Why is it that some people get hunchback and some don’t regardless of their age? There are many factors influencing your posture. There’s a genetic factor which you cannot control and environmental factors that you can control. Environmental factors include your daily routines, activities, home environment, work environment, occupational routines, recreational activities, etc. As posture is a reflection of habitual movement patterns, it is helpful to assess your environmental factors from a movement perspective and how each factor influences your movement and posture. By the end of this video ..read more

Are you tried many posture correction exercises without getting results that last? The problem is NOT YOU. The problem is CORRECTIVE APPROACH. The body’s natural response to correction and force is to resist. If someone pushes you back, you will automatically push against the force. That is just a body’s reflex. When you force your body to move, you are actually reinforcing your habitual movement patterns. This is why your body soon reverts back to your old habitual patterns. As I mentioned in the previous video and post, posture is a reflection of years of your habitual movement patterns. By ..read more

What if I told you you can improve your hunchback posture while sleeping? This may sound crazy and too good to be true, but if you understand how your posture is developed, it’s not surprising that you can improve your posture while sleeping. A common misunderstanding about posture is that many people believe posture is a fixed state of our body, and their approach to posture is to correct it by stretching and strengthening muscles. If your approach is based on the wrong belief, you will not get desirable outcomes. So what is posture? Posture is a reflection of years of your habitual movement ..read more

Breathing is a topic many people are interested in. What is optimal and ideal breathing? There are many ideas, theories about optimal breathing. You probably have learned some breathing techniques and exercises (what muscles to use, specific way to breathe in and out, how long you need to inhale and exhale, etc). I am not going into details of breathing mechanism or anatomy here. Instead, I want to share my perspective on breathing. I look at breathing as movement just I look at posture as movement. Breathing involves mobilization of our bodies (ribs, belly, back, chest, shoulders, etc). Ou ..read more

I’ve come across several articles on the internet that say Asian Squat can improve back pain. I’d like to share my opinions on this topic based on my experience and knowledge as a movement teacher and Feldenkrais practitioner. There are many origins of back pain, so you cannot generalize back pain as one. Back pain could be related to muscle strain, ligament sprain, disc degeneration, joint degeneration, arthritis, nerve tissue injury, nerve sensitization, stress, anxiety, fear, lack of movement, etc. Thus, it’s hard to say Asian Squat can improve back pain without being more specific. It is ..read more

This is not the first time I write about benefits of sitting on the floor. In fact, I have been advocating floor sitting for quite some time now. I grew up in Japan where sitting on the floor is very common for ordinary activities such as eating, social gathering. The significance of this activity was not apparent to me until I had moved to the United States and lived several years (I have been in the United States since 1997). It just dawned on me one day when I realized that sitting on the floor is challenging for many people in this country. I certainly took it for granted. The impact on o ..read more

I so often squat while typing on my laptop or working with my clients, and people ask me if I am uncomfortable. I then tell them that I am actually quite comfortable in my squat position, more comfortable than sitting in a chair. My answer almost always surprises people. Why do many people think that squat is only for younger people, and not ideal for older people? Why is it that many older people including my parents and my wife's parents (Japanese) and others in many Asian countries and other countries can squat comfortably? Should older people avoid squatting? When should we stop squatting ..read more

There is something about symmetrical geometry that appeals to people, that includes posture and movement. The thing about symmetrical posture and movement is that we have to assume one side is ideal, and the other side is not. If we do movement training from this assumption, then we assume an ideal side as a model or goal for the other side. There is a huge problem with this assumption. We are NOT symmetrical in structures nor functions, and neither is the environment. Ideal movement on one side does not mean it is universal. In fact, two sides of our body including our brain function very d ..read more

I’ve found that lying on stomach is not a favorite position for many adults. Some people even believe they should never lie on their stomach because it is so uncomfortable and painful. I find it very interesting that we (adults) encourage babies to do lots of tummy time because of developmental benefits, but somehow over the years tummy time becomes unnecessary, or even detrimental to our bodies. Or more accurately I should say that our perception and belief about tummy time change over time. Why is tummy time so important in the first place? What are the benefits? What do babies learn from tu ..read more

We went hiking last weekend. Our son told us to stop walking as he continued walking. I asked him what he was doing. He said it sounds different when he was walking alone from when all three of us were walking. He was referring to the sound he was making as he was walking on the leaves. This immediately reminded me of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement (ATM) lesson as he was fully immersed in sensory motor experience and exploring and sensing and creating new connections through movement, all of which are simply driven by curiosity, but no specific goals attached. He is literally doing ATM ..read more