NOT march military style, Do NOT slap feet down. Knees never stiffen. Feet roll off and on like a wheel. Pace and stride ’easy’. Walk preferably on winding earth paths versus hard, straight streets,

6. RUN: easy if you can. Even a few steps gets everything moving naturally!

7. SWIM – in cold water – if you can.

8. RESTING: Rest often. Not flopping down any ‘ole way. To rest whole body and mind constructively, lie on floor or carpet surface (NOT on bed). On your back, knees toward ceiling so that feet are flat on the floor/ground. +- 3 paperback books under your head (lifting it slightly off the floor). Full details in the next instalment.

9. FEEDBACK: use a mirror – or get someone to watch – to see exactly what you are doing. We do not see, or feel, long-term poor habits.

10. YES! to: PLAY – ENJOY much (especially children) – SMILE – FOOL AROUND – Be ALERT & SENSING.

11. NO! to: hurry – effort – strain & stress – anxiety.

MAKE OF YOUR LIFE, YOUR SELF, YOUR WALKING, YOUR ‘DOING’ AND YOUR ‘BEING’ – A WORK OF ART …

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

FEATURED IMAGE: The rogressive effects of bad postures, to be corrected with t he Alexander Technique, Techworks.