Visualization is the use of mental focus to form images or pictures you want to convey to your body and/or other people. For example, every thought is an image signal sent to the body for muscle organizational purposes. When signal patterns go uninterrupted, it is easy to get caught up in thinking versus feeling.
Visualization is not new—yoga, meditation, sports, chanting, and drumming all use some form of visualization. But, of course, the most prevalent use of visualization is the unconscious thought streams dominating our minds whether we realize it or not. The key to unlocking toxic thought patterns is to interrupt them, and visualization is the best method around for doing that.
Let’s say you are in the process of making friends with Magnus, the Adductor Family’s finest. You dial up an image of it, so you know basically it connects the inner knee to sit bone. But really, when it comes down to it, the sit bone location is hazy at best. The inner knee is fairly easy; you can look down and see it, but the sit bones?
When you observe the image of the pelvic bowl, particularly the sit bones, it is evident they are meant to be sat on. There isn’t really anywhere else to sit. Still, most of us sit on the backs of the thighs or on the butt muscles, and both positions, if habituated, shorten the lower back and disengage the core muscles. Yikes.
Make a list of all the places and the duration of your sitting time. Next, add sit bone visualization to your sitting time. Make a practice of it, visualizing your sit bones instead of thinking about what you are accomplishing. Once you feel where you are sitting, switch your visualization to the Magnus, which connects the inner knee to the sit bone. Visualize this muscle lengthening and stretching, supporting you in your seated position as if you were a skateboarder dropping down to work the chute or a skier flowing down the mountain.
