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View Full Version : Posture, Habit, Mind



Korpo
27th March 2008, 08:22 AM
Recently in my training to be more mindful I realised that were I look influences how many habitual thoughts I have. Looking down and to the side brings up way more habitual thought than looking straight ahead.

This is not entirely new to me, as I know from articles on psychology you can deduct the kind of thinking a person is doing - self dialogue is associated with looking down and to the side, memory with looking up and to the side. The side you look to determines whether you are creative (imagine your aunt with green hair) or remembering. I just never put this in connection with trying to be present.

Then I noticed I habitually look down when walking. No matter what the psychological message behind that is, I just noticed this, that I habitually look down when awareness of where I am looking diminishes. Then I realised correcting this habit is painful. I found enormous tension in my neck, shortened muscles, etc. So looking straight ahead I now habitually avoid because it hurts.

At first there was something in the mind that made me look down, and it became a habit. Then, over time the muscles shortened from bad posture, and now I look down by habit and to avoid pain otherwise. And this in turn brings up habitual thought. Mind, thought, habit, posture, habit thought mind. :?

Oliver

Caelrie
27th March 2008, 06:11 PM
This reminds me of the Dog Whisperer episode where Caesar convinced a scared dog to be more confident by putting a leash on his tail and holding it up and erect while he walked the dog. It was fascinating to watch. It's the same principle.

sleeper
27th March 2008, 06:52 PM
For me, when I decided to lift my head when walking, i had also to deal with my insecurities. I had been keeping my head down to avoid interacting with other people, so by dealing with one thing i dealt with both.

Korpo
27th March 2008, 09:33 PM
For me, when I decided to lift my head when walking, i had also to deal with my insecurities. I had been keeping my head down to avoid interacting with other people, so by dealing with one thing i dealt with both.

Yup, sleeper, I think you hit the nail on the head. But for me it is also the routine of habitual thinking and being lost in thought.

Be well,
Oliver

LuXFluX
28th March 2008, 09:39 AM
I'm crazy about posture. Really, really into it. I think it makes a HUGE difference in an individual. If your body is the only thing that is always with you while you are alive and conscious, it must be very important, ya? The way you "carry your self" is vital to me. It's the only reason I wanted to do any kind of chinese qi gong at all. I didn't care about health really, but posture influences the psychological makeup as a whole oh so much. The way you stand pushes on your organs, bends your nervous system, affects circulation, digestion....you name it.

Changing your posture allows you to break out of old ways and become a new person. THere is a concept called state dependent learning/memory. It means that if you are in a state, such as depression or a certain physical position, you will remember other things associated with that state. So....if you change your posture and associate it with your new, positive, spiritual self.....wow! The implications for development are just awesome.

So I went to a good chiropractor and I do Qi Gong now. Posture is incredibly important and a wonderful tool for bettering yourself. I suggest everyone look into it :)

Korpo
28th March 2008, 09:56 AM
Changing your posture allows you to break out of old ways and become a new person. THere is a concept called state dependent learning/memory. It means that if you are in a state, such as depression or a certain physical position, you will remember other things associated with that state. So....if you change your posture and associate it with your new, positive, spiritual self.....wow! The implications for development are just awesome.

I think you kind of overstretch the state-dependant memory thing a bit here. It relates to states of consciousness, like the dream state or OBE or other possible states, but I don't think depression or posture qualify as states at all. If you could not recall what you thought when you were depressive, or how the world looked like when you had a different posture - that would indicate a different state.

Still I think posture can make a difference. The question is what you change first - the outer or the inner. Changing the outer can help change the inner, but IMO the hard work is really inside, no matter what.

Oliver

LuXFluX
28th March 2008, 10:26 AM
Korpo,

It might seem that way but it's really interesting. I'll find some links tommorow I'm sleepy here in the states lol. But it actually is interesting that depressed people have a better memory of other times they were depressed while they feel that way....even over a span of days or weeks. Maybe we're using two different meanings for the word state. In this case, state means your overall disposition. So....if you are in a happy disposition, it is much easier for you to have happy thoughts and memories. But if you are sad, you aren't gonna access those as easily or naturally. I have found personally the same works for posture. You can use it to influence the inner self and the inner self can also influence your body. Either approach leads to the same end as far as I know. And posture can be more immediate for some kinds of people so I think it can be a good avenue.

Try this exercise: Slump around when you walk for a few minutes. Put on a sour face. You'll find you don't feel too good very quickly. Now.....if you do that sour face, or that slumping, to a slightly lesser degree all the time and unconsciously, what do you think that does to your psyche? Also....imitate others posture. You may find you can understand them a lot better. I think you'll like what you find out :)

Korpo
28th March 2008, 12:29 PM
Try this exercise: Slump around when you walk for a few minutes. Put on a sour face.

Hehe, what's the change? :lol:

One wonderful practice is the half-smile. I think it derives from Thich Nhat Hanh.

I was referring to Charles Tart's "States of Consciousness", BTW.

Sleep well! ;)
Oliver

Korpo
8th April 2008, 03:25 PM
Another variant of the topic is being more mindful of posture, movement and other habits.

I'm not practicing walking meditation, but lately I've become more mindful of the way I walk. My wife remarked that I do not bend my knees. I also know my walk is kind of swaying and not very stable.

During energy work I discovered blocks on my knees (a long-standing problem) and hips. When walking consciously, more aware of shifting weight, turning the hips, bending the knees showed me the interconnectedness of it all. When I do not bend my knee, also do not move the hip properly. The weight shift is differently, like dropping unto a straightened leg.

When I walk with mindfullness the lower leg is the anchor, the knee shifts the weight over it without too much strain, the hip turns back and forth. More things arise when I do this. When I move with the hips, it stimulates my digestion ( :oops: ) and has effects on my lower back. When I focus on my legs, bend the knee and position my lower leg with better alignment, I can feel an energy flow. General energy flow in the lower body improves, as the interconnected system starts to function as it should.

I also see how the habits evolved. Bad posture and pain create a vicious circle. Bad alignments strain tissues, induce damage, cause pain. Pain induces bad alignment, as in a more subconscious reaction the mind directs the body to movements that avoid pain. Other factors such as overweight contribute to how strongly the joints are worked and how much freedom of movement there is.

Together all of this forms a package, where mindful awareness and gentle correction improve matters and help remedy damage and prevent future damage, while without mindful awareness of the process things just continue in their misaligned developments, leading to hip problems, knee problems, etc.

And tell you what - walking this way has been fun, too. :D

Oliver

star
9th April 2008, 01:19 AM
If your becomeing sensitive to your habits that way give a try to finding your subconcious and removing stuff manually. A way of getting that to work is saying in your head "I'm going to my subconcious now" Then when you 'hear' a thought follow it back as though it had a rope/line/highway leading back to where it orginiated from. You'll know that your getting close when you forget to breath. Yes, you can go that deep. i've had a few good snorts in my practice chasing thoughts and correcting things.

CFTraveler
9th April 2008, 01:24 AM
I always walk looking down because if I look up I trip. Does that make me insecure, or just clumsy?
(Seriously, clumsily insecure and thoughtful, maybe.)

star
9th April 2008, 01:43 AM
I have a tendency to walk like a clown, bumping into things and tripping up between skips. I'm just happy that I don't walk with my hips so much anymore. It was mentioned that I was walking like a girl and was worried about guys getting the wrong idea.