December 31, 2023 - What’s the deal with gravity?
One of the things that most distinguishes Rolfing from other modalities is that we’re working to relate the body to gravity. This sounds abstract, and probably even more abstract when we try to explain it. But hear me out…
One way to semi-accurately describe the age of a human would be by counting the “amount of gravity” that has passed through our system from our conception until present day. While the gravity flows through us at a constant rate and always has a vector that is perpendicular to the earth’s surface, it effectively passes through us with different vectors. If someone is laying down on their back, the force of gravity will travel from the anterior surface of the body through the posterior surface. If someone is standing straight up, it will travel fairly vertically down us from top of head into the ground. If someone is walking and their hips are rotating, there is a rotational “slinging” of this force that effectively passes through the body. What we are curious about in Rolfing is how does this unique individual’s shape relate to gravity. Are they able to manage it and let the force pass through their body without it getting hung up?
Consider the analogy of a steady rain being gravity and the following two umbrellas being propped up to manage the rain. The rain will pass through both of these umbrellas with no problem. But the journey of the rain passing through will be very different. The good umbrella will deflect a given raindrop in the present and it will be passed through instantly, end of story. The bad umbrella will let some rain drops through instantly, but others will get caught up in little pockets and remain there until enough rain fills these pockets that it overflows and splashes out with time. The bad umbrella will also break down and further lose its integrity from managing the rain in such an inefficient way. The good umbrella will be able to maintain its integrity for a long, long time.
We are not so different from the umbrellas. The way we manage gravity over time has a tremendous effect on our physical integrity and psychological calm. Like the good umbrella, we need a structure with minimal “catches” or “snags”. Unlike the umbrella, we need to move in a way that gracefully dances with gravity instead of attempting to fight it. We need to build qualitative awareness of our relationship to gravity.
Further, there are at least a couple of major reasons why navigating gravity is specifically trouble for humans as opposed to other species:
Humans are unique in that we have changed our relationship to gravity dramatically over our recent evolutionary history. We are believed to have evolved from a species that moved on four legs, transitioned to apes, and most recently to a now bipedal form of primate. Other species have maintained their general structures and thus relationship to gravity for far longer. The quadrupeds we evolved from are still quadrupeds. And for an extreme example, sharks in their approximate modern form existed on this planet before trees existed (woah). Humans have gradually come to move upright on these two little feet only very very recently. We’re still infants compared to other species in terms of intuitively/kinesthetically understanding how we relate to gravity.
2. We are a weirdly shaped species. We have two little feet for a fairly tall structure. Imagine a piece of furniture in your home 6 feet tall with only two feet at the base to support it. Now imagine a piece of furniture about two feet tall with four legs connecting to the ground. Which would you feel better about placing a fragile sculpture on?
3. Our suboccipital muscles that connect the top of the spine to the back of the cranium have the highest observed density of muscle spindle fibers of anything in the entire animal kingdom (that’s gotta mean something right?). Muscle spindle fibers detect relative change of the body in space and our suboccipitals employ them to maintain our sensory capacity of the head. While there may be something unique about humans necessitating these muscle spindle fibers outside of this scope, a large reason for this is almost certainly because of our unusually unstable shape with respect to gravity combined with the importance we have on sensing with our head (eyes, vestibular system, etc.)
We’re a weird new species on this planet still in our experimental phase. If we can figure out gravity, maybe we can begin to figure out the rest. What’s your relationship to gravity?
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May 11, 2023 - Are we living right?
I realized something funny about all this lifestyle science that’s been coming into the public eye more these last few years. Things that Andrew Huberman might talk about on his podcast. Things research/science seems to be heavily indicating is “good for us”. Things we kinda intuitively already knew. Things like:
Eating Real Food, Exercise, Saunas, Meditation, Intermittent Fasting, Cold Plunges, Being in Nature, Walking, Sleep, Community
The list goes on.
What do all of these things have in common?
(stop and think about this a little).............................................................. ...................................................................................................................
(You didn’t stop did you?) They are the ONLY OPTIONS that our species has had for millions of years. And when I say species, I’m not talking humans/homosapiens or even apes, take it way further to when we were four-legged mammals when you’re thinking about this to think about how long these things have been our only options.
As a thought experiment, let’s imagine the human experience from 50,000 years ago and try to get out of this cartoonish caveman picture. It would have varied slightly depending on what part of the planet you’re living in. But the experience probably looked something like this:
1. Didn’t eat that much because food was hard to come by and you had to work all day every day for it, so there’s likely not going to be an excess. The only food you did have access to were naturally occurring stuff (be it plants, meat, anything with calories). - (ties to fasting and eating real food research)
2. Very present. Ever notice that animals have no option but to be present? We wouldn’t have been so different even 50,000 years ago. No internet/tv/books etc to take them away from the moment. No avenues to escape the present except for imagination, and maybe storytelling/communication. - (ties into meditation/presence/community research)
3. We moved our bodies a lot. Most mammals are grinding their whole life trying to just eat all day. - (exercise research)
4. We DIDN’T move our bodies a lot. I strongly suspect if they were moving/exercising 10 hours a day, they’d be chilling/resting/sleeping a lot of the rest of that 24 hours. Back then, the CALORIE was the unit of currency! Moving is spending $$! (resting/meditation/sleep research)
5. In nature. Even standard living was likely far more rugged than most camping of today’s world where we have this protective and enclosed tent.
6. Living in extreme circumstances with minimal protection. Whether hot or cold, seasonal/temporary or lifelong climate. Some may have lived in hot circumstances, some cold.
7. Walking. This particularly relates to our more recent human species. We used to be tree dwelling apes and at some point branched out to leave the trees on 2 legs and go further and further until we no longer needed them for their support and movement enhancement offerings.
That’s just what life was, because there was no way for life to not be that way.
Imagine you met someone today that only eats real food, exercises 8 hours a day, sleeps 10 hours a day, meditates 3 hours a day, no internet or tv, and cold plunges/saunas daily. Imagine the magnanimous thunder god of an individual this person would be.
This is likely not far from your AVERAGE ancestor. This IS the wiring of YOUR DNA.
How much does your current life differ from the life above?
How much can we deviate from this blueprint and still “thrive” as a species? I think we’re pushing our limits…