8 exercises to improve posture with RPG

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8 exercises to improve posture with RPG
Through RPG (Global Postural Reeducation) a person can perceive what their postural imbalances are and what exercises allow them to avoid them.
8 exercises to improve posture with RPG

The muscles do not stop working: when breathing, when we stay upright, when walking… They are in constant activity and sometimes in permanent tension.

The RPG or Global Postural Reeducation allows us to become aware of how our body is and reposition it for optimal functioning.

According to the RPG, all muscles are connected and, when one becomes destabilized, tense or contracture, it causes the rest of the muscles, tendons and fascias that form the chain to which that muscle belongs to relocate through imbalances and tensions to counteract the pain.

Thus, an imbalance in the pelvis can be the cause of an apparently shorter leg; a strain on the diaphragm, from low back pain; and sagging buttocks, knee pain.

POSTURAL DIAGNOSIS: HOW TO DETECT AND CORRECT POOR POSTURE?

Two years ago, walking down the street, I sprained my ankle. But I forgot about the incident, and kept walking.

After a few months, I began to feel severe pain in my lower back. First, I attributed it to excessive working hours in front of the computer; then, because I had overdone carrying weight in a recent move; until the pain became unbearable and I turned to an RPG specialist on the recommendation of a friend.

For an hour the therapist thoroughly analyzed my body, my posture, my way of walking, breathing, moving and my particular history of “accidents”. He concluded that my low back pain was the result of a sprained ankle that I had suffered a long time ago!

“How can it be? I asked dumbfounded, “but if it happened months ago… and my ankle doesn’t hurt.”

His explanation was simple and clear: “Our body is a global entity and is connected by muscle chains. The muscles do not work in isolation and, when one suffers trauma, the others adapt and perform compensations to avoid pain.”

When I sprained my ankle, the muscles that are responsible for stabilizing the joint automatically contracted to protect the injured ligaments.

I myself, the therapist explained, unconsciously and to avoid pain I took care of changing the supports on my feet to walk. With this, both the knee and hip modified their position to adapt to the new way of walking.

So did the pelvis, which bent down to maintain balance, thereby favoring tension in the lumbar region. In turn, the rest of the muscles of the back tried to balance this decompensation lumbar with others in different areas of the spine.

After months of juggling and strains in different muscles, my lower back could not hold and contracted sharply to protect themselves.

THE METHOD OF GLOBAL POSTURAL REEDUCATION

The RPG, created in 1981 by Phillipe Souchard, a physiotherapist of French origin, is based on a paradox: the same muscles that keep us upright, at the same time, crush us.

It classifies muscles into two large groups:

  • Dynamic or phasic. They are the ones that make great movements and can be relaxed by factors such as sedentary lifestyle; for example, abs.
  • Static or tonic. Its activity is constant: keep us standing or hold our back. Among them are the spinal spine. The latter group, which makes up 80% of skeletal musculature, tends to contract and shorten frequently. When that happens, there are deviations and, as a consequence, joint compensations. The RPG investigates how static muscles work in order to rectify those that do not work properly.

RPG courses are taught to doctors and physiotherapists: there are six thousand graduates in the world. It is not gymnastics, but a way to harmonize the body and prevent new blockages or ailments.

Postural re-education is performed by stretching those that are shortened, removing excess tone from those who are overloaded or strengthening those who need it.

HOW ARE THE GLOBAL POSTURAL RE-EDUCATION (GPR) SESSIONS?

The RPG allows the patient to become aware of how their body is and how it should be to function properly.

According to José María Llagostera, physiotherapist specializing in RPG, the most important thing is the patient’s awareness of how their body is. “It’s essential to see how you carry your body, and how you would have to carry it so that it works harmoniously.”

The first thread that the therapist pulls to carry out research and therapy is that of pain, which directs him towards the real cause of the ailment. The therapist “reads” which muscles are tense or shortened to decipher the reason for that tension or ailment.

Unlike other treatments and therapies that focus on the painful area, the RPG proposes global – and not local – stretches to balance the body.

Once the therapist has thoroughly studied the body to detect the cause of the pain, he proposes a series of stretching exercises through which he can experience how he feels when his body is in good posture.

When a bad habit is deeply rooted, such as having a crooked head, it is difficult that, when the therapist aligns it, the patient has the feeling that this is the correct posture. There must be a change in the internalized mental pattern, which requires a time of adaptation.

This task, manual and individualized, is not always easy, since the cause is usually overlapped by different muscle compensations. Each person is unique and manifests differently, which is why no two RPG treatments are the same.

The work usually lasts 8 to 10 individual sessions of one hour. Between each of them, specific exercises are performed at home and the new session allows you to check the progress or vary the exercises.

Each one is accompanied by deep breathing, which allows the body to relax and function harmoniously.

BENEFITS OF RPG: ELIMINATE PAIN AND FRUSTRATIONS

According to the WHO, 75% of the world’s population suffers from pathologies derived from muscle pain or discomfort throughout their lives.

