So, I saw some pictures of myself playing drums from our last show, and I realize I look like some hunchbacked ogre beating my kit with a look of overly possessive lustful anger. And the latter is fine (makes for a good performance), but the former is horrible. My posture – atrocious! Not only does it look bad, it actually makes it more difficult to play the drums.
And then I began noticing I slump over in most situations: At my desk, riding on the train, even walking around. And, if I catch my reflection, this is most certainly not the way to bring FABULOUS into people's lives.
So, I'm working on my posture, trying to remind myself to sit and stand as if a thread were pulling at the nape of my neck. And I realized two things:
1) It's making my back muscles sore, so I think I'm doing something right.
2) It's directly affecting my attitude. It seems as if posture is directly linked to my Second Circuit, and I feel more confident, in control, and less complacent. I'm simply feeling better about myself, in a way that I hadn't noticed that I wasn't feeling good about myself before. I understand and know how the brain responds to the body just as much as the body responds to the brain, it's just that in this case, the feedback is pretty immediate and, in a way, startling.
Now if only my back would stop hurting.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:09:49 PM
So, I saw some pictures of myself playing drums from our last show, and I realize I look like some hunchbacked ogre beating my kit with a look of overly possessive lustful anger.
This is bad?
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:09:49 PM
And the latter is fine (makes for a good performance), but the former it horrible. My posture – atrocious! Not only does it look bad, it actually makes it more difficult to play the drums.
But easier to stalk your prey.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:09:49 PM
And then I began noticing I slump over in most situations: At my desk, riding on the train, even walking around. And, if I catch my reflection, this is most certainly not the way to bring FABULOUS into people's lives.
This is correct. It is also an invitation to be shat on in the workplace. Or any place.
Sorry about the above two responses, I was misunderstanding the problem.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:09:49 PM
2) It's directly affecting my attitude. It seems as if posture is directly linked to my Second Circuit, and I feel more confident, in control, and less complacent. I'm simply feeling better about myself, in a way that I hadn't noticed that I wasn't feeling good about myself before. I understand and know how the brain responds to the body just as much as the body responds to the brain, it's just that in this case, the feedback is pretty immediate and, in a way, startling.
This is actually a fairly well-understood phenomenon. I can dig up some shit about it, if you'd like.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:09:49 PM
Now if only my back would stop hurting.
It will, when you've gotten used to the new posture.
It's one of those situations where "you have to go and look" -- I've read about it since... well, since I first read RAW, and I get a lot of the biology/neurology behind it (for a given value of "get"), but to have such an immediate result, that's what's surprising, and it leads to a much better understanding of what's going on.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:18:15 PM
It's one of those situations where "you have to go and look" -- I've read about it since... well, since I first read RAW, and I get a lot of the biology/neurology behind it (for a given value of "get"), but to have such an immediate result, that's what's surprising, and it leads to a much better understanding of what's going on.
Smiling when you're upset has an immediate effect as well.
I have noticed slouching in my own posture! I have been trying to work on it but so far the only improvement I'm seeing is I catch myself slouching more often.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:09:49 PM
Now if only my back would stop hurting.
Get Mrs. LMNO to rub it for you. This can lead to moar fun stuff.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on September 07, 2012, 08:18:59 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:18:15 PM
It's one of those situations where "you have to go and look" -- I've read about it since... well, since I first read RAW, and I get a lot of the biology/neurology behind it (for a given value of "get"), but to have such an immediate result, that's what's surprising, and it leads to a much better understanding of what's going on.
Smiling when you're upset has an immediate effect as well.
It's weird, I knew/know about the smiling thing, too. And I've done it. It's like I have to keep reminding myself to do things that will make me feel better. And I forget really quickly.
Quote from: Luna on September 07, 2012, 08:27:26 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:09:49 PM
Now if only my back would stop hurting.
Get Mrs. LMNO to rub it for you. This can lead to moar fun stuff.
If by "fun" you mean "start making dreadlocks on my back", well, sure.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:28:56 PM
Quote from: Luna on September 07, 2012, 08:27:26 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:09:49 PM
Now if only my back would stop hurting.
Get Mrs. LMNO to rub it for you. This can lead to moar fun stuff.
If by "fun" you mean "start making dreadlocks on my back", well, sure.
Eh, that can be worked around. Beat the small animals out of the pelt with a stick before starting.
I thought you were doing the drum slouch intentionally.
Nope. I seem to assume that shape when focusing intently on not fucking up the beat.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:28:20 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on September 07, 2012, 08:18:59 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on September 07, 2012, 08:18:15 PM
It's one of those situations where "you have to go and look" -- I've read about it since... well, since I first read RAW, and I get a lot of the biology/neurology behind it (for a given value of "get"), but to have such an immediate result, that's what's surprising, and it leads to a much better understanding of what's going on.
Smiling when you're upset has an immediate effect as well.
It's weird, I knew/know about the smiling thing, too. And I've done it. It's like I have to keep reminding myself to do things that will make me feel better. And I forget really quickly.
It can be useful to build a ritual (no not THAT kind of ritual) around the behaviors and states you wish to change. I get exceptional amounts of exercise through my job now, but I used to go to the YMCA like clockwork when I lived back in Racine.
The ritual part had a little to do with how I prepped, dressed, and exercised, but the most effective part was a conscious building of association afterward while the endorphin levels were nice and high.
After an hour or so of moderate to heavy cardio followed by a stint in the sauna or hot tub I would always take the same rout out of the building and consciously focus on nothing but the feeling of breath, the grin on my face, and rubbing my index finger and thumb on my right hand together while my arm was hanging at my side. With enough repetition the associations have become almost permanent. A little moment to stop and grin, and rub those fingers together, can immediately slow my heart rate (tested this with science) and loosen my muscles. I also smile reflexively. It took about 2 years to build this trigger, but It's been well worth it.
