Are You Sitting Comfortably?

These ladies are exhibiting the exact posture that prompted me to design the Buttafly. Please, let us not, especially in the name of yoga, sit in a way that is detrimental to our health!

Instead, let’s consider what is happening, why this might be relevant to you (or your buddies) and what to do about it…

 

In both cases, the origin of the problem is caused by the pelvis rolling backwards, often referred to as a posterior pelvic tilt.

This is where the two pelvic bones that form the pelvic bowl roll backwards on the sit bones. Since the sacroiliac joints are relatively immobile, the sacrum is dragged along with the pelvic bones.

At the lower end of the sacrum, the coccyx has moved towards the pubic bone.

At the upper end of the sacrum, the lumbosacral joint between the lumbar spine and the sacrum has moved in the direction of flexion. Think forward bend.

Left uncorrected, this would cause the students to be looking towards the floor. It would also give them a sense of falling backwards.

To compensate, they have both:

1. Leaned forward – taking the shoulder girdle in front of the pelvis;
2. Extended their thoracic spines – think backward bend. Since this part of the spine is not designed for much range in that direction, it requires considerable activity in the long muscles of the back often leading to cramp, backache and fidgeting.

The lady in front has also tilted her head up at the upper part of her neck showing as a lift of her chin. We see this a lot in desk workers and people who spend many hours driving. It is a cause of headaches and many other problems.

 

Where Are You in This?

Often (joyfully!) when people sit on the Buttafly for the first time, they automatically come into a well-aligned posture.

Sometimes, though, the habit of compensating for a posterior pelvic tilt is too ingrained. If this is the case, the angled top of the Buttafly seat will cause them to lean at a greater angle and give them a feeling of falling, creating tension throughout their body.

In this video, I demonstrate the best way I’ve found to help people around this.

The Buttafly Technique also helps the body to let go of habitual holding patterns, even when we have not been able to identify exactly what they are. Such is the wisdom in the body!

Wishing you a healthy spine for LIFE!