I think that I am beginning to see another principle, or part of a principle, of healthy posture that applies to imagery, our nervous system, and kinesthetic sensations. That principle might be tentatively stated like this:

We all know that muscles contract… and bring about all movement and structural support as a result. It is healthy, however, to ignore that fact and to assume (deeply imagine) that all movement and work is accomplished by body surface expansion (muscles expanding and pushing against each other).

Here is an example. While looking forward at these words, stop for a moment and, without moving your head too much, look to the right as far as comfortable. Now look to the left, moving your head some but your eyes more.

If you imagine that the act was accomplished by muscles on the your eyes and head pushing your eyes, then pushing your head to the right, you will be using less effort and promoting freer movement than by pulling yourself in these directions, eyes or head.

We know that the contraction or pulling of muscles (and the release of others) brings about the movements. But what is important to our nervous system and to our postural health is that we believe the oppositein effect. This seems very important to the various study and disciplines for improving mind/body function. Scientific facts do not gracefulness produce. It takes a bit of poetry and upside down thinking to allow the body to flow. The trigger or priming principle for healthy structure is frequently contained in counter-intuitive“right” brain images that we entertain, whether naturally or by design (PRI).

Now try the pushing and pulling eye exercise again. “Push” your eyes, then head to the right, then pull them a little bit further, then “push” them again. You may be able to turn your head further than you would have thought you could… with ease. The process of replacing or augmenting pulling with imagined pushing can be applied all over the body, to every movement, even when pulling something toward you, as in lifting a chair off of the floor. The pulling… when replaced with a sense that you dorsal surface is flowing down to your hands and coming around to “push” the chair to you… will create a more wholesome form of pulling or lifting.

Experiment and report your findings.