The Internal Power Training Blog

Check out the latest info and research from Coach Chris' explorations in the Subject of Internal
Power.

Smoothing out the Lumbar Curve

on November 18, 2015 in Alignment, Body Training, Connection, Fascia by Chris
The practice of eliminating the lumbar curve is a common requirement for practitioners of the
internal arts. The reason it is of such interest to the internal artist is that it aids in the
production of whole body power by De-segmenting the upper and lower halves of the body.

This straightening of the spine with the direction of force is something that we actually do
naturally when the loads are heavy enough. To illustrate this point, think of when we push a car,
we do not exaggerate the lumbar curve but flatten it out to drive power from the legs to the
hands.
There are many ideas on how to actually make the lumbar flatten out and each style has its
particular set of training methods to achieve this body goal. Some styles will focus on tucking
the cocyx, or pointing it to the floor, or tilting the pelvis, opening the back but some will simply
use relaxation.

Perhaps the greatest hurdle to overcome when we are trying to flatten the back is a tight Psoas
muscle. One of the key muscles of the lower torso that is very closely related to the connection
of the upper and lower halves and our ability to gain whole body connected power.

The idea of physically tucking the pelvis by tightening the abdomen, buttocks and hamstrings,
however, can actually compound the problem of a tight psoas. The tensioning of the front
muscular chains pulls on the Psoas activating it in order to stabilise the pelvis. This additional
tension in the system inhibits our ability to move smoothly and with consolidation.

How do we get around this? Well, the traditional method is to 'relax' the buttocks, abdominals
etc and let the pelvis naturally hang like a weight on a string. This will achieve the stretch in the
Psoas without making it engage to stabilize or counter act the tensions elsewhere. This method
is where we get the term ‘ suspending from the crown’ and is found all over the internal arts.

Once this training has yielded proper alignment over time and the Psoas has relaxed into proper
function becoming more flexible, the smoothing of the lumbar curve becomes a habit of the
conditioned body rather than a conscious effort.