Rest Posture Screen

From Phillip Beach’s Archetypal Posture of Repose Screen:

“Archetypal Postures provide a quick but profound insight into the ease or dis-ease of one’s biomechanical tune. You can learn what these postures are and how to assess them. They are profoundly important.

LEARN TO RETUNE

The Contractile Field model helps us to understand movement. The opposite of movement is rest; one without the other is nonsensical. At rest we assume natural Archetypal Postures. The archetype is the original pattern or model from which copies are made; the best example or prototype of that class of objects. Archetype used in the context of human movement refers to postures that emerge from, and are embedded within, the interaction of many joints and many muscles. Losing access to our Archetypal Postures is a biomechanical peril.We sit on the floor in many postures that are our birthright, postures that our modern society neglects to value, instead preferring chairs and sofas. Rising from these Archetypal Postures to our full upright bipedal posture uses deeply embedded patterns of movement.”

Rest Posture Screen

Test yourself in these 12 positions and identify which posture (left and right) is most difficult. Once identified, instead of sitting, try spending 5 to 20 minutes in challenging postures. Ultimately, you should see mobility improved and symmetry restored therefore improving performance and reducing injury and pain.