Moshe Feldenkrais made a distinction between posture and a term he called acture. My understanding was that he considered a posture a static idea that implied a fixed position of the skeletal structure. Acture implied a global active positioning of the skeleton in response to the environment. I have tended not to use acture as it is a term not accepted in popular culture but one's adaptation to the environment I feel is an important concept. I have relatively poor acture and posture. However the popular belief that it can be changed easily seems to me vastly overstated. My posture is a reflection of how I interact and perceive others.
It took a long time for to recognize that I do not really perceive the left half of other peoples faces. At the start I tended to dismiss it. I must have seen it because I know it's there kind of feel. Almost like knowing the top of a glass is a circle when viewed obliquely. In my attempts to draw the glass I draw the circle for the top of the glass instead of the ellipse that I actually see. My knowledge of what is trumps my ability to see/feel. I am sort of like the proverbial one eyed cur reacting negatively to approaches in it's blind spot but friendly in where it can see. My posture/acture is a reflection of my perception. I pull back on my left side and offer the right. Shield arm and sword. I am defensive in posture and acture. How can I change that by exercise or verbal cues? I believe exercise is generally good and there can be improvements by proper strengthening regimes but they do not alter my perception and therefore my interaction with my environment. My posture/acture habits are so ingrained that they are overlay-ed instead of changed.
No comments:
Post a Comment