How to Activate Your “Posture Springs”
Why standing up straight with your shoulders back doesn’t work (and what to do instead)
Think of the way you are sitting right now. Or standing… or lying down..
Could you keep this exact position for 5 minutes? Without fidgeting around, or feeling tense?
I’ve been sitting upright for 2 hours, focussed on writing and haven’t fidgeted once.
I have more energy now than when I sat down.
How? — I use the elastic structures of my back as “springs.”
The missing piece of posture
If you are human you have these BioMechanical springs.
But the way you move and sit is preventing them from working.
What if the solution to posture has been hidden INSIDE you this whole time?
Activating your BioMechanical Springs is the key to powerful posture for life.
There is only ONE body shape that activates ALL of your springs at the same time.
Once you get into this specific shape your springs will keep you in position.
No more sore back, no more tired muscles, no more leaning on chairs or desks.
I’ve worked with 100s of men and women – and analysed 1000s more – and NO ONE is making this body shape naturally.
The mechanism for powerful posture is built into your body… but you need to flick the switch with your mind.
Then your posture springs will be working for you.
Whether you sit, stand, walk, run, fight or f***
The secret history of “posture springs”
The posture springs have been discovered, lost and rediscovered many times.
The last time an entire culture used their posture springs we had the Ancient Greeks..
Example 1:
When modern men look at Ancient Greek statues they just see muscles and go lift weights..
But Diana Watts, author of “Renaissance of the Greek Ideal” did something different.
She tried getting into the postures of the discus thrower, the archer, and the charioteer she saw:
“The secret consists in a condition of the muscles totally different from any realised by athletes since the time of the Greeks, a condition of Tension, which transforms dead weight into a living force, [i.e. springs]
and which made the Greek as different from the modern human being as a stretched rubber band differs from a slack one.
There are frequent allusions in ‘The Iliad’ to this power possessed by the Greeks of transforming their muscles on the instant into a condition of almost superhuman force”
Example 2:
F. Matthias Alexander was a Shakespearean actor. He needed poise in public speaking and physical presence on stage.
But then he lost his voice. And every method he tried failed. So he decided to experiment with his posture in front of 3 mirrors.
He found only ONE specific alignment of his Back-Neck-Head that cured his lost voice, mouth breathing habit, and bad posture, all at the same time:
“you are widening your back and bringing the antagonistic pulls [springs] of the back into play—the lifter muscles, properly called the anti-gravity muscles.”
When you see this posture… It’s the same shape as some of the Ancient Greek statues!
Example 3:
More recently, elite level sports is beginning to catch up with ancient athletics.
Philip Anloague, Professor of Physical Therapy says:
“Stiff muscles are a counter-intuitive superpower of NBA athletes… Strength is important, but stiffness can help an athlete generate even more power… Like a spring or a rubber band, when the muscle is stretched, that stiffness helps to create elastic energy.”
So – if people are able to activate their posture springs during war, live theatre, and elite sports…
You can use your posture springs sitting at your desk, walking down the street, or flirting with a girl!
The REAL reason you have bad posture
If you’ve tried other methods and they didn’t work… it’s not your fault.
That’s because they aim for the wrong “shape” of posture.
They all want you to “stand up straight with your shoulders back.”
You already know this doesn’t work in practice…
But it also doesn’t work in theory!
Pulling your shoulders back directly makes it impossible to activate your posture springs.
Without your springs you have to rely on muscle power to hold you up. This is why your back gets tired, why you slouch over and collapse, why you have to lean on the chair behind you, or the desk in front of you.
So the method you’re about to see is different…
It’s based on the ONLY shape of posture that activates all the posture springs.
That’s why I can sit here for 2 hours, focussed on writing and haven’t fidgeted once.
Why you weren’t taught this in school
Why haven’t you heard about these posture springs before?
Because modern life is all about finding cures for specific PARTS.
But the posture springs need alignment of the WHOLE.
The ancient greek education applied their mathematics and philosophy to >>>>>> training for war and athletics.
But we moderns survive with terrible posture because civilization and technology make it easy for us.
If something goes wrong we just find a specialist to patch us up. In school every subject has its own teacher and room.
We were taught to break things down. Posture is about learning to build them back up.
Remember when you were a kid fascinated with your own body mechanics and how things work?
The solution is inside you.
The best time to improve your posture
Like planting a tree…
The best time to improve your posture was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
But you can’t expect to get rid of 20 years of bad habits in 20 minutes.
How many times have you slouched in a chair?
Or caught yourself with “text neck” hunched over your phone?
And how many failed attempts to Stand Up Straight With Your Shoulders Back…?
Every day you are being moulded by modern chairs, phones, shoes etc.
