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Class 8 Theory

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     Well you've made it to Class 8 Theory. This will be the last core class and the last class in which we will learn new musculature. Today we will finish off the upper part of your core, which is everything from the diaphragm to the top of your head.

The main focus of this class is going to be in the neck. The neck is the most flexible part of your spine. Every single vertebra is capable of a great amount of movement. Every vertebra can rotate to the right or left, bend right or left, bend forward, back or diagonally limited mainly by tension in the muscles right down deep at the spine. Due to the fact that there is no such thing as an isolated problem within the body, any dysfunction anywhere in the body will show up somewhere in the neck. There are some theories of movement education that believe if you can just get someone to let go of their neck that the rest of the body will let go and reorganize itself as well. Of course, without reorganizing the rest of the body some, letting go of the neck is no simple trick.

When viewing the neck we can see that there  are core muscles lining all around the spine and there are superficial muscles attaching more to the head and the clavicle. All of these muscles have the effect of rotating and moving the cervical (neck) spine, but let's see how the superficial relates to the core. Have you ever seen people with really defined neck muscles? You know, where you can actually see the two long ropey muscles on either side of their neck creating that "V" shape? In contrast to that, you might see someone whose neck just looks long and smooth in the front. They look very relaxed. Have you ever wondered what causes that? It has to do with holding the core rotators of the spine. See, just like the core in the guts is meant to be the main flexor in your walking, the core of the neck is meant to be the main musculature from which you perform rotation. The superficial muscles, while they help with these actions, are more about stabilizing the position of the head. If you look at how they are positioned, the levator scapula, splenius, and sternocleidomastoid muscles and other superficial muscles actually create a system of tugs on the head that, if all pulling evenly, keep the positioning of the head and neck balanced. When we shut off the core of our neck through excessive holding patterns, the core is no longer able to perform rotation properly and these superficial muscles have to take over. Suddenly you start to notice the tense defined superficial neck muscles we were discussing.

These superficial muscles are not truly meant to work this way. Therefore, to take on this new task they have to compromise some of their stabilizing abilities. Basically they get confused and begin allowing misalignment of the head and neck and therefore the spine. This misalignment may appear slight in the beginning. Perhaps a minor dowager's hump on the back, but it's implications are more serious than they appear. The neck is a portal through which blood must flow to the brain and cervical nerves. The carotid artery on the front of the neck supplies the brain with blood. This blood supplies the brain with the nutrients and oxygen it needs to prevent cell death and carry on every function of the body! An even bigger problem is the vertebral artery, which lies inside the vertebra. Inside each vertebra is a hole. These vertebras stack on top of each other so the holes line up making one long passage way. It is through this passageway that the vertebral artery must travel supplying blood to the entire cervical spine. All of this is dependent on these holes lining up. If even one of them is displaced forward, the passageway is compromised and the blood flow diminished. Do you see what serious business this unconscious bodily tension is? We must release the core.

The core of the front of the neck is basically comprised of deep muscles above and below a structure called the hyoid bone. Take a good look at where this bone is located and palpate it gently on yourself so you won't push to hard and break it when you're releasing these muscles. Underneath your hyoid bone is your thyroid gland. We will have to lightly push it off to the side to get to the core muscles. IT should be relatively mobile. You will be releasing the infrahyoid muscles which originate on the hyoid bone and travel down past the clavicle. You will also be palpating the suprahyoids which originate on the hyoid bone and travel upwards underneath the chin. These muscles work to stabilize this hyoid bone which is an important base of support for the muscles of the tongue.

On the back of the neck close at the spine are the core rotators. They are generally very short muscles spanning often no more than one or two vertebra. These muscles are actually not only in the neck, but comprise a posterior core of the spine all the way down the back. At some points, you can see that they span out to the ribs. These are called the antigravity muscles because when they are functioning freely, they make us feel weightless. These are the muscles that rotation of the spine should begin with. Hold these muscles in mind when you are doing your stretches.

On either side of of your neck at the spine are your scalenes. These muscles traverse the neck and actually attach down on the first and second ribs. We spent the first four classes releasing the superficial muscles so that many of those same stretches will now help reach and release these core muscles. Begin to feel for it in your stretching. These core rotators are laced up the back through the neck creating a scaffolding of support. All you have to do is stretch them and then consciously let go of them as you go about your day and you will feel them lightening your load within gravity. This is about having a free spine. A free spine is very important. The nerves that operate everything in your body have to pass through the spine. We must be forever lengthening our spine.

When one drops the holding patterns in their core, their entire body lines up to what is called a "plume line". This "plume line" of balance basically means that the ears are in line with the shoulders are in line with middle of the hips are in line with the sides of the knees are in line with ankles. So you could draw a line straight down the body and it would hit all these spots. This is the structure your body naturally aligns itself to within gravity when you take your own investment out of hanging onto different parts of it. Each breath should bring us closer and closer to complete relaxed verticality.

How do we do this?

Now we're entering into one of the best reasons to have your core released. This is very subtle so please pay attention. When your core is free to do its job, with every breath you take, the core contracts slightly and then relaxes. When you inhale, certain muscles, especially the quadratus lumborum and the scalenes actually contract to help your ribs spread apart and get more air. The diaphragm contracts and comes down allowing the psoas to slightly shorten. Do you remember the Laws of Contract/Relax I taught you in Class 1? I told you that any time a muscle contracts, there is a split second following where it must be completely relaxed. I told you that in that split second, you can make a change in that muscle without it resisting you. And I told you that every muscle has a little computer in it that is constantly receiving information telling it how tight or relaxed to be and that this computer learns through muscular contraction and movement. Every time you contract a muscle you are educating it. So the key to gaining complete relaxed weightless verticality in the body, after you have released the muscular holdings through stretching, is to use the breath. Every time you breathe in, your core contracts slightly making your body almost imperceptibly shorter and wider. When you exhale, this slight contraction releases and you can allow your spine to reach for a greater verticality. The next time you breathe in and the core contracts, it will contract from that more lengthened vertical position and the computers will make note of this. As you exhale you lengthen your spine even more. This begins a never-ending process of physical refinement, which teaches you the Art of Letting Go of the holding patterns of the physical body. You must truly let go and reach vertically into every exhale. Remember that neutral center exercise I had you do at the beginning of the Class 2 Lab where you balanced on the balls and heels of your feet? I had you feel as if something was grabbing you by the scruff of your neck and gently influencing you upwards. I asked you to remain balanced with your weight distributed evenly between the balls and heels of your feet as you gave the slightest, most subtle push off into the floor (just enough to unlock your knees). Do you remember this? This is the secret to vertical refinement; the secret to the Art of Letting Go. From this position you are lengthening your spine with every breath. You are lengthening into the ground with the feet and lifting it up from the head. This makes you feel like you are on the edge of your seat and you are weightless within gravity! This is how you are meant to feel. When you feel all grounded and heavy, you can rest assured your musculature is holding tight somewhere. Vertical refinement comes from living on the edge of your seat ready to move on a moment's notice and reaching like a flower toward the sky with every breath you take. Giving in to that natural lengthening. The only movement a flower or plant really knows it how to reach with every inch of its being towards the sun. You will become like a flower and as you do and you let go of your holdings you will bloom into the health and comfort that is your birthright. Let's begin Class 8 Lab.