"Man is the only animal," says Sir William Turner, "with a vertical
spine." The bird stands upon two feet but the spine is not vertical.
Strictly speaking no animal stands erect except man.
The primary aim of all true exercise for the improvement of health and
the prolonging of life must affect the erectness of the human body and
the counterpoise curves of the spine. The axis of the spine must be
vertical.
Nearly all the exercises from the very first tend to accomplish this
result. The expansion of the chest, the pivotal flexing of the torso,
the lifting of the feet, the stretching, the co-ordinate action between
the summit of the chest and the balls of the feet, and the exercises in
sitting and standing, all tend to establish this most important
condition.
There must be activity at the summit of the chest. The head and the
chest are the first to give up and sag. We can see that the skeleton has
no bones below the breast bone to support it. The lower ribs are
floating ribs and the other ribs have an angle downward. Everything is
arranged with reference to the expansion of the chest. This is the
central activity in standing properly.
We can see, as has been shown, that man is held up seemingly from above.
Man comes into stable equilibrium only when the body is supported from
the summit of the chest. Levitation opposes gravitation.
It will be observed that the first exercises concern the expansion of
the chest and when the exercises are properly performed, this expansion
of the chest is indirectly sustained through them all.
If we observe a person standing properly, we find that a line dropped
through the centre of the ear will fall through the centre of the
shoulder, the centre of the hip, and the centre of the arch of the foot.
The things that cause bad positions are: the chest inactive, the hips
sinking forward, the head hanging downward or lolling to the side, the
body sinking to the heel, and weak knees; but all of these seem to be
corrected when the chest is properly expanded and elevated.
To stand well, therefore, one should stand upright; the chest well
expanded so as to bring all parts into co-ordination and establish a
true centrality in the body. In a certain sense, there seems to be an
axis of the body by which it rests easily upon one foot while the other
leg and hip are perfectly free. The body is also perfectly free to pivot
and to pass the weight to the other foot.
The recommendation to "stand tall" is more or less helpful, but there
must be some qualification. Stand tall, but not with rigidity or
stiffness. The body must be elastically and sympathetically tall, and
also sympathetically expanded, man must stand as if held up from above
rather than from below, expanded and elevated by feeling and thought
rather than by mere will. The centrality, ease and harmony of the poise
are of more importance than the tallness.
When one stands properly on one foot a spiral line from the top of the
head to the foot is developed. The head inclines slightly toward the
side that bears the weight, the torso slightly inclines in opposition
and the active lower limb takes a slightly opposite inclination. This
line which has been called the line of beauty is very common in nature.
It is found all over the human body.
When the face is animated with joy and gentleness, such spiral curves
appear in all directions. The presence of this line is an element of a
beautiful face and of a graceful body.
The beneficial effects of such a poise are seen at once. The breathing
is free. When a person stands in bad poise there is constriction of the
respiratory muscles so that he is uneasy, he shifts from foot to foot.
But when one stands in stable equilibrium, he stands restfully, easily
and gracefully, and can move in any direction freely. His body also
becomes expressive and acts under the dominion of feeling.