Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72343
BODYREADING THE MERIDIANS A B C Viewing your client from the side, draw an imaginary X on the trunk (12A). In 12B you see a balanced expression of that X, whereas the sternum-to-sacrum line is shorter in 12C. the sacrum is hiked up in back, or both. This is a complex and core pattern, but the Lateral Line contributes to it, and you can ameliorate these patterns by ensuring that the internal oblique and intercostals are open, stretched, and functioning as they should, as opposed to closed, short, and inactive. In function, the Lateral Line acts to stabilize our lateral movement—as we described in the gait above, or in the quick dodging and weaving we must do on the soccer pitch. People with fascial adhesions or coordination problems in the Lateral Line are limited in their ability to stabilize. Think of a new rider on a horse, where we usually have to practice to obtain that increased lateral stability. The Lateral Line is interestingly often employed in a seductive pose. It is neither yes nor no, but rather maybe. LATERAL LINE OBSERVATIONS Just a last note (maybe relevant, maybe too out there): my colleague James Earls pointed out to me the connection between the side of the body and seduction. If turning your back on someone is the equivalent of saying no, and fully facing someone a way of saying yes, then being side-on is a way of saying maybe—an essential element in the art of seduction. Look at any Sunday fashion supplement and see how many of the models are presenting themselves from the side—it is the classic pose of the coquette (Image 13). This is possibly irrelevant to structural BodyReading, but I find Earls's insight fascinating. Consider the awareness you have in front of you (a big kinesphere), behind you (usually a smaller kinesphere, unless you are a regular martial arts enthusiast), and then out to the sides— your peripheral vision. How do you handle what comes in from left field? Next time we will take on the related Spiral Line, but until then, have fun with viewing the Lateral line in your clients. It's a potent source of both balance and freedom. Trains (Elsevier, 2009) and Fascial Release for Structural Balance (North Atlantic, 2010). Myers studied with Ida Rolf and has practiced integrative bodywork for more than 35 years. He directs Kinesis, which offers more than 100 professional certifications and continuing education seminars per year worldwide. For more information, visit www.anatomytrains.com. NOTE 1. The exception to this is the iliocostalis lumborum, the outer muscles of the erector spinae, which can be instrumental in side-bends of the spine. The longissimus—the cables we often feel in the back— can be involved in maintaining a spinal side-bend, but is usually not imbalanced enough or far enough from the sagittal spinal fulcrum to create it. Thomas Myers is the author of Anatomy tune in to your practice at ABMPtv 81