POSTURE EXERCISES - type_specific imagery
THIS PAGE HAS EXERCISES BETTER PLAYED WITH AFTER THE UNIVERSAL EXERCISES. CHECK THE BLOG ENTRIES FOR OTHER UNIVERSAL and TYPE-SPECIFIC RELATED INFO.
Look at the four caricatures (or one creature in four shapes and colors) above. Each of the depictions are in different phases of movement, in this case running and jumping using a dorsal/ventral undulation. If you look at the four drawings as separate creatures with fixed postural habits, you may begin to ”see” that they have different ”personalities.” The imagery on this page is based on a theory that much or our personality, posture, and muscle tonal patterns result from being predominantly and habitually “frozen” in one of these (and other) wave patterns.
Explanation for the charts below will be made later when time allows. In the meantime, my article, Aspects of posture, personality, and gender that are described by a typology of muscle tonus patterns, provides some of the explanation. Playing with the imagery associated with these “wave” types does not immediately require understanding all the theory that goes with it.
So, below the three charts, I will be inserting images as time goes along. The first exercise is a rendition of the lamb-and-egg exercise that you should be already familiar with from the universal images page. By experimenting with each verison (each color) you will slowly (I don’t mean 10 minutes, I mean, perhaps, after several or many visits) experience a range of postures. After some experimentation, you will discover that you very much like one version, very much dislike another, and find the other generally positive experiences. Concentrate on the version that you most enjoy, because that is probably the version that is your “opposite.” The version you most dislike will probably be your own type. Imagining features of your own postural sets is not rewarding and is of no value. The other types, especially the one you like best, can be very valuable.
chart 2 -
chart 3 -
EXERCISE ONE - The appropriate dorsal and ventral relationship
fig. 1 - Lamb and egg - types versionIf you have spent time with the universal “lamb and egg” image exercise, what you have to do here is to imagine that part of “you” or part of the “lamb” is missing, completely missing. Click on the image for a larger version, as well as a state of the art animated depiction (depending on computer and connection speed) of the principles discussed.
Start with the universal version and then, choosing one of the above images, imagine that a big part of you is disappearing and eventually missing. Good luck.
My instructions for the imagery may be lacking, so feel free to write me and ask questions about what you have not been able to understand (but have tried). I’ll happily respond. Put the questions or comments in the new Blog page and others will learn as well.
EXERCISE TWO - Wearing different hats
fig. 2 - Hat-shaped typesYou have seen this illustration in the chart above. As an image exercise the directions are simple. First, the caricature to the far left, outside of any box, represents the neutral posture from which the other postures are derived. As you get used to looking at these cartoon-like fellows, you will begin to see not only the obvious shapes about them but also, in a psychological sense, the attitudes or inclinations that they each “wear.”
To begin, just imagine that you are wearing one of these hats. Imagine that the hat is big and fits loose over your head, covering much of it. Next imagine that you are wearing the same shape (that your hat is) as a body suit, like shown. You are going to a goofy party and have decided to wear one of these goofy costumes. (The colors are merely to later be able to relate these types to other type-specific images, so imagining a specific color to the outfit is not important. But the shapes of two hat and body-suit should be the same.
Click on the chart to make it bigger, so you can inspect the exact location of your arms, hips, and imagined large “tail.” Yes, I forgot. You have a large tail that fits into the odd suits.
After a while, you will develop preferences to which outfit you want to wear to the party. So choose that one… but occasionally come back and try one of the other suits.
This image can throw you into playfully (and valuably) different unexpected postures. Enjoy.
EXERCISE THREE - Eye posture
fig. 3 - Eye inclinationsImagery involving features of the face can have a powerful effect on the disposition of the entire body. In the Alexander Technique, the relationship of the head and the neck to the entire body is considered paramount in establishing healthy posture. In Posture Release Imagery, this next exercise, involving only the eyes, can be a valuable tool for exploring and changing that head/neck/body relationship.
Before reading and following the directions for the exercise below, you might want to look back at chart 1, above, and look at the four legged wavy cartoon-like caricatures with the big eyes. This illustration shows how the eyes (much more subtly in humans) are affected by tonal patterns around them. In this coming exercise, it can be shown that the reverse is true as well, which is that changes in eye disposition automatically effects tonal patterns (and, therefore, posture) in the rest of the head/neck/and body.
So, looking at fig. 3, above, choose an “eye disposition” that you wish to experience and commence the following: Imagine that your eyes have developed long sockets and that they are facing in the direction indicated. Just as in all the imagery, just try you best to imagine the odd thing happening, regardless of how silly it looks. After 15-30 seconds effort, try one of the other directions for the eyes and eye sockets to face.
When imagining these forms, do not necessarily intentionally look in the direction of the example you are looking at. With the eyes looking backward, you couldn’t even if you tried! Move your head about a little bit, as well as your whole body. You might find that you end up wiggling yourself into an unexpectedly different posture. The posture or postures that are most ENJOYABLE should be played with more.
This exercise can definitely give you a different “outlook” as well as head/neck/back relationship. You probably notice that each type seems to suggest a different emotional experience. Our eyes may be only 1/8th as acute as that of hawks, however they still are “windows to our soul” or at least to our attitudes/dispositions/emotions.
I have written a longer paper on the the subject of the eyes, “Eyes are the Window to the… Head/Neck/Back Relationship” (2008) that can be downloaded here or on My Articles page.
EXERCISE FOUR - Types of “neck free, head forward and up…”
“Neck free, head forward and up…” is imaginarily illustrated in the upper drawing. But the same general instructions are shown in this other illustration as well. The differences show in the tilt of the “freed” portions can be significant in the results of the basic image. This difference can be experiencially valuable. If you tried the universal image version of this exercise and ”experienced” the basic image that has no tilting body segments, then next try, with some diligence to experience the four versions illustrated below… the four types. If you have not worked with the universal image version of this exercise, it may be best for you go to the universal imagery page, read the short description and instructions, and do that one first.
The effect upon you of these various forms may well be different than the illustrations imply. That could be good. It means that you have imagined, and not actively imitated the variations and allowed its effect to travel all through your body. The effects of this exercise on the lower portions of the body are not illustrated here and can be quite significant.
Good luck. If you have confusion and difficulty and want help, feel free to email me and ask a question or two. I like knowing the successes and difficulties encountered by many different people.
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More type-specific imagery exercises and information can be found on the blog, facebook, and articles.