If you don’t intervene now then the only way is down.
You’ve seen those road signs of elderly people stooped over with walking sticks…
You can say no to this predictive programming!
I’ve been in your (barefoot) shoes
I’m Kevin Mackay, a Scottish highlander quarantined on a Mediterranean island (Cyprus.)
In the last 15 years I have tried almost everything when it comes to posture.
Lifting weights, hands-on treatments, alternative therapies, expensive chairs, posture devices, stand-up desks, barefoot shoes etc.
Some things made me feel better for a while.. but as soon as I stopped, the bad posture came creeping back.
I kept having to go back for “patchwork.” I spent thousands on training programs, devices, furniture and treatments.
I still wasn’t using my posture springs. I didn’t know the correct body shape that activates the whole spring system..
Then 3 years ago I learned the principles of posture and an almost forgotten technique for activating the springs.
Here’s how it works…
The mechanism for powerful posture
To use your body’s “posture springs” it’s important to first understand what gives them all this power.
The first thing you should know is it’s not about big muscles.
Even though muscles are part of the spring system, the real power comes from elastic connective tissue.
These elastic structures connect all parts of the body, from head to toe.
Scientists discovered these “biological springs” are as strong as steel.
But to load a spring you need to pull it from both ends at the same time.
This causes the spring in-between to resist and pull back in the opposite direction – storing elastic recoil energy.
Think of stretching a rubber band between your fingers… all you need to do is release one hand and it pings across the room.
Or jumping on a trampoline and its springs propel you up higher than you could ever jump before…
Or shooting a bow and arrow…
And it’s all based on a predictable mechanical principle — elastic energy.
It’s like “free energy.” You use muscle power to move your body parts into the correct positions – and then just let your springs hold you in place for free.
So you don’t need big muscles, or a small waistline, or lucky genetics.
You can start today.
How to activate your “posture springs”
So let’s recap.
Activating your BioMechanical springs is the key to powerful posture for life.
There is only ONE body shape that activates all of your springs at the same time.
And once you get into this specific shape the stored elastic energy will power your posture.
But every time you try to stand up straight with your shoulders back you make it impossible to activate your springs system.
So what should you do instead?
Well it depends on your specific posture, body type and movement habits.
I would need to SEE what it is you are doing that’s getting in the way of your springs. Then I can tell you what to do instead and why.
What I “prescribe” for you is going to be a little bit different from the last guy. This means you won’t waste months or years doing the wrong things again.
The only way we can do this is ONE-TO-ONE using VIDEO analysis.
This is purpose of a “Body Audit.”
Get a “Body Audit”
My mission with the body audit is to help you activate your “posture springs” system.
This is the only place I give you personalised instructions for your specific posture and body type.
We meet on Zoom for 50 minutes. Pick a good day and time on the calendar below. (I have pupils from around the world so please pick the earliest time in the day you can – thanks!)
You will record the session. This is important because you can refer back to video when you start a new exercise, or buy new equipment, or want to see the diagrams again.
Here’s everything you get:
Body Audit: I analyse your posture from Head-to-Toe and show you which body parts aren’t activating your springs yet (video recorded for your private use.)
Diagrams & Photos: See the ONE body shape that activates all your posture springs at the same time (and how to create it.)
Principles of Posture: Master your MENTAL posture first (most of these rules are counter intuitive and not obvious. This is not a generic list of “tips.”)
Movement Experiments: Introduction to the only technique you need to activate all your springs (this is NOT a list physical exercises.)
Q&As: Ask me any questions and get recommendations for the best shoes, chairs, activities, sleeping positions etc.
Cost: $99
After the session you can email me any questions and send me your video clips for comment.
And if you want help implementing what you learn in the Body Audit you can book more sessions at a reduced rate.
Here’s what my pupils say about working with me…
All of these men had different body types, lifestyles, and goals.
Everyone’s posture is unique – but the same general principles have worked for each person.
I’ve taught:
Sports stars, coders, neuroscientists, dancers, crypto traders, artists, medical doctors, online business owners, meditators, martial artists, engineers, construction workers, fitness coaches, office workers… men, women, young, old, fit, unfit, tall, short…
You can start today.
So the choice is yours.
You can either keep doing what you’re doing and hope your posture gets better all by itself…
Or:
For $99 you get the principles and technique that cost me 15 years and over $15,000 (ouch, I just ran the numbers for the first time…)
How to Book a Session:
Email me to: kevindmackay@gmail.com
Tell me your Timezone and nearest city.
I’ll send you some time slots and we’ll take it from there…
Thanks Tom!
Excellent stuff as always Kevin. It will be included in today’s digest and will hopefully help save some writers backs. Cheers.