I recently started doing Pilates. Getting in better shape has been a personal goal lately, especially with the wedding coming up! My general idea was I could tone up and get my posture straightened out, so I go in, talk to my personal pilates instructor, get all the medical history out of the way, and we're off. Or so I thought.
She shows me some of the machines along with the rest of the studio before she leads me over the a wooden rack on the wall with two half balls placed in front of it. She tells me to place my heels on the balls and evenly distribute my weight between my heel and the ball of my foot. Ok. Easy enough.
But once I get my heels up there, I realize how tight the entire sole of each foot was. The instructor patiently walked me through shifting my weight back and forth, side to side, front to back, and we transitioned from heel to arch to ball to toes, all the while, I'm TRYING to keep my weight evenly distributed between my feet.
After a bit, she tells me to try them out. See what it feels like to move; grounded through your feet. Even after having 10 sessions of Rolfing, I had never felt so connected to my feet. It was amazing. I could feel how the tightness in my feet had been affecting my calves up into my knees and hamstrings, even into my hips and low back!
Now, opening my feet is one of the first things I do in the morning and the last thing I do at night - if I'm really good about it, I'll do it in between sessions and throughout the day.
You can use any of these things to open your feet:
Or you can improvise and find whatever works best for you.
Our feet are our connection to the Earth - they are where our support starts against gravity.
The Deep Front Line is the body's myofascial core, as it defines the deep three-dimensional space deep within the body. It's main postural function is providing support and lift in the inner arch of the foot, stabilizing both segments of each leg, as well as the hips, supporting the lumbar spine from the front, giving shape to the abdominopelvic balloon, stabilizing the chest while allowing the expansion and relaxation of breathing, and balancing the neck and head.
If this line is lacking definition, strength, and/or proper balance, there is an overall shortening throughout the body, which encourages collapse of the pelvic and spinal core, laying the groundwork for postural deviations in all the other meridians.
The Deep Front Line can be broken down into six parts:
Lowest Common
Lower Posterior
Lower Anterior
Upper Posterior
Upper Middle
Upper Anterior
So, I've broken down each list below accordingly.
Muscles of the DFL:
Lowest Common:
Tibialis posterior
Long toe flexor
Lower Posterior:
Adductor magnus and minimus Lower Anterior:
Adductor brevis and longus
Psoas
Iliacus
Pectineus
Femoral triangle Upper Posterior:
Longus colli and cavities Upper Middle:
Posterior diaphragm
Pericardium
Mediastinum
Scalene muscles
Upper Anterior:
Anterior diaphragm
Transversus thoracis
Infrahyoid muscles
Suprahyoid muscles
Connective tissues of the DFL:
Lowest Common:
Fasciae of popliteus
Knee capsule Lower Posterior:
Posterior intermuscular septum
Pelvis floor fascia
Levator ani
Obturator internus fascia
Anterior sacral fasciae
Anterior longitudinal ligament Lower Anterior:
Medial intermuscular septum Upper Posterior:
Anterior longitudal ligament Upper Middle:
Crura of the diaphragm
Central tendon
Parietal pleura
Fascia prevertebralis
Pharyngeal raphe
Medial scalene fascia Upper Anterior:
Fascia endothoracica
Fascia pretrachialis
Bony landmarks of the DFL: Lowest Common:
Plantar tarsal bones
Plantar surface of toes
Superior/posterior tibia/fibula
Medial femoral epicondyle Lower Posterior:
Medial femoral epicondyle
Ischial ramus
Coccyx
Lumbar vertebral bodies Lower Anterior:
Medial femoral epicondyle
Linea aspera of femur
Lesser trochanter of femur
Lumbar vertebral bodies and transverse processes Upper Posterior:
Lumbar vertebral bodies
Basilar portion of occiput Upper Middle:
Lumbar vertebral bodies
Basilar portion of occiput
Cervical transverse processes Upper Anterior:
Lumbar vertebral bodies
Posterior surface of subtotal
Cartilage
Xiphoid process
Posterior manubrium
Hyoid bone
Mandible
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Pilates is a great way to engage this line properly, therefore setting the foundation for all the other lines to function at their best.
Here's a great video that shows a lunge stretch for the DFL:
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And that's it!
We've covered the entire series of myofascial meridian from Thomas Myers' Anatomy Trains - which you can purchase here for a more in depth understanding of these lines!
I'll be back the week of the 22nd with a new topic and great tips on pain relief and healthy living.
Ok, I was originally going to break the Functional Lines into three sections over three weeks, but because of their movements and postural support being so intertwined, I've decided to just cover all three this week.
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The Functional Lines are meridians generally employed during athletic movements. They are the least used lines when it comes to standing posture and actually don't have much of an opportunity to shorten or tighten during normal daily activities. The only postural deviations associated with these lines are a drawing down of one shoulder to the opposite hip in anterior or posterior rotation.
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The Back Functional Line
Muscles:Latissimus dorsi
Gluteus maximus
Vastus lateralis
Connective tissues:Lumbodorsal fascia
Sacral fascia
Subpatellar tendon
Bony landmarks:
Shaft of the humerus
Sacrum
Shaft of the femur
Patella
Tuberosity of the tibia
The Front Functional Line
Muscles:
Lower edge of pectoralis major
Adductor longus
Connective tissues:Lateral sheath of rectum abdominus
Bony landmarks:Shaft of the humerus
5th, 6th rib cartilage
Pubic tubercle and symphysis
Linea aspera of femur
The Ipsilateral Functional Line
Muscles:
Outer edge of the latissimus dorsi
External oblique
Sartorius
Connective tissues:N/A for this line
Bony landmarks:Shaft of the humerus
End of ribs 10-12
Anterior Superior Iliac Spine
Pes anserinus, medial tibia condyle
Because these lines have little influence on standing posture, there aren't many stretches to suggest, but if you were a tennis player and do have one shoulder drawing closer to the opposite shoulder in rotation, I'd recommend just trying to balance the body out with the opposite rotation ( i.e. if your rotated down and to the right, try to spend some extra time resting in left rotation).
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So next week will be the last of the Myofascial Meridian series, ending with the Deep Front Line.
Be thinking of any topics you would like covered and shoot me an email at laurachancelmt@yahoo.com or comment below on any blog posts!
