Foundation of Efficient Movement
Biomechanical Principles
These six principles are the building blocks of human movement. Each one supports the next so master them in order. If any of these principles are missing in your movement, your body will compensate elsewhere and create inefficient and sometimes painful movement patterns.
Why this order: Breathing affects pelvic position. Pelvis affects rib cage. Rib cage affects scapulae. Scapulae affect the neck and head. And all of it depends on a stable lower body foundation.
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01Foundation
Breathing
The foundation of all movement
Mind Body Awareness
- •Use your breath to improve your concentration and awareness of your body through movement
- •Imagine your breath flowing through your body like air
- •Imagine your breath flowing through your body like a colourful wave of energy
- •Imagine breathing into the tip of your nose
- •Notice where your breath is flowing into your body
- •Notice the speed and temperature of your breath as you breathe
Three Dimensional Nature of Breath
- •Imagine your breath as a light that expands into every nook and cranny of your body
- •We can fill our body with oxygen in multiple directions
- •The more oxygen we can breathe in, the more efficient our movements
- •Consider how your upper ribs and lower ribs move differently as you breathe in and out
- •Imagine your torso as an air tank that needs to be filled with air
- •Imagine creating an internal pressure in your abdomen area as you breathe
Muscle Activation
- •As we breathe in and out we can engage the muscles deep in core and abdomen area (not the 6-pack muscles! deeper than that!)
- •We can create intra abdominal pressure in our torso by engaging our deep core muscles
- •Engaging our deep core muscles helps to unload excessive tension from the spine
- •Engaging our deep core muscles helps create stability in our lumbar spine and pelvic region, which creates more optimal movement
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02Core
Pelvic Position
Where the story begins
Neutral
- •A tension free pelvic position that brings your spine into a neutral position. The curves of your lower, middle and upper spine are all neutral.
- •You can optimally transfer force from your lower body to your upper body
- •Your spine will absorb shock and transfer it smoothly and efficiently
Imprint
- •You can intentionally tilt your pelvis posteriorly to create core engagement and spine stability.
- •The eventual goal for most people should be to move in a neutral spine position, but we can use the imprint position during movement to find extra stability and support.
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03Core
Rib Cage Position
Stacking over the pelvis
Spine Connection
- •Your rib cage and your spine are connected to each other on your back
- •When one moves the other one automatically moves
- •When one is out of alignment, it will affects the other
Abdominal Connection
- •Your rib cage is connected to your abdominal muscles on your front and sides
- •When your abdominals and core are engaged, it will keep your rib cage and therefore your spine in proper alignment
Spinal Motion During Breathing
- •When you inhale, the spine naturally extends backward and when you exhale the spine naturally flexes forward
- •Since the rib cage is connected to the spine, the rib cage also moves as you breathe
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04Upper Body
Scapular Position
Stability for the shoulder girdle
Decreased Skeletal Support
- •The scapula is the socket part of your ball-in-socket shoulder joint
- •It holds the ball of your arm bone (the humerus)
- •It's considered a floating bone, because it only connects to one other bone (the clavicle)
- •Since it doesn't have a lot of connecting bones holding it in place, it's very easy to move and hard to be stable
Increased Muscular Support
- •There are many small stabilizer muscles around the scapula that help stabilize it since there are not many bones
- •Engaging and controlling these muscles helps to create stable shoulders
- •It's important to train these small muscles with isometrics to strengthen them
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05Upper Body
Neck and Head
The head-to-spine relationship
Head Alignment
- •The head should balance over the upper spine otherwise your neck mucles will get tense.
- •Over-active and tense neck muscles can lead to neck pain and headaches
Upper Spine Control
- •The middle spine (thoracic) alignment influences the upper spine (cervical) alignment
- •If your middle spine is misaligned (eg. flat or excessive curve), then your upper spine has to compensate in order for your eyes to look straight ahead
- •Posture imbalances near the top of your spine can lead to tense neck muscles and neck pain
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06Lower Body
Lower Body Mobility & Stability
From hip to toe
Static and Dynamic Alignment
- •Three lower body joints should be aligned vertically in a straight line: hip joint, knee joint, ankle joint
- •When these three joints are optimally aligned, you can efficiently transfer force through your body
Flexibility
- •Movement quality is highest in lower body when the hip, knee, ankle and foot have full range of motion.
Force Management
- •It's important for your body to be able to absorb the force of your body pushing against the ground (eg. standing, walking, jumping)
- •Taking a step or a lunge compresses/stiffends/stabilizes your joints as you press into the ground. This enables your body to move more effectively.
Putting it all together
These six principles don't exist in isolation. Breathing muscles like the diaphragm and the intercostals may become tight and over-active when we are slumped over a desk for long periods. Tight breathing muscles can alter pelvis and rib cage position which leads to scapulae misalignment and a forward head position.
Conversely, improving deep core breathing creates pelvic stability, which promotes neutral rib cage positioning, which gives the scapulae a stable base, which permits a healthy spinal alignment.
Summary
🌬️Breathing
🦴Pelvis
🫀Rib cage
🦷Scapulae
🧠Cervical & Head
🦵Lower body