Mindful understanding of the purpose and location before beginning conditioning, rather than conditioning indiscriminately, is crucial. By understanding the body's structure, one gains insight into the internal workings, thus comprehending the significance of conditioning
Creating a Body Image
Begin by touching and visualizing the points of the body using the following steps:
Confirm the location of the bones and muscles with illustrations and touch.
Be conscious of the size, position, and shape of bones and muscles while touching them from various angles to sense daily conditioning changes.
Mastering the touch of bones and muscles enhances the understanding of body care and condition assessment.
Understanding the Body Structure
• How Muscles Function:
• Muscle function is simple; they contract or relax, pulling the skeleton by attaching to bones, thereby facilitating body movement. Various muscle shapes exist depending on the body part. Our ability to move freely relies on multiple muscles coordinating to stretch and contract according to movement requirements.
• Function of Bones:
• Forms the foundation of human body movement. There are five different shapes.
• What Are Joints?
Joints are determined by the shape of the bones that make up the joint and ligaments that restrict movement, each with different shapes and limitations in movement direction and range.
The junction between bones.
Enables bending and stretching of the body.
Let's practice self-care for the lower back while visualizing the body image.
Simple Self-Care for Relieving Lower Back with Erector Spinae
• What is the Erector Spinae?
• It is a collection of long and numerous muscles connecting the head, back, and pelvis. You can feel it by placing your hand on the back near the spine around the waist (you can see the erector spinae developed from the waist to the neck on the back of swimmers, for example).
It has the function of stretching the neck, back, and lower back. When these muscles tighten, symptoms such as inability to arch the back and lower back or back pain may occur. When leaning forward, the erector spinae works to prevent the body from leaning forward. Prolonged posture like this accumulates fatigue in the erector spinae, making it prone to lower back pain and other discomforts.
• Points for Checking the Erector Spinae:
• Check the following movements when leaning sideways:
Ease of leaning the body sideways.
Presence of lower back pain.
Can the waist be smoothly rotated?
Presence of left-right movement difference.
If there are troubles with the erector spinae, movements of the lower back and back become stiff, and people with poor posture where the lower back and back are rounded should be cautious.
• Care for the Erector Spinae:
• Hold the erector spinae with your hands and slowly bend the body 10 times to the left and right.
• How to Touch the Erector Spinae:
• Place your thumb horizontally between the ribs and the waist bone, touching the muscles from the waist to the back, gathering the muscles of the back to the spine. Since the erector spinae is a large muscle, condition it by shifting the position of your fingers little by little while dividing it into several places.
• Sensing Relaxation:
• Sensation of relaxed muscles.
• Warm and comfortable feeling.
• Checking the Effects:
• Has the ease of leaning improved?
• Has lower back pain decreased?
If such discomfort is alleviated by conditioning, it is highly likely that the erector spinae was tense. People who often stand or sit should pay attention as these muscles are prone to tension.