Do you have a habit of sucking in your belly and tucking your tailbone?
We are here to tell you that you should never do this.
It creates a stretch reflex in your lower back and sacrum area which pulls and tugs on your sensitive SI joints. When you repeat this movement day in and day out it stresses the sacral muscles making them very unhappy.
Want to know what else this repetitive movement does?
It forces your hip flexors into a shortened pattern and they become tight and sore, pulling even more on your lower back. This action creates a ripple effect into the lower abdomen creating stress and tension on the lower belly, abdomen, uterus, bladder – resulting in incontinence, pelvic floor pain (Vulvodynia), issues with digestion and elimination and it is even linked to jaw pain. Constantly tucking the tailbone is not a good idea!
There are high expectations of women, with the relentless portrayal in media and fashion that we should be thin and not curvy. This is entirely unachievable for most body types, as it goes against our innate structure and function.
My Story
I remember feeling completely humiliated at around the age of 12 or 13. I was a dancer and it was year end and we were taking group photos. We were posing for the shoot, along with at least 20 parents, a few photographers and staff on the sidelines and my dance teacher yells out “Carrie, SUCK IN YOUR GUT!”
I was mortified!
I’ll tell you I was crying on the inside. I was so humiliated and embarrassed.
I carried this messaging with me for nearly 20 years. I braced, tucked and sucked in my belly so tightly. I hated looking in the mirror and I tightened everything in the lower region of my body. Imagine what problems that created??
It was not until I was introduced to SomaYoga and Somatics that I was able to unravel this deeply ingrained pattern. SomaYoga and Somatics gave me the tools to release the underlying story and movement compensation that I adopted at the age of 12 and was causing me pain today.
The expectations and pressures that we endure have far reaching consequences both physically and emotionally. They lead us down the path of pain and suffering. We are not taught to love our bodies and nurture ourselves, the way we should. This idea that we are not good enough, skinny enough, pretty enough leads to disconnection from ourselves and forces us to augment our bodies to look a certain way.
This message of tucking the tailbone is not a good idea. In fitness and yoga we often hear this cue and it is overdone. This misinformation is based on a brace and move philosophy that works in opposition to our natural way of being. Our bodies are meant to be supple and flexible which are the optimal conditions for a strong core and flexible body.
Locking the core down, actually messes with our natural ability to balance and to adjust effortlessly on unstable ground. Sucking in the belly leads to a whole spiral of other problems such as compromised breathing patterns affecting core stability, decreasing our ability to be stress resilient, and chronic tension/pain.
In our Method, we debunk all of this. We really and truly want to show you that there is another way. The foundation to maintaining balance and healing is to eliminate tension in the center of your body so that you can move well, breathe well and feel vibrant.
We hope that you stick with us and keep learning how you can become the master and guru of your own health and healing.
Interested to learn more, check us out on our Video on Demand Channel.
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