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I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 47 Notice how this position affects your balance and support. Ask yourself the same questions as before. Remaining in the backward-bent position, slowly lift your arms, as before. Notice how your body responds. Do you feel symptoms of misalignment in your neck, shoulders, or upper or lower back? What do you feel? SIDE BEND Again, stand as before. Begin to slowly side-bend your upper body a bit to the left (Image 3). Notice how this position affects your balance and support. Ask yourself the same questions as before. Remain in this position and slowly lift your arms, as before, and pay attention to how your body responds. What symptoms of misalignment do you feel? Repeat the exercise, bending to the right. CORRECTING MISALIGNMENT You probably detected postural misalignment in one, two, or all of these positions. Here is a simple, but effective way of troubleshooting it. First, check to make sure you are placing weight over both the right and left foot equally. Next, make sure your feet are placed at equal distances from your center line and that you are standing with your trunk, legs, and feet facing forward. Now, begin to imagine that you have a string attached to the top center of your head, pulling and gently lengthening you as though you are becoming taller (Image 4). Begin to slowly move your upper body a bit forward, backward, and side to side. Take your time and fi nd a position where you sense your upper body to be balanced and aligned over your pelvis, legs, and feet. Once you fi nd your alignment, stand and sense your body for a moment. If you still feel areas of muscular tightness or effort, breathe slowly and allow these areas to softly relax. When you fi nd a balanced and comfortable alignment, you will feel your body's weight distributed throughout your entire body and supported by your whole foot. Notice how this position affects your balance and skeletal support. Practice this lesson each time you begin to feel symptoms of misalignment. You will soon be able to easily troubleshoot feelings of misalignment in the moment of need, before it's too late! BODY AWARENESS Barb Frye has been a massage educator and therapist since 1990. She coordinated IBM's body mechanics program and authored Body Mechanics for Manual Therapists: A Functional Approach to Self- Care (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2010), now in its third edition. She has a massage and Feldenkrais practice at the Pluspunkt Center for Therapy and Advanced Studies near Zurich, Switzerland. Contact her at barbfrye@hotmail.com. 4 3 Client Tip If you have clients with back pain, notice if they have the propensity to lean their upper body forward or backward from their legs. These patterns can put enormous strain on the lower back, causing discomfort and even pain. Bring their attention to this pattern and help them fi nd a more comfortable vertical alignment.