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Part I Summer/Fall 2009 Correcting Rotations

Rotations are more often than not systemic. The muscles involved tend to be on the diagonal from one another until you get into deeper layers and then they can switch to a line of force and the opposite diagonal for a correction or two.

When I work with rotations, I usually start with four muscles: the low traps, the psoas’, the serratus’ anterior, and the gluteus maximus’ to see what is strong and what is switching off. I definitely check triads. See my DVD Reactive Triads or ask someone who has.

Muscles must appropriately switch on to improve alignment- notice, when you activate a muscle, whether alignment improves or worsens. Work with the muscles toward improvement.

For example: imagine in the prone position one glut is rotated toward the ceiling. Having the person press down on one serratus anterior brings better alignment, the other worse. Testing the low trapezius in the prone position, one brings better alignment, the other worse. Activating the opposite psoas to the raised glut should bring better alignment. The three muscles that bring better alignment to the glut maximus in question, are the muscles you will be working with- at least at first, in the pattern of reactive pairs and triads. There will most likely come a time within this process where you will find that the opposite muscle pattern is suddenly switching off, for a correction or two, and then reverts back to the original offending pattern - as your work brings you closer and closer to deep muscles close to the skeleton.

After working with the original problem muscle patterns adequately, sometimes a lot of work, sometimes none or not much, you will move to the skeletal erectors in conjunction with these four muscles and the low abdominals. Start with checking the four above indicated muscles against the cervicals, then the thoracics, then lumbar, stimulate the sacrum. Correct as you go, working out those small spinal muscles that are switching off the muscles you’re working with.

After making all corrections necessary, go back to what didn’t originally switch off even thought you expected it to when you initially activated the various erectors or the initial patterns and see if they switch off now. This is important. The ones that show up the second time around and that you then correct are the very ones that otherwise draw the body back into misalignment after the person gets off your table.

Don’t get caught in thinking “ I already corrected that.” or “I already tested that and it worked, even though I thought it wasn’t going to.” The patterns that chronically switch off in response to changes in body posture are the very ones that you need to chronically check back with to make sure they are still switching on to make sure they will switch on no matter what the alignment.

Good luck, any questions feel free to give me a call.
Ann

Tip of the season:

Recheck key patterns throughout the session. Just because you corrected a key pattern once during a session doesn’t mean other work you’ve done during the session to improve skeletal alignment isn’t effecting it – notably exposing new muscle fibers that aren’t activating and, hence, that muscle that was working a moment ago may be switching off again in that pattern you corrected earlier. You need to recheck, especially when the skeletal alignment reverts in response to something you just corrected and if a muscle that was relaxed is now tight again. This creates real staying power from a session.

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