Natural Posture for Pain-Free Living: The Practice of Mindful Alignment

Please do not buy the new addition. It is so sad to me as the pictures were telling so much and I had clients print it out and have it pinned on their morning mirrow. But bl/wh does not allow to pick up the importance part of what it should tell our brain! It is about the brain to change a habit. I am a structural Therapist and this book became my bible after I studied many different techniques, who all are focusing on the same functional principle. To use and share it is straight forward and focused on fundamentals we can build on. Too many information, at once as with other books about the same principle, makes it very complicated and hard to follow.

I have just about finished this book. I think it's a fantastic book! I bought a used copy and it was in perfect condition. I have highlighted so many things, it's not in that condition now haha. Victoria (in 2015) wrote that the "shawl posture idea" was not even mentioned in the book. She obviously didn't read the book. It is mentioned on page 239 although perhaps not as thoroughly as in an interview Victoria had seen. So, I am grateful to Victoria for typing out the full explanation of the shawl idea. Also, I found this to be an easy read. It's lengthy at almost 300 pages but I have enjoyed it! My other favorite book regarding posture is "Posture, Get is Straight" by Janice Novak.

The only posture book to read. Very easy to understand. Great pictures of real people. Understandable.

Purchased as an updated version of "Ageless Spine, Lasting Health" recommended by my doctor. The content is excellent and life-changing. Still working my way through the book, but so far am discovering that this just isn't about posture alone and how our cultural norms about posture might not be serving us, but how we can optimize our health through correct positioning of our bodies.So why the 4 stars instead of 5??? The difference in publishing. The previous book had glossy pages, dark print and vivid color photos that brought the written content to life. This new version of the book is visually faded in comparison. All photos are black and white and not as easy to see as the previous version of this book; likewise with the lighter print on flimsier feeling paper.With that said, the additional 70ish pages of content in this new version appear to be worth the bright lights needed to read them.

I really would like to give this book five stars because I agree with and have been helped by so much of what Kathleen Porter says. Unfortunately, though, I can't agree with all the reviews that praise the book's readability. Moreover, when I bought it I imagined I was going to find something like what I read in her interview with Dr. Mercola, one passage from which I quote here because no single tool to good posture has helped me more."Pretend you're holding a shawl behind you and you're about to wrap the shawl around your shoulders, but just before the shawl comes into contact with your back, move your back into the shawl. In other words, your breastbone or your sternum slides backwards towards your back. As you do that, you will feel an action through your abdomen. These are your core muscles, primarily your transversus abdominis (TVA) muscle coming into action. This is your real core. The TVA is the deepest abdominal muscle, which acts like an internal corset.Next, wiggle the back of your armpits up towards the ceiling, and feel your spine lengthening. Also notice the position of your chin. By bringing you chin down, the back of your neck lengthens and the cervical spine that goes through in the middle of your neck opens up. When you lift your chin up, you shorten your cervical spine. 'This is one of the most essential basic movements that helps retrain the body back to where it started,' Kathleen says."I had such an instant response to the shawl idea that I implement it many times a day now and as a result my posture has improved ten-fold at the same time eliminating most of my little back pains and bought Porter's book for that reason. Much to my disappointment, however, her book doesn't mention this simple, readily available move, which she herself described for Mercola as an "essential basic movement." Granted, I have not read it word for word, but I've skimmed it closely and I feel pretty certain I am correct in this. And the reason I skimmed and didn't read word for word is because there is so much repetition and unnecessary (to my way of thinking) general verbosity. And that goes for her exercise instructions as well. Why can't authors of exercise books of any kind write the instructions so that a person can do them without having to stop every second to see what the author is going to say next only to discover the author could have skipped it or at least have used fewer words. Even when my husband reads the instructions aloud I find it difficult to maintain whatever I was doing while I wait for him to finish and get to the next move.I'm glad I'm only one of the few who have been bothered in this way because I admire Porter's work so much and hope the word will spread. But I find this book difficult to work with. Having to go through so much to get to the principles turned me off. If she ever revises I hope she considers editing herself better. Frankly, an abridged version would be extremely welcome.

I broke my ankle over a year and a half ago and two surgeries as a result. Between my accident and the surgeries I spent a lot of time on my back with my leg elevated. After my ankle was healed and I resumed my regular activities I was bothered my an almost constant deep pain in my hamstrings. I could not find a comfortable position to sit or lie in, so I would end up standing to read, watch TV, or work on the computer. I discerned that the unnatural position that I had spent so much time recovering in had caused my body to compensate in a way that was now causing me pain. I read the reviews of over fifteen books that might be helpful for me and I choose this one. I am so happy that I did! This book is incredibly empowering. Kathleen Porter is not claiming to have invented a new method of inhabiting one's body. She invites the reader to remember what the natural alignment of childhood feels like. Her book is filled with easy to follow instructions for achieving and maintaining natural alignment throughout the course of the day. The many illustrations and photos are extremely helpful. I have tried to follow the chin up, chest out, tucked pelvis example of posture for over fifty years. It was very enlightening to see how this has negatively impacted the entire balance of my body. A happy coincidence is that I discovered that Kathleen has a practice in Portland, OR, which is where I live. I hope to take classes with her soon, although I want to stress that the book is so well written that natural alignment can be put into practice without any special instruction. I am finally free from my chronic leg pain.

I bought this book because I have recurring neck problems and when I looked on the internet for help I stumbled upon Kathleen Porter's website which shows a short video about Natural Posture and also advertised this book. It is very easy read, lots of useful photographs and diagrams and straight forward explanations about whys and hows of natural posture. There are some excellent exercises to do to help re-align your body and find natural posture again.This book is not a replacement, however, for finding somebody like an Alexander Technique teacher and attending some lessons in person; it is though a very good introduction to alignment and posture and how it relates to health and well-being. I highly recommend it.

Love this book. It shows natural movement and not to pull yourself in to a shape that doesn't help you.I use this book a lot. Would recommend it.

Well downloaded to a Kindle not so good.Without colour photos more difficult to follow and assumes you know all the body parts for the movements.

Very informative and enlightening with easy to understand instructions. Just have to remember to follow them now!

a must reed for every household even as a Dr of body mechanics I still found the book enlightening