B y M a r y A n n F o s t e r

Muscles and thePostural Flute 76 M A S S A G E & B O DY WO R K O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Somatic Anatomy

Most massage therapistsknow the havoc poor pos-ture can wreak on thebody. It bends and stresses thejoints, locks major muscles inchronic contractions, restrictsmovement and causes pain, andgradually wears the musculoskele-tal system down. Postural dysfunc-tions can even result in injury,which occurs suddenly when thesmallest turn or twist snaps theweakest link. In addition to all this,poor posture simply looks and feelsbad.

On an emotional level, posture isattitude. Postural patterns oftenbegin as protective cloaks we wearto guard against emotional pain,which manifests both physicallyand psychologically. After all, it ishard to stand tall when youre feel-ing depressed, and its hard to feeldown when youre standing tall.

On a mechanical level, posture ismore than a position. It is thedynamic balancing act of a groupof postural muscles workingtogether to keep our slightly sway-ing bodies upright. In this regard,posture is an inside job. Only youcan change your posture becauseonly you can control your mus-cle patterns. And if you canfeel these changes in your-self, youll be better athelping your clients dothe same.

Most of us have anidea what good pos-ture is, but how toachieve it is theissue. A common yetmisguided correctionis to straighten thespine and hold itthere. Yet when themuscles tire, the trunkslowly sinks into an all-too-familiar, unsightlyslump. In this article welllook at these dynamics, explor-ing muscle function through thepostural lens.

The Postural Flute

Our postural muscles worktogether toward a single goal:to keep our bodies upright. Far lessmuscular effort is needed to sup-port a vertical spine oriented alonggravitys pull than to maintain ahorizontal spine suspendedbetween four legs. Because the pos-tural muscles work together to sup-port a single axis, the human stanceis the most efficient of any animal.

The drawback of this incredibleefficiency is that if any one musclealong the chain of support fails tofunction, the economy of the wholesystem declines in reverse propor-tion. For example, a forward headcreates muscular compensations(read: excessive contraction)throughout the body.

One can activate the posturalmuscles like the notes on a flute;harmony lies in the balance of toneamong the notes (see Figure 1).The key to effective postural educa-tion is determining which musclesalong the flute are not working,then activating them.1

Figure 1. Muscles in the posturalflute.

Contract and Relax

The first step in changing bodypatterns is awareness, or sens-ing the muscles as they work. Amuscle cell is limited to two func-tions: contraction and relaxation.The smallest contractile unit of amuscle is a motor unita motornerve plus all the muscle cells itinnervates. A single muscle hasanywhere from fifty to thousands

of motor units; the musclesresting tone is determined

by the number of motorunits firing when the

body is relaxed. Muscle relaxation

is a graded process.Total relaxation isimpossible. If allyour muscles wereto relax right now,your body wouldcollapse. Lucky forus, the skeletal mus-

cles work reflexively(see Figure 2, page

78). Some motor unitsare always working,

even when we sleep.When we are up, all of our

postural muscles should be onto support us.

Musclesand thePostural

Flute

Contract and RelaxAxial Compression

Tonic

and P

hasic

Client Education

Adaptation and Habit

Contr

ol vs.

Stren

gth

Instability and Pain

Joint Stability

O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 6 M A S S A G E & B O DY WO R K 77

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78 M A S S A G E & B O DY WO R K O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Exercise 1. Contract and Relax The first step in training a postur-

al muscle is being able to distinguishbetween contraction and relaxation.

Begin sitting or standing in acomfortable, upright position.Place your hands on your lowerabdomen, right above your pubicbone (see Exercise 1). Let yourabdominal muscles completelyrelax and hang out.

Slowly contract the perinealmuscles between your sit bones,as though you had to go to therestroom and were holding it.Did the tone change in yourlower abdomen? The musclesshould tighten right above thepubic bone because the per-ineum co-contracts with thetransversus abdominis muscles.

Relax the perineum. Practiceslowly contracting and relaxinguntil you can feel the difference.

Adaptation and Habit

Skeletal muscles are highlyadaptable and can change in aninstant. They can melt underskilled hands or seize up at a merehint of danger. Muscles are alsocreatures of habit. Muscularhabits show up in an individualsunique stance and style of move-ment. When we recognize a friendat a distance by his distinct strut,we are registering the familiarshape of his habitual patterns.

Muscles quickly habituate to howwe use them because once neuro-muscular pathways are established,nerve impulses like to travel alongthese familiar routes. Worn neuro-muscular pathways are like ruts inthe road: unless we consciouslysteer away from them, they are easyto fall into. For example, after twen-ty-five years of driving a standardcar, I now drive an automatic. Butwhen Im tired or distracted, myfoot still pushes for the clutch asthough it had a mind of its own!Intentional movement is the key tobreaking muscular habits.

Exercise 2.Transversus Abdominisand Diaphragmatic Breathing

Intentional diaphragmatic breath-ing is crucial to balancing verticaltone among the notes, or muscles,of the postural flute.

The lateral expansion of thelower ribs is the hallmark ofdiaphragmatic breathing.To feelthis, place your hands over eachside of your lower ribs. Closeyour eyes and breathe easy.

