The New Rules of Posture: How to Sit, Stand, and Move in the Modern World »

Mary Bond has a Master’s degree in dance from UCLA and trained with Dr. Ida P. Rolf as a Structural Integration practitioner. She is a movement instructor at the Rolf Institute and teaches movement workshops nationally. The author of Balancing Your Body and The New Rules of Posture, she has also published articles in numerous health and fitness magazines. She lives in California.

Mary Bond explains that healthy posture comes not by training our muscles into an ideal shape, but from a new sense that we can developby learning to feel. She identifies the key anatomical features that impact alignment, and, proposing six zones that help create postural changes, she offers self-help exercises that enable healthy function in each zone.

Dede Archer - Library Journal

Bond (Balancing Your Body: A Self-Help Approach to Rolfing Movement), who has a master's degree in dance from UCLA and trained as a structural integration practitioner, here argues that one's posture results from habits that have evolved along with life experiences. Not surprisingly, these habits lead to bad posture and chronic pain, both of which Bond aims to alleviate with a program for the daily renewal of posture. In Part 1, she instructs readers on becoming aware of postural habits, while in Part 2, she studies the body in relation to its core. Part 3 sees her investigating the use of the senses and how that affects one's perception of the world. Finally, in Part 4, Bond explores the body's movement. The book contains clear illustrations throughout and many exercises focusing on subtle body sensations. A good purchase for all libraries. Recommended for anyone interested in the anatomical and emotional aspects of the movement of one's body; good for all libraries.

Preface

Introduction: What Are the New Rules of Posture?

PART ONE: AWARENESS

1. Your Conscious Body
2. Your Body’s Internet

PART TWO: STABILITY

3. The Root of Posture
4. Healthy Breathing
5. Core Connections

PART THREE: ORIENTATION

6. Your Heart’s Messengers
7. Footprints
8. Facing the World

PART FOUR: MOTION

9. Healthy Walking
10. Articulate Living

Afterword: Explore the New Rules of Posture, Together

Appendix: Therapeutic Resources for Healthy Posture

Bibliography

Index

EXPLORATIONS AND PRACTICES

1. YOUR CONSCIOUS BODY

Your Neutral Breath A Stressful Moment Simple Pleasure Walking Inventory Your Best Foot Heel Strike Pelvic Mobility Arm Swing Spinal Mobility Head and Neck Stabilizing Actions

2. YOUR BODY’S INTERNET

Postural Sway Fascial Continuity Sacroiliac Rocking Holistic Impact Counterrotation of Pelvis and Chest Curling and Arching

3. THE ROOT OF POSTURE

Pelvis Palpation The Pelvic Floor Diamond The Anal Triangle Slouching Supported Sitting Bending Over Perceptual Fine Tuning Smart Reclining

4. HEALTHY BREATHING

Quiet Breathing Active Breathing Global Breathing Awareness Breathing in Your Back Inhaling Beauty Exhaling Surrender The Spaciousness and Weight of Breathing Breathing in Gravity Slowing Your Breath with Sound Healthy Breathing, Healthy Posture

5. CORE CONNECTIONS

Activating Your TA through the Pelvic Floor Activating Your TA from a Table Position Activating Your TA Lying Down A Shortcut to the Inner Corset Flying Table Bending Forward and Bending Down Posture as Relationship

6. YOUR HEART’S MESSENGERS

A Tour of Your Shoulders Closing Your Shoulders Shoulder Expression Leverage Shoulder Blade Pulses Handprints on the Wall Serratus Shortcut Seated Sphinx Reaching Wall Traction First Aid for Your “Mouse Arm”
Sacred Touch, Living Touch Two-way Touching Lifting Something Heavy

7. FOOTPRINTS

Self-assessment of Your Feet Your Foot’s Dimple Relaxing Your Arches Footprints on the Wall Opening Your Feet Alternating Pressure between Forefoot and Heel Rocking from Stance Foot to Walking Foot Stepping into Your Whole Heel Help for Bunions Aligning Your Legs Shifting Sands Sitting to Standing Pushing the Floor Sacred Ground

8. FACING THE WORLD

Jaw and Tongue Tensions Nose and Palate Tension Jaw and Inner Ear Distinguishing Cranium and Face Narrow Focus and Open Focus Releasing Eye Tension Receptive Eyes Welcoming the World

9. HEALTHY WALKING

Stop and Go Wall Traction Enhanced Flying Table Enhanced Hip Rotation Counterrotation Pelvic Gyroscope Seated Spine Spirals Initiating a Step One Step One Step with Rotation Forget About It

10. ARTICULATE LIVING

Body Parts Art Acceleration Your Best Walk Your Worst Walk Walking Your Way out of a Funk