Movement:
Simplicity of Change

In the summer of ‘95 I became a senior practitioner in Ortho-Bionomy® which is about 1,100 hours of training since ‘87. When I look back over the years of training in this method of health care, I have discovered an enormous amount of change. Since the first beginning basic class to the last week-long intensive with the founder of Ortho-Bionomy®, Dr. Arthur Lincoln Pauls, DO., a simple understanding of movement came to me, which had not been easy to understand until ten years ago. 

From studying the basics in Ortho-Bionomy®, to intermediate, to the advanced work and everything in between, I started to discover the simplicity of movement and of the change that comes with it. One question that is always, lingering in my mind, is change that simple? Yes, very much so, but a person has to work for it, to make it happen.

It was not until I had my first advance workshop with Dr. Pauls that a phrase was said, which I have heard in other classes taught by other instructors. In his class, it finally came to an understanding. Through the entire weekend of lecture, advanced technique, and listening whole heartedly "and trying hard to understand Arthurs' advanced work" he said, "A State of Organized Dysfunction" finally came to an understanding and stuck in my mind ever since.

This state, he said, is how most of us move around in our bodies throughout the day. People have gotten used to this type of movement so much in their work place, at home, wherever it is they are at. It is hard for them to recognize how to get out of it, unless somebody comes along and shows them. Something which we call muscles in the body got used to it, and suffers from it throughout the day. You are doing so much repetitive motion which is keeping you in pain. You do not realize it.

Right now with personal comprehension--I am sitting here typing on this keyboard looking at the monitor--I am finding my shoulders tightened up, my back drooping, and I am slouching into the chair. Since I do not have a big desk, my arms and elbows are not raised on it. I do have arm rests on the chair but I am not using them. I ask myself, " is there a reason for this? Is there something I can possibly do to stop this?" Yes!

I am going to stop and take a few minutes to look around and see what it is I am doing that creates this tightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . I'm back, and not to my surprise the desk that the computer is on is a little too high. This might indicate that the chair is to low or the desk is too high. Also, the monitor that I am viewing is a little too low. This allows my head to angle down a bit and this creates tension in the back of my neck. The slouching creates tension in my whole back and also elevates my shoulders; this could mean that the chair might be the wrong size. So what do I do?

If this were you, where does the simplicity of change come into view on what you might need to do if this is in your office. Tell the boss that the desk is too high and needs to be lowered, or the inexpensive chair that you are sitting on is possibly too low. Maybe for the time being you can make some simple changes by using a pillow on the chair to sit on to raise up a little, so your shoulders will not tighten up. Then raise the monitor just a little by blocking it or doing something so your head will not angle down and make you neck stiff. 

I have turned some of this into questions. I have asked clients if they are having problems with their neck and shoulders. Look around your workplace or at home, and notice how you sit at your desk. Try some simple changes. Move some items around and see if that will make changes for the better with the problems you are 
having. 

Raise the chair, lower the desk if you can, raise the monitor, move the mouse to a different location, and above all put a smile on your face. You will not know what the problem is I until you move some things around and see if there are any changes that improve things. Simple isn't it? Yes it is. 

These are just the basic principles taught in Ortho-Bionomy® that help a person to move a little easier, and to think about how he or she is actually moving around in a day. The simplicity of making changes in one's life is to bring about organized function. Asking the boss to get a better desk or a chair at the office is another step away from pain. In simple terms, make simple changes in your life because you are tired of something like neck and shoulder tension . . . HOW DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE THIS? SIMPLY JUST DO IT!

Here are some simple movements to help you with eliminating tension in your back, neck and shoulders. The principles will remain the same from movement to movement.

These principles include: (1) You always want to move to the point of comfort. As soon as you feel pain or strain or tightness, back off ever so slightly so that you are in comfort again. (2) According to the principles of Ortho-Bionomy®, for any area of the body that you are going to work on, you should first do the movement in one direction and notice how it feels to you, then move in the opposite direction and notice how it feels. Then you should always begin doing 
the set of movements in the more comfortable of the two directions (in whichever direction you feel less pain, less resistance, less strain, etc.). (3) After doing sets of movements in one direction followed by the opposite direction, you will do two complete movements-- a smooth, continuous motion in both directions. These two complete movements help integrate the work that you've done, showing the body that it now has a wider range of motion, and allowing the body to find a balance.

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This page was last updated:  June, 2004