The five main muscles of movement, with your Base-Line at the core, provide the central framework for the body to work as it should: Flexible and balanced, free of tension and pain.
You need to know where these muscles are on your body, not all the anatomical names. So look at the pictures and find these muscles on your body.
Pelvic floor, rectus abdominis, gluteus maximus, rectus femoris & trapezius muscles.
Links to 'anatomy in detail' pages:
5. trapezius
Links to the 'keeping it simple' sections can be found on the anatomy index page:
Learning to use your body better involves connecting with your main muscles of movement.
Work with your main muscles of movement in 3 (over-lapping) stages:
Pelvic floor 'Base', rectus abdominis 'Line'.
Think of your Base-Line muscles as your body's core pillar of strength, from where all movement should originate.
The gluteus maximus muscles link the legs to Base-Line support.
The rectus femoris muscles align hip and knee joints.
The trapezius muscles connect the head and arms to Base-Line support and are responsible for aligning the upper body.
Keep looking at the pictures.
Find these 5 muscles on your body and try to activate them.
Move around, find positions that make it easier for you.
Feeling for balance between left and right sides.
Active focus on the right muscles increases body awareness, enhancing the body-mind connection.
It takes concentration, and practice, to activate muscles if you are not used to using them. Building this connection between body and mind.
Give your brain time to figure out where to send the messages. It may make mistakes along the way (activating wrong areas of muscles), or it might feel nothing seems to be happening, but keep trying.
Relax, take a few deep breaths and think of your midline extending as you breathe with your Base-Line. Move as feels natural.
At some point, the messages will get through to the right destination. From then on, it becomes easier to find the connection again.
By working with the 5 main muscles of movement you can feel how to improve your posture through movement.
Finding your body's Base-Line will increase your body-awareness - allowing you to experience your sense of proprioception on a conscious level.
What if I don't use my
main muscles of movement?