Just found this video and SO helpful in linking how I sit to how I walk. I naturally sit more rotated to the right however as this position has started causing me neck pain on the left i have to do the opposite and root more through the left side with a flexed right hip. Thank you so much for these very helpful videos Todd.
@@ToddMartinMD Hi Todd I was playing with the above concept of proper seated posture when driving my car which incidentally, is usually when I experience left neck discomfort. I would be so grateful if you can explain the movement of the Core when turning or looking left e.g. if my left hip is actively flexed and I have active rotation of my upper core to the right and my lower abs to the right so I am rooted on my right sit bone. To look or turn left whilst seated, would I just reverse the pattern ie actively counter rotate my upper and lower waist to the left so I would then have an actively flexed right leg? If you can explain that would be fabulous. Thank you
@@shafra4337 Great question. Keep in mind, when we move away from the fundamental movement patterns, there is a lot of variability we can put into movement. Also, we do move our neck isolated from the rest of the body when we want to do something like turn the head to look in a different direction. However, it is best done in sync with the core. From the position you are talking about, part of looing to the left would be to change the upper waist rotation from right to left. This would be the Core Technique of Set and begin to shift your weight slightly forward on the right side. That would be accompanied by adding a turn of your neck to the left. If you are trying to look behind you, you would also add a twist from the upper back, meaning pulling the left shoulder blade back. You would get an even bigger turn by extending the left hip, which would be the Core Technique of Reach, combined with the twist of the upper torso. This would make you lean slightly forward (as you would before standing up) while twisting the upper torso to the left and turning the head to the left.
thanks a lot, Todd, it seems unbelievable how many interacting physical parts and muscels play a role "only" when sitting ... we've developped that far from our natural design ... ! Regards from Bavaria / Germany
Very welcome. The complexity of human movement isn't surprising when you realize we are the only surviving species that has evolved bipedal locomotion. That demonstrates how complex it is.
Can you do a video about head movements utilized during a gait? For some reason I’ve been noticing the lack of movement in my head. Thank you in advance!
Your head shouldn’t be moving unless you are looking around at stuff. The head should pretty much be level and facing in the same direction as your spine unless you are looking around and disconnecting it intentionally. I don’t think there would be much to say in a video.
@@ToddMartinMD I get what you are saying. Personally, I’ve seen people walk with more of a side to side head sway or a up and down motion. That’s why I was a bit concerned if my lack of head movement is normal.
@@ToddMartinMD Very interesting topic! My husband observed a while back that my head jiggles a little when walking however since watching your videos and putting more focus on rooting my left heel the jiggle has disappeared!😘
I think that is the same principe for standing and sitting but it's not. First, I think that I need to tuck my pelvis with lower abs and on same side activate upper abs by rotation but it' not.
Since I been practicing forefoot walking Todd just after 6 weeks not only has it fixed any problems I’ve had my strength and balance has all come back to life and gone through the roof the core self corrects posture and automatically works when ever it needs to in any movement. My brain does it all on it’s own no thinking! it’s remarkable ..
I am glad you think it has helped, although that doesn't mean that is the correct way to walk. People who try to get into forefoot walking clearly are not doing heel strike the correct way, which is why they have problems. It's fine for people to do whatever they need to if that helps get them out of pain. My issue is the incorrect assumption that heel strike itself is the problem and that everyone in the world is walking incorrectly. That is misinformation.
@@ToddMartinMD just like my core works itself walking is no different! Any animal on earth doesn’t move forward lifting throwing itself forward swinging weight landing on front of mass they all grip pull out the ground through traction holding every bit of weight through perfect muscle control .. try it push in forefoot grip pull yourself and once that legs behind you it will fire and land in its natural position under body weight perfectly. Natures time intelligent we are not in charge its the proper gait
@@ToddMartinMD my feet and muscles are becoming so spring loaded the heel doesn’t even want to touch the ground. Watch some really good athletes walk you will see the movement it’s pretty much what you see in kids up until early teens and big heel shoes start coming in
@@ToddMartinMD take the shoes off try it’s barefoot. No lifting just push in forefoot pull yourself forward until it’s being body weight and don’t lift it to next step just pull it till it lifts it all talks to each other then it will spring underneath you and land perfect in position to carry your weight. That’s the only study you will ever need your body will prove it 😃
@@ToddMartinMD I think you’re so good at moving and controlling your body especially through dance and Thai chi that you can control it all in a heel strike form where most people just trying to move around wouldnt and get a lot of issues. Where as now I just move in that way and it’s all controlled carried weight perfectly through itself and muscle control no concious thought
You can think of it as hinging the hip at the joint in the groin area. It can be difficult to get the correct intention for this because the leg is on the ground.