On each inhalation, expand yourlower ribs into your hands (seeExercise 2). Continue to breathelike this until it feels comfort-able. If youre not a diaphragmat-ic breather, it will be difficult andmay take months of practice torepattern.

Now allow your abdominal mus-cles to relax and distend yourbelly.Take several breaths,expanding your lower ribs oneach inhalation. Distending thebelly usually restricts diaphrag-matic breathing.

Relax. Next, put your hands oneach side of your lower abdominalwall. Slowly and lightly contract thetransversus abdominis muscle,drawing your lower abdominalmuscles back toward your sacrum.Use minimal effort and hold.

As you lightly hold your lowerabdominals, return to breathinginto your lower ribs.This shouldfeel easier than the diaphragmat-ic breathing you did in step 3,when your belly was distended.Lightly contracting the transver-sus abdominis contains the vis-cera and keeps the diaphragmfrom bottoming out, so expan-sion from inhaling spreads alongthe length of the trunk ratherthan just bulging the belly.

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Exercise 1 Exercise 2

Figure 2. Muscle functions and fibers.

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Client Education

Children are always learningsomething newboth wis-dom and bad habitsmodeled bytheir parents. Like children, mus-cles learn whatever we train themto do, whether or not the trainingis deliberate. The athlete trains themuscles for sport, the office work-er trains for sitting, and theassembly line worker for repeti-tive motion. If you are slouchingas you read this, you are trainingyour muscles to slump, which canlead to championship slouchingand a world-class pain pattern.

Postural muscles work isometri-cally and can be trained in a stationary posture using slow, isometric contractions. A lot ofmassage is oriented toward gettingour muscles to relax. All too often,the client gets up after a sessionfeeling better, but leaves with thesame body pattern and returns tothe next session with the same oldpain pattern. For this reason, it isimportant to teach clients inten-tional movements that organizenew neuromuscular pathways.Having your client isometricallycontract postural muscles duringthe massage benefits both of you.Your client learns neuromuscularpathways for optimal alignment,and your work becomes easierbecause once postural musclesstart working, prime movers stopoverworking.

Tonic and Phasic Functions

There are several different typesof muscle fibers, the mostfamiliar two being slow and fastfibers. Each fiber is defined by itsphysiology and varies in its func-tion (see Figure 3). Slow fiberscontract slowly and weakly, yetare fatigue resistant. Fast fiberscontract quickly and strongly, yetfatigue rapidly.

Although muscles have combina-tions of both fiber types, some mus-cles have more of one than the

other. Muscles with predominantlyslow fibers are best suited for thetonic (slow) contractions. Becausethey are fatigue-resistant, theseantigravity muscles can work allday without tiring. This means thatif you are using the right muscles,you can easily sit and stand forhours without pain.

The muscles that generatemovement (the prime movers)generally have more fast fibers.The prime movers are usuallylarge, extrinsic muscles that arewell suited for phasic (fast andstrong) contractions.

Exercise 3. Differentiating Tonicand Phasic Contractions

For effective postural education, it isimportant to feel the differencebetween tonic and phasic contractions.

Sit in an upright position, on topof your sit bones.

Contract your abdominal mus-cles hard and fast, then hold.Thisstrong phasic contraction willflex your trunk and pull your ribsdown. How long can you holdbefore your muscles tire? Noticehow it affects your breathing.

Relax. Slowly and gently drawyour lower abdominal muscleabove your pubic bone straightback and hold. Use minimaleffort.

If you are doing this correctly,youll be able to hold this toniccontraction for a long time with-out tiring.This is the quality ofcontraction used to train all pos-tural muscles.

Axial Compression and Joint Stability

Postural muscles also stabilizethe joints by preventing exces-sive joint play as we move (seeFigure 4). They work like cargoties on a ship, securing cargo sothat when the ship takes off thecargo moves with the ship ratherthan flying around the deck. Thepsoas major and multifidus mus-cles are local stabilizers that pro-tect the lumbar spine by pullingthe lumbar vertebrae closer togeth-er, increasing axial compression in

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Figure 4.The deep postural musclesstabilize the spine to preventexcessive joint play.

Figure 3. Postural muscles supportthe abdominal viscera, anchor thescapulas, and stabilize the cervicalspine.

O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 6 M A S S A G E & B O DY WO R K 81

an agonist/antagonist relationship(see Figure 5). If the lumbar curveis too flat, a person can activatethe psoas muscle to restore a natu-ral lumbar lordosis. If the lumbarcurve is overly swayed, a personcan activate the multifidus muscleto pull it back.

Exercise 4.Activating PosturalMuscles in the Lumbar Spine

Sit upright, on top of your sitbones.

Lightly contract your lowerabdominal wall as described inExercise 3.

Place your fingertips over yourpsoas tendons to monitor them.Keeping your spine straight, rockbackward over your sit bones(see Exercise 3).

Keep the psoas contracted asyou lean forward and return toyour original position. If yourpsoas is off, this sounds easierthan it is.

