American Parkour - Parkour and Freerunning

The neutral spine is a position where you retain the naturally occuring curvature of the spine without excess strain. This position is of utmost importance to prevent severe injury, so taking the time to find the appropriate position is worth the extra effort.
Finding Neutral Spine. The most challenging part of achieving neutral spine is feeling a neutral position of the pelvis. Before attempting to align the entire body in a standing position, begin by identifying neutral pelvic alignment lying down on the floor on your back. Bend your knees so that your feet are hip distance apart about 6-10 inches away from the back of the legs. Your feet should be flat on the floor. In this position, the lower region of the back will not be pressed down onto the floor. You will be preserving the natural curve of the lower spine. Place the heels of your hands on the two bones on the front / top of the pelvis. Place your index fingers on the top of your pubic bone. You will be making a triangle with the bones you can feel on the front of the pelvis. For most people, this triangle will be in a horizontal plane when the lower spine is in neutral. Visualize a glass of water balanced inside the triangle. Using the muscles of the abdomen, (not the legs) press the lower back down towards the floor. This is a posterior tilt of the pelvis and the glass on water would spill onto your chest. Release the pelvis back to neutral, then over-arch the low back in the opposite direction. This is an anterior tilt of the pelvis and the glass of water would spill out between your legs. Work through this range of motion several times trying to initiate the movement in the abdominal muscles leaving the legs and feet relaxed. After several repetitions, allow your pelvis to come back to neutral, a midway position somewhere between the over exaggerated posterior and anterior tilts. The amount of space between your lower back and the floor will vary according to the natural curve of your spine. Take this new awareness of neutral lumbar spine with you into a standing position where you can now align the rest of the body.

1. Place the feet hip width apart. This is a little closer together than shoulder distance apart, which is a common fitness position.

2. Beginning with flexed or bent knees, straighten up into a full standing position. The knees should remain softened, not locked. Think about pulling up through the mid-line of the body.

3. Focus on finding the neutral position of the pelvis that we identified lying on the floor. You may need to work through the posterior/anterior positions a couple of times before settling in neutral. In order to maintain this position, you must activate the deep muscles of the abdomen and continue pulling up through your center.

4. Relax your shoulders down and roll them back. Retract and depress your shoulder blades. Think about bringing your shoulder blades in towards your spine and sliding them down towards the floor.

5. Bring your head into alignment by centering your ears over your shoulders. You might need to extend your chin forward and back to find the centered position. Your nose should be opposite the very tip of your spine where it connects with the head.

6. Review the natural position of the spine. Feel the feet centering the weight of the body and solidly supporting you on the floor. You should feel ready to move in any direction.

Users' Comments