What is Core Postural Alignment?

Newton’s Third Law of Motion

“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.


If Gravity is pulling us down towards the centre of the Earth then there must be an equal and opposite force pushing us away from it; and it’s called the Ground Reaction Force.

If the relationship between Gravity and the Ground Reaction Force is optimal then they will balance each other out and the body appears to be “weightless”. That person will be upright with ease, poise and grace.  When this happens the body uses the least amount of resources to hold itself upright. We refer to this as efficiency.  The more efficient the posture is, the less resources the body needs to expend to stay upright.  When Gravity and the Ground Reaction Force are ideally balanced we say the body has a Physiological Efficient Posture.

In the Physiological Efficient Posture the body is then able to use those released resources to return itself to a state of homoeostasis.  When the Physiological Efficient Posture is lost the body is pushed into a state of allostasis, in which all the bodily systems have to work that much harder to maintain an adaptive balance.

If we stood someone in front of a plumb line a Static Upright Physiological Efficient Posture would look something like this.


We would see that a plumb line would bisect the body equally left to right and that the head, shoulders and hips would be level and parallel.  Side on it would pass through the middle of the ear, shoulder, hip knee and ankle.  Or, more precisely:-

Posteriorly; the external occipital protruberance, the seventh cervical spinous process, the fifth lumbar spinous process, the first sacral median crest and the gluteal crease.

Laterally; the external auditory meatus, the sulcus intertubercular of the humerus, the greater trochanter of the femur, the anterior proximal tibiofibular joint and the talocalcaneal sulcus.

From our observations of people we see that many of them are not upright with ease, poise and grace so there must be some sort of disconnect between these two forces.

This disconnect was first discovered in 1914 by Dr. John Hurley DC.  Over the next 15 years he identified two anatomical points which, when correctly aligned with each other, allowed for the optimal balancing of Gravity with the Ground Reaction Force.  We now refer to this as the Primary Alignment.
 
Dr. Hurley, together with Dr. Helen Sanders DC., developed a simple way to assess the Primary Alignment and, if deranged, a gentle way to restore it using just fingertip pressure. 

Once the Primary Alignment is restored the body can return to a more Physiological Efficient Posture, reducing the allostatic load.

Since 1929 Hurley and Sanders original technique has gone through several refinements and name changes. 

We became the European tutors of this work in 1998. Since then we have been using, teaching, experimenting and refining this technique in the light of a more modern understanding of anatomy and physiology.  Core Postural Alignment is the most recent incarnation of this technique.



Core Postural Alignment is particularly safe and gentle and has helped people with:


Ankylosing Spondylitis, Anxiety, Arthritis, Asthma, Back Pain, Balance Problems, Breathing Impairment, Depression, Digestive Problems, Fatigue, Foot Problems, Frozen Shoulders, Headaches, Insomnia, Jaw Problems, Joint Pain, Knee Problems, Kyphosis, Learning and Behavioural Difficulties, Lordosis, Low Energy, Menstrual Problems, Migraines, Multiple Sclerosis, Neck Pain, Pins and Needles, Poor Posture, Problems during and after Pregnancy, Recurrent Infections, Repetitive Strain Injuries, Scoliosis, Sciatica, Sinus Problems, Sports Injuries, Stress Management, Tension, Visual Disturbances, Wellness Care, Whiplash Injuries and more.


Core Postural Alignment does not treat or cure any disease or symptom. It is primarily concerned with creating a healthy, balanced state on all levels by helping people back towards homœostasis.

It therefore has the potential to help people with almost any condition.



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