Did you know that we all have something called a kyphotic curve?
Our spine has a series of natural “front-to-back” curves which can either be categorized as “lordotic” (where the vertebral column is shifted forward in space, creating a concave curve of the spine) or “kyphotic” (where the vertebral column is shifted back in space, creating a convex curve of the spine).
Our primary kyphotic curve exists in our thoracic spine - which you can think of as the portion of the spine that articulates with your ribs / rib cage.
Let me be clear, the shape of each of our spines can vary, sometimes dramatically - but for the most part, we all have a kyphotic curve in this portion of our spine. It’s natural. Your thoracic vertebrae enjoy this orientation, they are designed for it. AND, in many of our modern era bodies this curve can become overly-exaggerated and “stuck”.
If you look around at your fellow humans, you're likely to see us inhabiting a series of shapes that accentuate our kyphotic curves.
You can imagine that these postures send us deeper into movement patterns that create soft tissue tension and can ultimately make us feel stuck here: feeling like we are rounded in the shoulders, like our chests are curling inward, and like we are creating a protective little cave for our heartspace and lungs.
Because for so many of us this inward orientation - this over accentuation of kyphotic directionality - has become the status quo, it can be very liberating and therapeutic to explore movements that remind us of our capacity to find more openness and extension - not only in the thoracic spine but in the ribs, chest, lung space, and heartspace as well.
Reminding the body that it doesn’t have to always be in a rounded forward position with the thoracic spine can:
Open up new postural patterns and new options for movement;
Signal to the nervous system that your body can move and breathe and exist outside of its primal “protective” pattern;
Help improve efficiency of breathing and distribution of oxygen to the rest of the body;
And, from my personal experience, it can feel downright wonderful.
So here's a video demonstration of a wonderful, gentle posture and paired breath exploration to introduce you to your kyphotic curve.
What you'll need for this movement exploration:
Access to the floor or a firm surface to lay down on (can use a yoga mat or blanket for padding, but the surface itself should be firm)
A bath towel (larger is better) or yoga blanket
[optional] A smaller hand towel or washcloth (for cushioning the head)
Movement exploration like the exercise above is powerful medicine for exploring more possibilities with your posture and access to breath. Structural bodywork like Rolfing® can also be hugely impactful for relieving tension patterns that keep you stuck in a kyphotic curve. If you’re curious about exploring Rolfing to develop a deeper connection with spinal dynamics and create more adaptability in your body, please feel free to reach out to chat about how this might look for you.