You our elbows should be parallel to the ground with straight wrists as much as possible. With a laptop, this means you may need to gaze down with your eye. Try not to pitch the neck down.
Hi Todd, i have two questions related to this video: 1) If one extends the hip muscle then the body tilts forward and the pelvis tilts forward, is this true? I want to take note of the above so I can differentiate from hip flexion and hip extension which I find difficult to perform. I think when I am sitting, I am extending the hip rather than flexing the hip. 2) When one flexes the hip muscle, say on the right side, while sitting, does the heel of the right foot come up while the front of the foot stays on the ground? Greetings, thank you very much for your videos.
Thanks for the question. Hip extension either moves the thigh backward relative to the front of the body or tilts the pelvis backward if the leg is fixed to the ground. I think it is the opposite of what you said. Keep in mind that if we are standing up, you can’t isolate the hip extension. Your waist muscles are also going to determine what happens. For example, when people walk leaning forward it is because they are extending from the glutes. However what is really happening is the glutes are pitching the body backward and the upper waist is compensating by leaning forward. The lean from the upper waist forward and the backward movement from the hip extension results in a net slight forward lean. It is a bit complicated. Your second question is harder to answer in a helpful way because you also aren’t going to isolate the hip flexion when you sit down. Flexing one hip will do. igbo g because it is already flexing. Flexing the other will cause you to lean back unless you compensate.
Thanks for the response. So, I can't have a particular posture with my body with just one part of the core, the coordination of the three part of the core: waist (upper and lower abs) and hips muscles will determine the posture that i will have. "Flexing one hip will do. igbo g because it is already flexing..." What's 'igbo g' means?
Sorry, typing on the phone can be tricky. I was saying that one of the hips is already flexing actively when you are sitting so flexing it more won’t change your position. It won’t move your foot in either direction.
@patriciosepulveda6443 And yes, all 3 elements of the core need to be active to create normal posture. So, if you are sitting upright in a chair, by definition all three elements are active.
I suffer from medial right knee pain when I sleep, and I’ve noticed that my right tibia is more turned out relative to my left, but this isn’t usually an issue when standing. Is there a certain core technique behind sleeping posture? After all one of the tenets is there is movement in stillness, so cld sleeping itself have some technique.
I don’t think there is anything that applies to sleeping. All the principles relate to balancing the body on one or two legs, even when standing still. If we are not dealing with gravity and balance, the principles don’t apply.
Very insightful education. Just to be clearer; in the sitting position, when you flex the left leg, you tuck your right lower waist. Then your left upper waist rotates towards the right. This seems to be a concordant cross crawl action of the core. What core action is involved when in the forward bend or squat position? Thanks sir.
You are correct on the core movements. It is concordant rotation. I would call that cross crawl though. It is the opposite of cross crawl but you have the right idea. When you ask about bending forward do you mean while seated, as I show in the video, or when standing? Bending forward in the seat uses forward rotation on both sides of the upper waist at the same time. Bending over in preparation to sit down (pushing your hips back) is the Core Technique of Reach Back, and the a full squat is followed by Set. I will be posting the video on the Core Techniques for getting up and sitting down to the Members Perks Playlist tomorrow.
Just found this video and SO helpful in linking how I sit to how I walk. I naturally sit more rotated to the right however as this position has started causing me neck pain on the left i have to do the opposite and root more through the left side with a flexed right hip. Thank you so much for these very helpful videos Todd.
