The Musculature of the Torso
Check out how interwoven we are!
Welcome to another delayed article release! I hope last week’s cameo by Mr. Blue helped illuminate how certain bodily positions will cause us to fall. Even if you don’t figure out anything regarding the inner workings of the universe or the perfect way to zen out to the max, reducing the risk of falling is kind of a big deal.
This week I’m returning with a drawing for you to check out. If you recall, I’m showing you drawings of the torso that highlight 3 things:
Breathing.
The muscular support of the spine
All the other bits
If you’ve followed along on this little journey, we’re finally hitting the all important “other bit” portion of our anatomy look. I’m classifying all of this as “other bits” because it’s quite laborious to start splitting these muscles up into the functions of the shoulders, legs, hips, spinal rotation, and all of the other essential things that they can do. We can and probably will go down that road as time goes on, but the real purpose of these drawings is to help you have a better visual framework for the meaning of F.M. Alexander’s direction, “allow the spine to lengthen and the back to widen”.
Take a look!
On the right hand side of the drawing, I am showing the full musculature of the torso. The right arm is in light yellow for 2 reasons:
I’m showing you that there’s a layer a fascia under the skin covering the whole arm
Man oh man did this drawing take me a looooong time and arms aren’t the point of this post!
On the left hand side, I have hidden the left portion of the trapezius (neck/upper back), deltoids (outer shoulder), and latissimus dorsi. These muscles are very big and are great for lifting stuff but they do block you from seeing how interwoven the musculature of the back is.
If you take one thing away from this drawing, please notice that there are NO straight lines present. Straight lines are ok for buildings, but not for living creatures. Beyond that, I’d ask that you just take a look at the drawing with a little sense of curiosity. If you look at a zone on the drawing and feel like that pocket is stiff or frozen, you might want to just take a pause and wonder if some life can fill into that area.
Don’t be frustrated if you feel stuck and the area stays still. Bullying a stuck zone never works so it’s better to go outside for a walk and grab an ice cream!
Get In Touch
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If you’re in NYC, you may learn more about my private teaching practice at johndalto.com.
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Loved your mix of anatomical insight and encouragement, especially the 'go for a walk and grab an ice cream' bit! Your drawings really help bring the Alexander Technique to life.