Poised for action: How a free neck makes you more alert

Do you remember the crucial difference between poise and balance?

To “balance” is to freeze up.
Balance is stiffness.
Balance is holding on for dear life.

To be poised is to be poised for action.
Poise is a constant process of beginning to fall and correcting your balance. It's what makes you always ready for action.

Don't understand this?
Then you need to read last week's article: Balance or Poise

All clear?
Then let's get started.

The secret to achieving poise is un-impaling your head

Most people have their heads fixed stiffly at the top of their neck
… almost as though it were impaled there.

The funny thing is they don't realise it.
They don't realise it because it's always like that
… and always has been — for longer than they can remember.

A free neck

A free neck allows you to tip your head forwards as it sits on top.

No need to bend your neck. When your neck is truly free, your head will sit so lightly and easily on top that neither your neck nor your back will need to bend.

Many advantages follow from this freedom.

The advantage here is that it lets your head act as a counter-weight for the rest of your body.

Counter-weight

Remember, if your ankles are not stiff, you'll be swaying slightly as you stand.

Here's how the counter-weight works:–

1. As you topple back, if your neck is free enough, your head will tip forwards.
2. Allowing your head to tip forwards counter-balances the weight of your body falling backwards.
3. Counter-balanced, your body changes direction and begins to fall forwards instead.
4. As soon as your forward fall needs correcting, your head will tip back slightly.
5. You'll then be falling backwards again — until you again allow your head to tip forwards.

This short video clip, shows what this counter-balancing looks like.

It's really very simple

… but it can't work without a free neck.

“If it's so simple, why isn't my neck free already”?

You've gotten used to its being stiff.
If it were free, you'd be sure something was wrong and immediately stiffen it up again.

Until you get used to it, allowing your neck to be truly free can feel almost like your head is falling off. No kidding.

Even a little bit of freeing up makes people feel sea-sick until they get accustomed to it. Again, no kidding.

(Just to reassure you, your head can't actually fall off. It can't because, even if the neck muscles were not working at all, your ligaments would still keep your head in place.)

Alert restfulness

If you allow this complete freedom for your head to move at the head/neck (atlanto-occipital) joint, you gain these immediate benefits:–

1. You're now poised. You no longer need to stiffen to stay in balance.
2. Every move you make can start with a fall. You use gravity to start your every move.

As a result, even when absolutely still, you're constantly, effortlessly, on the move. You no longer need to make any deliberate effort to see or hear anything.

Why not?

Nothing is stiff, nothing is rigid, so the necessary movements are already happening anyway. You're on permanent full alert — even while enjoying deep quietness.

Alert restfulness, is that a good enough prize for allowing your neck to be free?

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