Thursday, April 21, 2016

Thursday Book Report: Muscles and Meridians


Muscles and Meridians: The Manipulation of Shape by Phillip Beach lays out a model for human movement called the Contractile Field.  It is one of a number of books that attempt to counter the tendency to view each muscle in isolation by presenting a systems approach.

Drawing from embryology, evolution, and traditional Chinese medicine, Beach discusses the ways our muscles, organs, sense organs, and fascia all work together to move our bodies.  He suggests an assessment system that takes into account what he calls archetypal postures, including the basic deep squat that is so prevalent in the non-Western world and so sadly missing in the West.  Additionally, he notes that we have deprived ourselves of a lot of sensory information by constantly wearing shoes.


Sometimes the most important exercises are the simplest.  Let’s practice getting down on the floor and back up.  Let’s kick off our shoes and feel the ground beneath our feet.

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