Sort of related to this topic:
The Russian chess team do masses of endurance training, long-distance running, rock-climbing, hikes etc as part of their regimen for chess tournaments.
Why bother, when chess is a game that is played sitting down?
Well, because the Russian chess team believes, and probably has the data to prove it, that improving overall health, posture, endurance etc makes better, more creative and ultimately much harder to defeat players. The physical condition feeds into their mental condition.
An element of it is the length of chess matches, where being able to go hours without eating and not getting tired is a definite advantage. But it's more than just that. Being physically healthier allows them to concentrate on the game to the fullest of their ability - they are ultimately using fleshy bits to do their thinking, (lets not get mired in Cartesian dualism), so ensuring all those fleshy bits are healthy and in good working order benefits their game immensely.
Quote from: Cain on September 07, 2012, 08:53:53 PM
Well, because the Russian chess team believes, and probably has the data to prove it, that improving overall health, posture, endurance etc makes better, more creative and ultimately much harder to defeat players. The physical condition feeds into their mental condition.
I would back this up from my own experience. It has been fundamental to learning to function with bi-polar disorder. I think this incidentally has much to do with "spiritual" states and the prep work that often goes into them. Learning to monitor, control and ultimately master the inner and outer states of one's being is partially aided by learning bio-feedback like techniques.
Lmno- your posture when playing drums may be due to another trigger. I notice that you dont usually wear your glasses when you play. Since people usually look more closely at something theyre trying to concentrate on your diminished vision might be causing you to slouch more. Perhaps contact lenses will also correct the slouching? I have a habit of looking at my fretboard too much myself- i have to make a conscious decision to look out into the crowd but when we do stare at the sun thats almost impossible. Its the one song where i sing and play guitar at the same time so i have to look at frets in order to do it even if my fingers already know where to go.
Interesting stuff, guys!
It is. I'm going to try and be more cognizant of what my body is doing so that it has beneficial effects on my mental state.
Get into the deadlifts son.
I feel like I'm walking around with a back brace 24/7.
Quote from: Chaser on September 08, 2012, 06:49:23 AM
Get into the deadlifts son.
I feel like I'm walking around with a back brace 24/7.
I prefer getting into "power of life and death over a bunch of people". It's like working out, only you do it with your lower GI tract.
Fortunately for my employees, I am a nice guy who has their best interests at heart. As long as they leave me alone while I'm sleeping in my office.
I've been learning Chi Gong a little bit here and there from the folks at my dojo. I am in no way any kind of expert, but some of the waking up of the body techniques are quite interesting.
There's simple hand and body rubbing. This improves circulation a bit and if you are focusing on the feeling gives you the sense of your whole body. this warm up bit has an interesting piece where you just kind of make "funny faces" rolling your eyes and just generally doing random stuff to activate the nerves of the face and stretch the muscles. It looks weird as hell, but definitely puts a slight alteration on the consciousness. You can do this while washing your body in the shower, the hot water does the job marvelously. The real key seems to be consciously focusing your attention on the sensation and feedback from the body.
The chi cultivation and balancing exercises can really jazz you up or instil a sense of calm, both sometimes. I get a feeling of high energy, but smooth and controlled attention. I'm personally not entirely sure that the chi-force and energy body are scientific fact, but the cause and effect of the exercises certainly is there for me subjectively.
As a side note one of the guys once hit me with an "elemental strike" and the difference was hard to credit. He struck with a cupped "C" shaped hand to my collar bone in a lazy and slow motion, but when it made impact it felt like I had been kicked by a goddamn mule! When I get a bit more time I'll give a description of a Russian martial art called "Systema." It seems more scientific, but is definitely a weird science and fighting philosophy.
I've always rocked the good posture and I think that it has a beneficial effect not only on my overall health and musculature, but on how people treat me. It's all about being short and always trying to look as tall as possible, I think. :lol:
When my belly heals I'm planning on starting in trail running and swimming again. Swimming, in particular, really gives me an all-over sense of strength and well-being.
I'm marking this whole thread as psychosomatics for later search capacity.
LMNO: I've got a similar situation with guitar playing. I have a tendency to tense up my arms and shoulders while concentrating, hunching up a bit. Which makes me slow down and play worse, not better. The best playing I've ever done is when I've been comfortable and completely relaxed.
Mang' Institute of Soft Tissue Dysfunction says (that is, paraphrasing someone else)
"If you're trying to have good posture, you don't have it."
Here's some useful book recommendations:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Owners-Guide-Body-Perfectly/dp/0722537379/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1347490143&sr=8-2&keywords=roger+golten
or
http://www.amazon.com/Bodywise-Introduction-Hellerwork-Flexibility-Well-Being/dp/155643524X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347490267&sr=1-1&keywords=bodywise
I developed horrible posture years ago from walking around with my head down, hands in my pockets with rounded shoulders. The hours I spent on the guitar didn't help either. Still, I didn't start getting any troubles until I started to work in an office, then I discovered what an ergonomic nightmare many workplaces are.
I went to a Hellerworker (a derivation of Rolfing) for some very intense deep tissue work on my back, neck & shoulders. It hurt. A lot. Sometimes, it felt like someone was pulling hot wire though my neck. However, afterwards, I found that I didn't need to 'try and be upright', I just was and that had a correspondingly powerful affect on my attitude and mental well-being.
If your posture sucks, get educated about it (see above resources), find someone to work on it if possible and take up some movement activity that is balanced and doesn't encourage postural or movement bias. Tai-chi, yoga, some martial arts will do this.