Edited from The Mind Body Moderate archives, May 13, 2009

Sir Issac Newton’s third law of Motion:

for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

In other words, perhaps: forces come in pairs.

Another thinker, Athanasius Kircher, the Jesuit Polymath and a 17th Century contemporary to Newton, was on a parallel track when he argued that magnetism was the principal force organizing and controlling nature. Propelling and repelling. Pushing and pulling. Lengthening and Contracting.

In this metaphorical analogy, the human body falls under both Newton’s 3rd law and Kircher’s theories as well. Our muscles stretch and contract, tense and relax, and can be strong or weak. We use word countless word pairings to describe these forces, but as seemingly dualistic as these principles seem at first, they exist on a spectrum and are constantly acting upon us in different ways and dimensions.

Look at the below image. This person exhibits several different aspects of the above binaries at once.

It is certain they are slumping. The upper back muscles are stretched. The back of the neck is contracting. The front of the shoulders are contracting. The front of the neck is stretching.

If we were to reverse all that. Contract the mid back. Stretch the back of the neck. Stretch the front of the shoulders. Contract the front of the neck. You might get something like this:

So now this upright second guy. Is he weak or strong? Tense or relaxed? Tight or loose? Or is it possible he could still be many things at once?

If upright posture were that easy, why don’t we just do that all the time? Lots of reasons. One of my favorite reasons to mention in class is that our human eyeballs sit on the fronts of our heads. If they were on top of our heads, our posture might be an entirely different story. Coupled with our anatomy is our relationship to gravity and how we create structures of support within it. It can bring us down, and our enter of gravity gives into force exerted on our bodies and senses over time.

Collapsing into gravity from the center of the body, causes the shoulder to go up, the spine to compress, the hip flexors to contract, and the neck to strain. It’s like having two opposing magnets, on your head and at your feet, smushing you in the center.

Try this visualization of lengthening from the inside out. Reaching your center of gravity outward in all directions, expanding outward into a larger sphere. Or perhaps imagine you have two opposing magnets, one on your head and one at your feet, stretching long in both directions. Drawing each vertebral discs apart. And perhaps another two at your sides, pulling you wide to the sides of your room. As your spine stretches long, and your body reaches wide, you may find your shoulders dropping down, hips releasing, and your eyes and face muscles softening.

Becoming aware of your orientation to gravity is one step in shifting posture and creating more fluid movements. Posture exists on many levels, including cultural, historical, spatial and psychological realms, among others. For example, in some semiotics, standing tall exudes confidence and helps build an overall sense of well-being. Depending on the individual, standing tall might also allow one to breathe deeper and create a more relaxed and calm mind. Or, consider how hard it would be to naturally slump and feel joyful simultaneously. Play with these forces in your body; just be careful not to strain. It is also possible to over compensate, resulting in an unproductive fight that causes news problems. Keep your movements soft, subtle and expansive, and in a key of “what if”.

And remember, it is all in your perspective to the gravity of your situation.

(For more information on Athanasius Kircher, check out the most wondrous museum: The Museum of Jurassic Technology)