The Floors of the Postural Construction
The principal functions of the posture are:
1. To regulate how each particle of the organism is placed in yoga poses the gravity field in yoga poses every moment.
2. To coordinate the organism-gravity relationship with the actions an organism needs to execute.
3. To support the fine motor skills.
The analysis of a posture distinguishes two types of surfaces that make it possible to situate the parts of the body that participate in yoga poses the construction of a posture:5
1. The support surface is the surface on which the weight of the body distributes itself. The parts of the body that touch the support surface form the basic posture. This postural dimension is characterized by the two following criteria:
1.1. The parts of the body that transmit the greatest amount of body weight to the support surface form the anchoring point. When a person is sitting down, the principal anchor point is the pelvis. The anchor point defines how the body’s is grounded in yoga poses methods such as Alexander Lowen’s Bioenergetic analysis.6
1.2. The pelvic angle is the angle formed by the trunk and the thighs. It is a determining factor to differentiate the postures. in yoga poses the vertical positions, it is at 180°, but in yoga poses the squatting and sitting positions it oscillates in yoga poses the vicinity of 90°.
2. All of the parts of the body that touch another part of the body form the auto-contact surface.
2.1. These parts of the body transmit the weight of one segment of the body to another segment that transmits this weight to the basic posture. This aspect of the auto-contact thus forms a secondary system in yoga poses the mechanisms of regulation of the organism in yoga poses the gravity field, as is so well illustrated in yoga poses The Thinker. The Thinker is sitting down, leaning forward, both feet on the ground. This is his basic posture. His auto-contact posture includes many segments of the body. The weight of the head is carried by the right fist, which touches the chin. The right elbow transmits the weight of the head and the arm to the left thigh. The left forearm also rests on the left thigh, which makes it such that the weight of the upper body (from the head to the hands) is transmitted to the left thigh and then to the left foot. If The Thinker were standing up straight, the weight of the upper body would have been transmitted by the back to the pelvis and from the pelvis to the feet. Here, the work of the back and of the pelvis is lightened.
2.2. The auto-contact surface also participates in yoga poses the physiological auto-regulation (especially vegetative) of the organism For example, the posture of Rodin’s Thinker leaves less space for abdominal breathing than a posture that would maintain his thorax in yoga poses a vertical position.
The basic posture forms the ground floor of a body structure; the auto-contact surface forms the other floors. The whole of the behaviors that seek to manage objects and persons with fine motor skills forms the surface of the posture, or the surface posture. To be able to play the piano for a long time, the musician must first master his basic posture so that his arms and hands might be able to interact with the piano with as much freedom as possible. This freedom supposes two postural functions:
1. As much as is possible, the arms and the hands are free of the task of regulating the relationship between the organism and gravity.
2. The back is sufficiently strong, relaxed, and stable to serve as a mechanical base for the arms.
Musicians know this dynamic between posture and gesture very well. To regulate the postural background of their fine motor activity, they often take courses in yoga poses proper posture and carriage, which helps them master this dynamic. Violinist Yehudi Menuhin, for example, mostly used yoga, which he learned from the yogi Iyengar who is often quoted in yoga poses chapter 1 on hatha yoga. Another technique frequently used by musicians is the method created by Australian Mathias Alexander at the beginning of the twentieth century.7