Next, place your fingertips alongyour lumbar spine in the laminagroove. Keeping your spinestraight, rock forward over yoursit bones (see Exercise 4). Feelthe multifidus contract and bulge

under your fingers. (If it isalready working, you will not feela change in tone.)

Keep this muscle contracted asyou lean back and return toyour original position. If yourmultifidus is off, this sounds easi-er than it is.

When both psoas and multifidusare gently contracted, youshould feel a long stable curve inyour lumbar spine.

Joint Instability and Pain

Joint instability is common in peo-ple with poor posture, particular-ly with collapsed or bent spines.Each movement outside normaljoint range injures an unstablejoint, overstretching its ligaments,causing muscle spasms, andincreasing mechanical stresses.Joint instability creates a twofoldmuscular dysfunction: one in thepostural system, the other with theprime movers. Pain from jointinstability causes stabilizing mus-cles to turn off and the primemovers to take over their job. Sincethe prime movers span long dis-tances and have strong lever armsthat bend joints, they work poorlyas stabilizers (see Figure 6). Theyalso fatigue rapidly and becomeischemic and fibrous, which causesmore pain, further inhibiting thestabilizers and leading to morepain and spasm, and so the cycleescalates (see Figure 7, page 82).

The cycle can be broken with a twofold intervention, usingbodywork to release overworkedprime movers coupled with inten-tional movement that activatesunderworked stabilizers.

Exercise 4

Exercise 3

Figure 6.The prime movers bendthe joints as they contract, usuallygenerating joint motion.

Figure 5.The deep postural mus-cles pull the vertebrae into axialcompression.

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Control Versus Strength

Traditionally, the solution for cor-recting faulty alignment includesstrength training. The prime moversrespond to this type of training.Postural stabilizers, however, usuallydo not need strengthening; instead,we need to regain their capacity forcontrol of alignment. Control meanscontracting them at will, keepingthem on, and coordinating their con-tractions with the prime moversduring movement.

Training postural muscles isquite easy once you learn to feelthem work, although their mini-mal contractions provide littlefeedback, making them difficult tosense. In contrast, its easy to feelthe large muscles contractingstrongly during a strength-trainingworkout. Another difficult partabout training them is the focusand mental effort it takes to get aninert muscle working. Theamount of effort is akin to tryingto get your limbs moving againafter they fall asleep.

The most difficult part of postur-al muscle training is avoiding over-work. Many people are orientedtoward working muscles hard,strong, and fast in strength train-ing. This training requires a qui-eter, slower orientationit takespatience and the ability to tracksubtle changes in tone.

Exercise 5.The Postural FluteLightly contract one note at a time.

Keep it contracted as you move tothe next note so that by the end, all

your postural muscles areco-contracted. Use minimaleffort. If you tend to over-work, only visualize eachmuscle contracting, whichwill be enough to beginwaking them up.

Sit or lie in a comfort-able position with yourspine in neutral (noexcessive curves orslouching).

Perineal muscles.Lightly and slowly pullyour sit bones togeth-er and hold (seeExercise 1).

Transversus abdominis mus-cle. Next, slowly draw the mus-cles above your pubic bonestraight back toward your sacrum(see Exercise 3).

Psoas and multifidus mus-cles. Now increase tone alongthe front and back of your lum-bar spine (see Exercise 4).

Diaphragm. Gently breathe intoyour lower ribs, widening them asyou inhale (see Exercise 2).

Lower trapezius. Imagine sand-bags on the bottom of yourscapulas, lightly drawing themdown (see Figure 2).Allow thefront of your shoulders to lift andwiden. Stay wide and relaxedbetween your shoulder blades.

Cervical intrinsics. Lightly liftthe back of your head withoutlowering your chin, which shouldlengthen your neck (see Exercises5A and 5B).

Playing each note. Breathe eas-ily while mentally reviewing eachnote on your postural flute. Senseyour neck lengthening front andback; feel your scapulas sinkingand widening, breathe into thewidth of your lower ribs; sensetone increasing along the frontand back of your lumbar spine;feel your lower abdomen drawingback; and sense tone gatheringbetween your sit bones.

Gently hold and breathe into yourlower ribs, then completely relax.

Remember, posture is an insidejob. Your body is the instrumentand you are always in training.Since the stabilizing muscles workwithout movement, you can trainthem anywhere, anytime. No onecan tell you are practicing subtleisometrics, so contract your pos-tural muscles whenever you canwhile sitting or standing, duringmassage, as you travel, and evenwhile reading this magazine. Playyour postural flute every day andit will pay off! Youll look better,feel better, and become adept attherapeutic patterning skills yourclients are likely to want andneed.

Mary Ann Foster, author of SomaticPatterning (EMS Press, 2004), has been amassage therapist and movement educatorfor twenty-five years. She teaches movementclasses at the Boulder College of MassageTherapy in Colorado. Contact her atinfo@emspress.com.

Note1. There are many different ways to activate a postural

muscle. Because of space limitations, only a few are namedhere. For more exercises, see Chapter 9 in my book, SomaticPatterning (EMS Press, 2004).

M&B

Exercise 5B

Exercise 5A

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Figure 7.A pain cycle showing dysfunctionbetween the postural muscles and prime movers.

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