SYMMETRY is essential for a body to function correctly and avoid injury. When a body is held out of symmetry for months or years, the stresses associated with weight and movement are directed unevenly and thus accumulate in certain joints and soft tissues. Eventually these stresses will create uneven wear on some joint surfaces and the associated muscle contractions will start to limit the flow of blood and the drainage of waste products from the area.

Healing will thus be impaired and debris will be allowed to accumulate (i.e. the area becomes more rigid). These ‘loaded’ areas thus become worn, brittle and unhealthy, i.e. they are PREDISPOSED to injury, recurrent strains and arthritic changes.

Most injuries sustained by performers occur in these areas of predisposition. If the force or action that led to an injury was not sufficient to create the same problem in any individual then it is certain that predisposition has played a part. Unaware of their malalignments and the stresses they create, most performers constantly accumulate predispositions such that injury is simply a matter of time. Unaware of these asymmetries, they also constantly battle against inefficiencies of movement; and therefore limitations in their physical and mental PERFORMANCE.

Better Symmetry = Better Efficiency = Better Performance
	The human body was designed by the forces of evolution to preserve energy wherever possible. The more energy that is preserved by a performer, the longer their muscles and brain can operate at optimal levels. To conserve energy, most forms of human movement are RHYTHMICAL. The body has large amounts of elastic tissue imbedded into the end of range of each joint, so that one side of a rhythmic movement can bounce into the next and thus minimise energy expenditure. [At maximal efficiency a human body when walking can reuse over 90% of the energy of one stride for the next].
	But to properly make use of this elastic tissue, the body has to be able to access its full range of movement, i.e. it has to be FLEXIBLE When the body is in correct alignment, the muscles become more relaxed and movement becomes more fluid. The joints are thus able to move to their full potential and the elastic recoil mechanism is properly utilised.

(c) 2006, Mark Thompson

Contact Mark at The Light Practice, 1 Barley Mow Lane, St Albans, AL4 0RS

tel. +44 [0]1727 821450

email mark@lightpractice.co.uk

Website http://www.lightpractice.co.uk

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