Please note that I have no relationship with the products or services I describe here. I developed this site partly to encourage me to put more effort into fixing my own back, but also to inspire others to go take control of their own back care.

Hopefully you may find some of the ideas here useful, and maybe can discuss them with your doctor.

If you find mylowerbackpain.com useful, please add a link to it from your website or blog.

Thanks, Steve.

Posture Release Imagery

by John Appleton
(Springfield, MO, USA)

I am a teacher of the Alexander Technique who has also developed whole-body mental imagery that I call posture release imagery. I have for much of my adult life been a lower back pain sufferer and know for myself as well as from students I have had, that the imagery works (albeit only temporarily at first). Imagery may seem to be a fluffy solution to a sticky problem like back pain, but our "right brain" subconsciously controls our postural style and habits. Using imagery may be one of the few ways for us to "reinvent," "refresh," or "defrag" ourselves. The imagery momentarily overrides our habitual mind and tells us what to feel, helping us to develop a new baseline for our tactile/kinesthetic sensations.

This may sound like high falutin' talk, but check out the site and it will begin to clarify. Success with the imagery, like anything worthwhile, requires some diligence.

A teaser: the simplest mental image can be stated without a visual image... calm UP and tense DOWN

Here's the site: Posture Release Imagery

Thanks,

John

A Posture Release Imagery exercise

by John Appleton
((Springfield, MO, USA))

It can be argued that people with 'bad backs' (like I had) also have 'bad fronts' and 'bad bottoms' and 'bad tops.' That may sound corny, however, the point is that the portion of the body where pain is felt is not the whole story. This sort of argument applies also to families with a 'bad kid.' How the problem is conceived has alot to do with how it can be handled.

Here is an exercise that deals with the whole body and demonstrates my point, I think. I recommend that people explore my website, Posture Release Imagery, for a clear picture of how imagery can help back pain and other potentially posture related problems (low energy, for instance). However, maybe an experiment with an exercise will have some value even without understanding why it may work.

So, here goes. Read through the instructions at least once before attempting it:

Examine the illustration that accompanies this posting. The person on the right is sitting forward on a chair. Follow this example and sit yourself forward and up in a chair... far enough forward so that a slope in the seat does not make it hard for you to sit up like the person in the drawing. If this is very uncomfortable for you, do the best you can.

Next, imagine that you are, in fact, not a person sitting in a chair but, rather, a lamb balanced on the chair, with its chin, limbs, and tail wrapped around a dark, cool, slightly heavy egg that it wishes to protect. (This may sound ridiculous, but you are this far along so don't turn back.) You are to imagine, but in no sense imitate, that as a lamb you have very very light and fluffy fur. This light fluffy fur extends all over your back but just as importantly includes your tail, back of neck, back of ears, head, upper eye lids, and nose. All the features of your face are very relaxed as shown in the drawing. Imagine holding the cool, dark egg as closely as you can, making body contact with it as much as possible as the drawing indicates. You are attempting to cover it as much as possible, with your chin, neck, arms, chest, stomach, legs, groin, under side of tail. Take some time with the image.

Finally, allow yourself to rock forward while keeping the image going as best you can. You should experience an easy trip to standing position, without the usual effort. You can get better and better and experience its beneficial effects more and more, with repeated experiments with this image.

Remember, just imagine, don't consciously physically imitate the illustration or directions. Also, do not be surprised if small changes take place that do not seem to right for the illustration. The goal is release body parts to their best positions, not to learn how to hug an egg.

Visit my website for additional information.