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 I will usually start sessions with this position to give the feeling of what is desired of the standing position in relationship to what are the general habits that create problems over our life time. After some work for understanding the feeling of standing, I will generally move into releasing work that is done on the ground for the bulk of a session then come back to this position at the end of the session.

What generally happens, after some releasing of the muscles of the legs and upper body, the standing position takes on a more natural feeling since the body releases in the direction of alignment. After releasing, ingredients for standing with better posture are more in place, then we can then use this standing position for further releasing. Working in this position also depends on our willingness to stand in this position for 15 minute periods to develop an understanding of how we can maintain the dignity and grace of the upright position.

In examining the picture the first thing that might strike us is how unnatural a pose this seems to be. Granted, this is not the way to stand all the time, but a way of;

1. Reversing tendencies of poor posture.

2. Understanding the feeling of being grounded.

3. Releasing the legs of some tensions.

4. Feeling the ingredients, or ABC’s** of alignment.

**The ABC’s of alignment are; the arches, the breathing and the placement of the chin. Which have been discussed in past articles.

Session

This session may be easier if a friend could read the instructions to you or if you stand up while reading the instructions and try out the position.

 
    Starting with the feet; Stand with the feet appox. 6 to 8 inches apart and facing straight ahead. The feeling is a turning of the feet and legs open in the direction of the red arrows, so the arch is exaggerated, which puts the weight of the body on the outside pads of the feet. By relaxing the knees you can get a feeling of the weight of the body traveling down and around the legs to the outside of the feet and into the ground. This may also have a feeling of relaxing the buttocks down ward.  

    Sometimes taking this position can lead to a subtle tremble in the legs, which for most young athletes shows up almost immediately. Any trembling is a natural releasing action of the muscles of the legs which can become more active as you stand like this. If you don’t feel any trembling or fluttering of the legs muscles, a subtle movement in the knees can start to bring some trembling to the legs. Search and explore, are keys to finding what ever feels like happening while in this position. Primarily, we are looking for a more comfortable relationship with the ground and with gravity. This position of the lower body gives us a sense of the position of standing without creating energy drain while giving our body weight to the ground.

 We can see the open direction (red arrows) of the arms, with the hands well away from the body. This is also to reverse the habits of turning the hands and arms in, which tends to affect the rest of the upper body as well as the flow of energy out of the arms and fingers. Now we are ready to take some deep breaths that lift the rib cage and upper body away from the lower body and work with diaphragmatic breathing that maintains this lift for a period of time.

 Placing your chin in towards the collar bone, start drawing in a deep breath that lifts the rib cage and shoulders up, we bring the upper body away from the hips and create more internal space in the stomach. Allow a little breath out of the stomach and then add more breath in. This is the pattern of full diaphragmatic breathing that maintains the position of lifting. At first it may feel awkward or unfamiliar, but you will find the body does get interested in the pattern. The feeling is of two directions; one of allowing the weight to move into the ground, and two of lifting the upper body away from the lower body. If you can do this for five minutes, take a break, and come back to it again you may find that it starts to get easier to set up.

The two pictures below illustrate the difference between turning in and collapsing the arches or having arches. This illustrates how reversing a poor postural habit can start correcting the condition. The picture happened spontaneously when a young man of 10 asked me what I was writing about. He then asked, what is the right way to stand? When I asked him to take off his shoes and socks the picture on the left is what I found. I gave him some instruction and then asked him to pose again. The picture on the right shows his feet with more of an arch. With some walking and playful stamping, the potentials for better alignment are compounded, and the physical can have its natural design in place as well as lead to more graceful performance. This severe example, on the left, can be reversed with accurate information and some personal application. The hypothesis; Structure influences performance seems to present itself here. Maybe it should read; instruction, intention, application and practice influence Structure which then influences performance. 

2 The picture on the right may also represent an extreme turn out for this young fellow, but this is fine at first to counter the habit pictured on the left. In this picture on the right, the knees are relaxed and the weight of the body is going into the ground via the outside pads of the feet. By standing and walking with this feeling of turn out in the feet you will affect the alignment of the rest of the body. Flat feet, can be reversed within a week once one understands how to correct the condition.