You are so welcome! I am glad you found it helpful.
@@ToddMartinMD Hi Todd I was playing with the above concept of proper seated posture when driving my car which incidentally, is usually when I experience left neck discomfort. I would be so grateful if you can explain the movement of the Core when turning or looking left e.g. if my left hip is actively flexed and I have active rotation of my upper core to the right and my lower abs to the right so I am rooted on my right sit bone. To look or turn left whilst seated, would I just reverse the pattern ie actively counter rotate my upper and lower waist to the left so I would then have an actively flexed right leg? If you can explain that would be fabulous. Thank you
@@shafra4337 Great question. Keep in mind, when we move away from the fundamental movement patterns, there is a lot of variability we can put into movement. Also, we do move our neck isolated from the rest of the body when we want to do something like turn the head to look in a different direction. However, it is best done in sync with the core. From the position you are talking about, part of looing to the left would be to change the upper waist rotation from right to left. This would be the Core Technique of Set and begin to shift your weight slightly forward on the right side. That would be accompanied by adding a turn of your neck to the left. If you are trying to look behind you, you would also add a twist from the upper back, meaning pulling the left shoulder blade back. You would get an even bigger turn by extending the left hip, which would be the Core Technique of Reach, combined with the twist of the upper torso. This would make you lean slightly forward (as you would before standing up) while twisting the upper torso to the left and turning the head to the left.
thanks a lot, Todd, it seems unbelievable how many interacting physical parts and muscels play a role "only" when sitting ... we've developped that far from our natural design ... ! Regards from Bavaria / Germany
Very welcome. The complexity of human movement isn't surprising when you realize we are the only surviving species that has evolved bipedal locomotion. That demonstrates how complex it is.
Love your video
Thanks
Can you do a video about head movements utilized during a gait? For some reason I’ve been noticing the lack of movement in my head. Thank you in advance!
Your head shouldn’t be moving unless you are looking around at stuff. The head should pretty much be level and facing in the same direction as your spine unless you are looking around and disconnecting it intentionally. I don’t think there would be much to say in a video.
@@ToddMartinMD I get what you are saying. Personally, I’ve seen people walk with more of a side to side head sway or a up and down motion. That’s why I was a bit concerned if my lack of head movement is normal.
Sounds like you are doing it right. There should not be any significant side to side or up and down movement.
@@ToddMartinMD Very interesting topic! My husband observed a while back that my head jiggles a little when walking however since watching your videos and putting more focus on rooting my left heel the jiggle has disappeared!😘
Thank you 🙏🏼
You’re welcome 😊
excellent!
Thanks!
I think that is the same principe for standing and sitting but it's not. First, I think that I need to tuck my pelvis with lower abs and on same side activate upper abs by rotation but it' not.
Since I been practicing forefoot walking Todd just after 6 weeks not only has it fixed any problems I’ve had my strength and balance has all come back to life and gone through the roof the core self corrects posture and automatically works when ever it needs to in any movement. My brain does it all on it’s own no thinking! it’s remarkable ..
I am glad you think it has helped, although that doesn't mean that is the correct way to walk. People who try to get into forefoot walking clearly are not doing heel strike the correct way, which is why they have problems. It's fine for people to do whatever they need to if that helps get them out of pain. My issue is the incorrect assumption that heel strike itself is the problem and that everyone in the world is walking incorrectly. That is misinformation.
@@ToddMartinMD just like my core works itself walking is no different! Any animal on earth doesn’t move forward lifting throwing itself forward swinging weight landing on front of mass they all grip pull out the ground through traction holding every bit of weight through perfect muscle control ..
try it push in forefoot grip pull yourself and once that legs behind you it will fire and land in its natural position under body weight perfectly. Natures time intelligent we are not in charge its the proper gait
@@ToddMartinMD my feet and muscles are becoming so spring loaded the heel doesn’t even want to touch the ground. Watch some really good athletes walk you will see the movement it’s pretty much what you see in kids up until early teens and big heel shoes start coming in
@@ToddMartinMD take the shoes off try it’s barefoot. No lifting just push in forefoot pull yourself forward until it’s being body weight and don’t lift it to next step just pull it till it lifts it all talks to each other then it will spring underneath you and land perfect in position to carry your weight.
