The human body is full of a million miracles that all work together to let us experience this ride called planet Earth. Organs, muscles, and bones all understand their ideal roles in our body, and work together to let us focus on the important tasks of the day like finding out what we are going to eat and writing articles. As we do these important tasks, however, especially over time or in strenuous manners, parts of our body can move out of place causing pain and discomfort. Slouching while sitting is one example of something seemingly small that can eventually cause drastic changes inside. It’s something my dear mom told me all the time as a kid (and to this day), but I still have to actively work on it. These small changes in our body can eventually lead to larger problems including chronic pain, digestive problems, insomnia, and tinnitus.
As much as we aim to prevent misalignment of our bodies, it can still happen - but there are ways to repair the harm felt. Experts in fields like Reflexology and Auriculotherapy can provide detailed insights and expert explanations on what you are experiencing and how to relieve the symptoms while treating the root of the problem. For those feeling minor aches or are interested in ensuring they provide their body with the best setting to stay aligned, there are ways to improve our physical health regarding inner balance from the comfort of our own homes.
Testing Our Body Alignment
Before you get to working on yourself (good for you!), you may just want to get an updated look at the state of your posture. There are a few easy ways to get a more clear understanding of your alignment health. The angle of your feet from heel to your second toe as you walk is one way to do so. The ideal range is 4-7 degrees. Anything over 7 degrees, or if one foot is more angled than the other, can lead to the body getting misaligned over time.
Another way to review your alignment health is by checking your posture in the mirror. First, face the mirror and check to see if your shoulders are aligned with one another. You can also note whether your nose is aligned with your belly button or not. After these observations, turn to the side. Your ear should make a vertical line through the bony bump on your shoulder top and the bony bump on your hips.
Realigning the Body
The assessment is key to realignment, as the exercises you focus on will be determined by which parts of the body are out of alignment. Every misalignment has a unique set of over and underworked muscles around it that will need to be worked on. For example, misaligned shoulders indicate an overactive trapezius on the higher shoulder and underactive serratus anterior on the same side. While these muscles sound complicated, once the issue is determined the actions we can do to help relieve them are very easy to understand. For shoulder imbalance simple tasks like carrying, pulling, and using our cell phone - evenly with both hands - can address the symptoms (single-arm high pulley rows and neck stretches are also recommended). Hip misalignment overworks our obliques, hip abductors, erector spinae, and more on the elevated side, and it’s key that those experiencing it avoid high-impact activities like jogging and focus on stretching. This includes IT-band stretch, runner’s stretch, dancer’s stretch, and the lying cross-over.
As you can see, the more we get to know our bodies the more efficiently we are able to heal them. Pay attention to yours today, and let’s all get (our) back into proper alignment!
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