“Recommended for anyone interested in the anatomical and emotional aspects of the movement of one’s body; good for all libraries.”
Library Journal

“Few things are as overlooked and yet absolutely critical to our health and well-being as our posture. Mary Bond offers information, stories, and tools for learning how to stand and move with ease and elegance.”
Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., PT
Author of 30 Essential Yoga Poses

“Therapists as well as anyone seeking relief from the pain that results from poor postural habits should explore this gem of a book and follow its advice.”
Leon Chaitow, N.D., D.O
Honorary Fellow, School of Integrated Health
University of Westminster, London

“I have long searched for a book that addresses the human body as a whole, and with clarity, guidance and completeness. This book is a multi-faceted gem offering all of that and much more. I highly recommend it to teachers of movement and to anyone eager to learn how to become a better occupant of their body.”
Marie-Jose Blom-Lawrence
Pilates Specialist and Professor of Anatomy and Physiology
Department of Dance, Loyola Marymount University

“The New Rules of Posture is a good adjunct to bodywork of all kinds, from chiropractic and osteopathy to Pilates and yoga. Read it thoroughly, let it soak into your experience — your body will thank you.”
Thomas Myers, author of Anatomy Trains

“The New Rules of Posture… addresses a common health problem: poor posture. New to Mary Bond’s approach is a focus on postural changes combined with attitude realization: it comes from her background as a dancer and a Structural Integration practitioner who teaches movement, and it draws on over thirty years of experience to show how habit and emotional factors contribute to unhealthy posture. Both new age and general-interest public lending libraries will find the focus on health, exercise and ergonomics to be a fine coverage.”
Midwest Book Review

“Thanks Mary! I had a real breakthrough with my feet through your excellent book. I have a lift in my posture and a sensuality in my feet that I have been working to achieve for two years doing continuum movement exercises…maybe that paved the way to get results so fast from your book. I have joy living in my body. It is delicious. Your book is a real tour-de-force.”
Johan Söderberg

“This wonderful, rich manual is far more than it sounds. It offers integrated, palpable core process understanding and practice that will work for anyone. The writing is relaxed, human and deeply knowledgeable (I feel her background not only as a Rolfer but as dancer) – grace throughout. The information is fundamental for all movement (and sitting!) An essential book.”
Dianne Mcpherson “Dunya” (New York, NY)

“Easy to understand and enjoyable to read. It is written for the common person, however there is plenty of juice for bodyworkers, yoga practitioners, doctors, etc. Find gems such as how to sit correctly in those awful car seats, a whole chapter on breathing, and what the “core” of the body really means. ”
Karin Edwards (www.portlandrolfer.com, Portland, OR)

Find a local independent bookstore, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters Canada, or Amazon UK.

The book begins with a passage describing the posture problems faced by a young woman named Carmen. The author, watching Carmen at work behind a check-out counter in a Target store, reflects on numerous possible causes for the low back pain the woman is complaining about.

Your Posture Is Your Story

The book you’re holding in your hands is my attempt to show you what I wanted to show Carmen: the relationship between your posture, your pain, your habits of movement, and your aging process. Our culture’s assumption about getting older is that posture will deteriorate and the body will become a burden. If this is our belief, it is no wonder that we’d rather not think about caring for our bodies.

Perhaps you, like Carmen, are still in your twenties and not yet giving thought to growing older. Aging happens to us all, however, and knowing how to use your body well will make a huge difference in how you experience the process. Carmen, if she does not change her habitual way of doing things, will find herself at age fifty with hunched shoulders, a forward head, a thickened waist, and a protruding belly. She’ll try to straighten up but will find that holding herself erect demands too much effort. Added to her back pain will be a host of other symptoms: headaches, a sore shoulder, digestive problems, and, although she won’t like to talk about it, urinary incontinence. She’ll find it hard to enjoy the kind of things she now loves to do, like salsa dancing on Friday nights.

Such a picture is not an unfamiliar one, but it does not have to be true once you understand how to manage your body in harmony with the principles set forth in this book. You can have a body that stands gracefully and moves effortlessly throughout life when you learn to use it the way it is designed to be used. It is never too soon, or too late, to create healthier posture.

Most people think about posture as the body’s alignment or position when sitting or standing still. Good posture is commonly defined in terms of the contours of the upper body-the chest, shoulders, spine and neck. Although people may be aware that balance over the feet has something to do with good posture, this usually is not what they consider first.

If this is your definition, I’d like to help you to expand it. I see posture not as how you hold your body when you’re still but as how you carry it while you’re moving. This distinction reveals posture to be a dynamic activity rather than a static attitude. Your posture is generated by your movement–by the way you carry yourself as you proceed through your life.

___________________

We cannot separate posture from movement or activity from how we stabilize our bodies in order to act. How we stabilize ourselves determines our posture and the freedom, efficiency, and grace with which we move. The essence of posture, then, is the unique way in which each of us negotiates between moving and holding still in relationship to gravity.

Foreword by Leon Chaitow, N.D., D.O.
Preface
Introduction: What Are the New Rules of Posture?

PART ONE: AWARENESS
1. Your Conscious Body
2. Your Body’s Internet

PART TWO: STABILITY
3. The Root of Posture
4. Healthy Breathing
5. Core Connections

PART THREE: ORIENTATION
6. Your Heart’s Messengers
7. Footprints
8. Facing the World

PART FOUR: MOTION
9. Healthy Walking
10. Articulate Living

Afterword: Explore the New Rules of Posture, Together
Appendix: Therapeutic Resources for Healthy Posture
Bibliography
Index