That’s the only study you will ever need your body will prove it 😃
@@ToddMartinMD I think you’re so good at moving and controlling your body especially through dance and Thai chi that you can control it all in a heel strike form where most people just trying to move around wouldnt and get a lot of issues. Where as now I just move in that way and it’s all controlled carried weight perfectly through itself and muscle control no concious thought
Hi doc what do you mean by flex the hip?
You can think of it as hinging the hip at the joint in the groin area. It can be difficult to get the correct intention for this because the leg is on the ground.
Doctor what should be the position of the laptop screen
You our elbows should be parallel to the ground with straight wrists as much as possible. With a laptop, this means you may need to gaze down with your eye. Try not to pitch the neck down.
Thanks
Hi Todd, i have two questions related to this video:
1) If one extends the hip muscle then the body tilts forward and the pelvis tilts forward, is this true? I want to take note of the above so I can differentiate from hip flexion and hip extension which I find difficult to perform. I think when I am sitting, I am extending the hip rather than flexing the hip.
2) When one flexes the hip muscle, say on the right side, while sitting, does the heel of the right foot come up while the front of the foot stays on the ground?
Greetings, thank you very much for your videos.
Thanks for the question. Hip extension either moves the thigh backward relative to the front of the body or tilts the pelvis backward if the leg is fixed to the ground. I think it is the opposite of what you said. Keep in mind that if we are standing up, you can’t isolate the hip extension. Your waist muscles are also going to determine what happens. For example, when people walk leaning forward it is because they are extending from the glutes. However what is really happening is the glutes are pitching the body backward and the upper waist is compensating by leaning forward. The lean from the upper waist forward and the backward movement from the hip extension results in a net slight forward lean. It is a bit complicated. Your second question is harder to answer in a helpful way because you also aren’t going to isolate the hip flexion when you sit down. Flexing one hip will do. igbo g because it is already flexing. Flexing the other will cause you to lean back unless you compensate.
Thanks for the response. So, I can't have a particular posture with my body with just one part of the core, the coordination of the three part of the core: waist (upper and lower abs) and hips muscles will determine the posture that i will have.
"Flexing one hip will do. igbo g because it is already flexing..."
What's 'igbo g' means?
Sorry, typing on the phone can be tricky. I was saying that one of the hips is already flexing actively when you are sitting so flexing it more won’t change your position. It won’t move your foot in either direction.
@patriciosepulveda6443 And yes, all 3 elements of the core need to be active to create normal posture. So, if you are sitting upright in a chair, by definition all three elements are active.
I suffer from medial right knee pain when I sleep, and I’ve noticed that my right tibia is more turned out relative to my left, but this isn’t usually an issue when standing. Is there a certain core technique behind sleeping posture? After all one of the tenets is there is movement in stillness, so cld sleeping itself have some technique.
I don’t think there is anything that applies to sleeping. All the principles relate to balancing the body on one or two legs, even when standing still. If we are not dealing with gravity and balance, the principles don’t apply.
Very insightful education. Just to be clearer; in the sitting position, when you flex the left leg, you tuck your right lower waist. Then your left upper waist rotates towards the right. This seems to be a concordant cross crawl action of the core.
What core action is involved when in the forward bend or squat position?
Thanks sir.
You are correct on the core movements. It is concordant rotation. I would call that cross crawl though. It is the opposite of cross crawl but you have the right idea. When you ask about bending forward do you mean while seated, as I show in the video, or when standing? Bending forward in the seat uses forward rotation on both sides of the upper waist at the same time. Bending over in preparation to sit down (pushing your hips back) is the Core Technique of Reach Back, and the a full squat is followed by Set. I will be posting the video on the Core Techniques for getting up and sitting down to the Members Perks Playlist tomorrow.
What about sitting cris cross applesauce most of the day?
I haven't analyzed the Core Techniques of that position, but it is certainly one that is good for working the core and posture.