The RPG is very effective both to recover body harmony and to solve very diverse situations, from spinal problems (herniated discs, scoliosis, hyperlordosis …) flat feet, numbness in the hands, detached shoulder blades, sunken chest…

Even people who lack 1 or 2 cm in size to oppose a security body can obtain them by aligning their body well with RPG.

The versatility of the RPG allows it to also be beneficial for children, adolescents or the elderly. When a child or adolescent stops practicing a sport or activity because they get tired, perhaps it is because some posture acquired in their daily life (when sitting in front of the computer, sleeping or walking) blocks their energy.

On many occasions, muscular pathologies are the result of stress, anxiety, sedentary lifestyle or misuse of the body, and are accompanied, not only by pain, but also by changes in mood and character. Some contractures, shortening or tension in turn reflect mental attitudes.

Through stretching exercises and deep, conscious breathing, RPG allows you not only to get rid of physical discomfort, but also from the internal discomfort that comes with them.

After the first sessions, the person already begins to notice the effects: not only how his body is freed from pain, but also how the frustrations, complexes and backpacks that it carried, also disappear.

BASIC EXERCISES OF GLOBAL POSTURAL RE-EDUCATION

1. FEEL THE BODY

It involves sitting with the soles of your feet together, facing each other, bending your knees. It stretches its back and neck, as if gently stretching from our head upwards.

You have to breathe about ten times feeling the overall benefit. With the help of the RPG therapist, it is easy to feel how in this posture the posterior muscle chain is stretched.

It is very suitable in scoliosis.

2. STAND AND WALK PROPERLY

THE LOWER BACK

When the lumbar area is very tucked inwards there is a deviation of the spine. To compensate, the upper back area recedes, while the shoulders rotate forward and the cervical and head tilt as well, which brings the gaze to the ground.

This position, very common, causes a blockage in the joints of the knees, which hyperextend backwards (genu recurvatum), as well as poor support of the soles of the feet, which impairs the balance of the body.

The first step to correct a bad posture is to become aware of how we are in it and how the tensions and decompensations it causes in the rest of the body affect us.

The next step is to achieve a good alignment. To do this, you have to literally feel your head on your shoulders and direct your gaze straight ahead. The line marking head and shoulders goes down perpendicularly through the pelvis, hips and knees.

It is important to support your feet well and notice how the abdomen flattens. With the body thus aligned, you breathe about ten times to become aware of the posture and its benefits.

KNEES THAT ARE BENT OR CROOKED

When the knees are tilted inwards in genu valgus there is an imbalance in the pelvis that affects both the hip and the spine, causing tension and blockages in different parts of the body.

It is very common that, when this occurs, the person presents flat feet. The RPG corrects them without templates by realigning legs and knees.

On the other hand, when knees tilted outwards in genu varus (3b) cause decompensation in the pelvis, hip and spine, and in the lower part cause cavus feet.

Correct foot support and gait dynamics

When we are standing, the plants should be well supported on the ground to allow the balance of the body.

The feet should be supported at three points: the first and fifth metatarsals, as well as at a point in the center of the heel.

When walking it is necessary to feel how the sole of each foot rests on the ground, and become aware of pressing the three points mentioned above, as if it were a tripod.

When taking the next step, after raising one foot, you also have to feel how it rests, first in the center of the heel, and then, at the same time, in the first and fifth metatarsal.

3. GLOBAL POSTURAL RE-EDUCATION: THE DANCER

This posture must be coordinated very carefully between the therapist and the patient.

A triangular cushion or other inclined plane is used as support, so that the feet are inclined upwards.

With the knees slightly bent, the torso leans forward while still standing straight.

The therapist helps stretch the posterior muscle chain, from the feet to the nape of the neck.

4. LOOK AHEAD

The iris centered between the eyelids is an excellent indicator of body alignment.

By looking straight ahead, we ensure that the neck, shoulders and spine are well placed.

When the eyes look down, they offer a clear indication that the body is misaligned, so the posture we maintain is not beneficial for the spine and the rest of the body.

Aligning your gaze well is a way to start correcting a bad postural habit.

5. 4 SIMPLE EXERCISES TO CORRECT POSTURE AT HOME

These exercises can be carried out without the help of a therapist.

When performing them, the lumbar, dorsal and cervical area is stretched, as well as the arms, abductors and soles of the feet.

Do not move from one exercise to another if you feel pain.

  1. Lying on your back, bend your legs and rest the soles of your feet on the floor, with your knee’s hips apart. Stretch your arms and turn your palms towards the ceiling. Stretch the back of your neck and pay attention to your lower back touching the ground. Breathe slowly and gently ten times feeling the benefits of this pose.
  2. Bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees open to your sides. Try to keep your abdomen straight and not curve your lumbar, which are still in contact with the ground. Breathe about ten times in this posture.
  3. Next, turn the tips of your feet outwards, making sure that the soles point sideways and not down. Try not to keep your back from moving. In this position he takes ten full breaths.
  4. Stretch your legs and, without taking off the lumbar area of the floor, form a “V” with both feet, joining the heels and with the fingers focused towards the ceiling. If you notice that, when you straighten your knees, your back arches, keep them slightly bent. Breathe ten times in that position.

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