Treat Your Own Back?

One of the comments I hear most often from people using the Buttafly in lying to support their pelvis for the first time is surprisingly simple:

“Wow.”

Often followed by “That’s incredible.”

They feel noticeably different.

Some feel taller, flatter, more grounded; some report greater ease through their back and often the hips too. Others notice changes in how they move afterwards, and their overall sense of ease.

Their experiences raise an interesting question.

More than simply lying down

Why does a few minutes resting on the Buttafly often feel so different from simply lying flat on the floor, or even spending a whole night in bed?

You would really think that being horizontal for 8 hours would make at least the same difference if not even more perhaps… But early morning assessment and treatments show this not to be the case. Intriguing isn’t it?

At this point, I’ve got more questions than answers.

Is it the way the pelvis is being supported? Is it equally important that parts of the body are being off-loaded?

Is the subtle elevation of the pelvic girdle in relation to the shoulder girdle influencing how the body organises itself?

Are the effects primarily mechanical, involving joints and muscles? Or is something happening through the fascia, the nervous system, the breath, or perhaps several systems working together?

These questions are intriguing me, and the more people I observe, the more curious I become.

Postural identity

Many people identify strongly with their posture.

“I’ve always stood like this.”

“My back has always been that shape.”

“This is just how my body is.”

Yet I began to wonder whether many of the patterns we consider fixed are, in fact, adaptations. Just as we can become identified with certain habits of thought or behaviour, we can also become identified with habitual ways of standing, sitting and moving. That does not necessarily mean they represent our deepest nature.

What if some of the patterns we regard as permanent are simply the body’s best response to the conditions it has been given? And what happens when those conditions change?

Again and again, I watch people experience meaningful changes with remarkably little effort.

After all, I’m not asking them to hold themselves differently, or teaching a complicated exercise programme. What remains true, the one fact I can grasp, is that people continue to report profound experiences when using the Buttafly in this way.

Perhaps the body may be far more intelligent and adaptable than many of us have been taught to believe.