chris johnson 3/1/23 chris johnson 3/1/23

What the Hell is Neutral Spine and Do I Have To Care?

Is a neutral spine really a thing? Totally. And it’s awesome.

Do I have one? Probably not. But. You can find something OPTIMAL for you.

Do I WANT one? I don’t know but you should at least check it out.

Do I CARE? You should. Because back pain is BAD. Ask someone who has it. You know someone for sure. And the medical interventions to help mostly suck. Second. Your spine carries your entire nervous system from your brain. That is … important. Third. Your spine’s ability to hold up under pressure informs how the muscles that attach to your torso work - that’s the CORE. Ah. Now you’re paying attention. So. You should totally care what kind of shape your spine is in - that was a neutral spine joke - laugh now.

Is a neutral spine really a thing? Totally. And it’s awesome.

Do I have one? Probably not. But. You can find something OPTIMAL for you.

Do I WANT one? I don’t know but you should at least check it out.

Do I CARE? You should. Because back pain is BAD. Ask someone who has it. You know someone for sure. And the medical interventions to help mostly suck. Second. Your spine carries your entire nervous system from your brain. That is … important. Third. Your spine’s ability to hold up under pressure informs how the muscles that attach to your torso work - that’s the CORE. Ah. Now you’re paying attention. So. You should totally care what kind of shape your spine is in - that was a neutral spine joke - laugh now.

FIrst, find the Semi Supine position.

It’s fancy talk for lying on your back with your knees bent. See? Learned something already.

Semi Supine is the best place to talk about spinal position because all of the things that negatively affect its shape (muscle balance, gravity) are at rest. AND your brain can feel your spine’s position against a surface. That’s called feedback. Learned something again. You are killing it.

So you are laying down in Semi Supine. Feel the back of your torso as it is against the surface of the floor. Feel the places that touch the floor and the spaces that don’t.

The spine comes in lots of shapes and sizes. Probably no two are exactly the same. BUT. Most spines have 3 curves in them. How much? That’s where YOU come in. Your optimal and mine ARE NOT THE SAME. We are going for YOUR optimal neutral - the best you have right now given what you have to work with. Why? Again, and this cannot be overstated, the placement of the thing that encases all your nerves from your brain to your WHOLE BODY sounds pretty important. You want that shit to last and be its best self. You want to know what it is good at, what it isn’t good at and that it won’t fall apart when you need it most. And you have to start with the best baseline and know how to get there.

Next, you need 3 cues:

Slide the back of your head up the mat. Did it move a lot? A little? Hard to stretch out that neck? The purpose here is to lengthen the cervical spine(neck) as much as we can without flattening it into the mat.
Widen your collar bones and upper back. Let them fight for width. Wear a bra? SEEN a bra? Pretend to stretch the strap. Do you feel heavier against the mat through your upper back? The purpose here is to get as much out of your thoracic spine (mid-to upper) as possible
LEAVE YOUR LOW BACK ALONE AND FIND THE BACK OF YOUR SACRUM. That’s right. Just leave it. Go one tiny step below it. You know where the Lululemon sign is on pants? Yes, you do. PRESS THE LULULEMON SIGN GENTLY INTO THE FLOOR. Flatten the back of the sacrum( picture a high triangle of fused bone just below your low back)into the floor. Did you have to tip your tailbone up or down to find it? Did it change the sensation of length or curvature in your lumbar spine (low back)? The last vertebral joint between your lumbar spine and sacrum can really change how we conceive our low back position. Lululemon has finally given us something more than overpriced pants!

SLIDE HEAD + WIDEN BRA STRAP + PRESS LULULEMON SIGN DOWN

What feels different? Nothing? All the things? What muscles have to stretch? Contract? What bones have to shift position?

Those are the things that need to happen to optimize the position of your neutral spine and change the way you move.

KNOW IT. The best part is, once you know, you can’t not know. You can ignore the hell out of it, but you can’t not know it.

Want to practice it? Learn how to find it in any body position? Strengthen it? Move in and out of it? Again, yes is the answer. And Pilates is the method. The End.

chris johnson 3/2/20 chris johnson 3/2/20

Sharing your practice with family

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.