Poise and Presence

Here’s a research project for you….find your sit bones!  Although we assembled in a Worthington Ohio church and were not seated on a boat dock, singers at Capriccio Summer Camp went in search of their bony protuberances (the ishium) of the pelvic bowl, also called ‘rockers’ (yes, you can rock on them).

There they are, the two ‘loops’ you can see descending from the pelvis.  Although our thighs rest on a sitting surface, they are not the gravity bearing structure as when standing.  When seated, gravity is traveling through the head, down the spine, along the pelvis and through the sit bones, into the surface on which you find yourself seated.

As I write this description and think through its implications, my legs are now doing less work and there is more ‘give’ at the hips, always a welcome change since I live with osteoarthritis and have a total hip replacement on my left.

Also, when I allow my sit bones to receive the path of gravity, I find my back muscles do less work as well.  This is always a relief.  Back muscles have work to do, yes, however, we often give them way too much to do.

Let the design of your structure, head on spine, spine meeting pelvis,  rockers beneath pelvis….let this support you, and your muscles will provide the tone and effort needed.  Just enough.