Backache, hip ache, knee aches, and ankle ache can have many reasons.

Today,  we focus on an aspect that has a very strong influence on all of them:
The pressure of body weight.

In essence, two mechanical systems can maintain weight:
1. compression – bracing maintains your posture primarily via the bones, joints and discs.
2. tension – hanging maintains your posture via our fasciae, tendons and muscles – tensegrity.

Tensegrity

Tensegrity helps to hold your body weight.
In addition, functional tensegrity decompresses your discs, vertebrae & joints.
Thus, movements are easier and smoother by decreasing the chance of injuries. In addition, it makes you feel lighter. With strong tensegrity, you can flow much smoother!

Tensegrity makes our structures stronger and more elastic, similar to ropes, which make stronger the structure of tents.

How do you build up stronger Tensegrity?

1. Expand from the ground to the sky with muscles. That would demand a lot of muscle power (vital energy) and create undesirable tension.
2. Expand from the ground to the sky by conscious expanding (especially fasciae), which is much more efficient.
3. Using the uplifting power of Inner Fire (fire flows to the sky). It demands an expanded and relaxed body and mind to create space for Inner Fire. And be able to feel the flow of Inner Fire, harness it, and let it uplift us.

 Thomas Myers about tensegrity:

Expanding

Expanding and condensing happen everywhere and all the time.
It affects all of us, whether we are aware of it.
Let’s look at how to expand and condense the myofascial body…
A myofascial body is mostly our fasciae, muscles, and tendons. But, of course, we cannot separate from our bones, organs and the rest of the body. It puts the whole body together.
A fascia is a sheet of connective tissue beneath the skin that attaches, stabilises, and encloses muscles and internal organs.

 Expand
Quality makes our soft tissue (especially fasciae) larger or more extensive.
Direction to expand:
1) From the ground to the sky.
2) From the centre to the periphery or away from the body. It could be from the core, ming men, knees, etc., towards fingers and toes, or further. Knowingly, it can also expand our organs like the lungs, the bladder, etc.
3) 90° from the bone to the skin surface or further.

Condense
Quality makes our soft tissue (especially fasciae) denser or more concentrated.
Direction to condense:
1) To the ground.
2) From the body’s periphery (or space around) to the centre. So it could be from fingers and toes towards the core, dan tian, etc. It can also condense our organs like the lungs, the bladder, etc.
3) 90° from the skin surface, hairs (or space around) to the bone.

The difference between stretching and expanding
Stretching is mechanically flexed or stretched muscles, tendons and fascias used by a skeleton. Muscles, tendons and fascias are passive and don’t demand your attention.
Expanding is a mental activity with a physical effect on the myofascial complex. It demands your attention.
We can integrate expanding tissue into our stretching to make it more efficient.

A podcast about expanding and condensing…

Pravilo

Probably the best device for strengthening tensegrity, relaxing, decompressing spine and joints, developing expanding power and generally opening body, mind and spirit is Pravilo…

More about Pravilo:
https://pravilo.org/expanding-life/

Inner Fire

Another aspect that affects the compression of your body – your tensegrity is Inner Fire.
Inner Fire is the power that lifts us every morning from the bed against the gravitational force.
The Inner Fire is lifting us, and we wave with our bodies as the wind waves a flag…

A relaxed, flowing body posture directly affects your emotions. You will believe in yourself- your feelings, you will see your life more positively, etc.
We don’t need to exert extraordinary effort; we relax and let the Inner Fire create our postures.
We can feel how the Inner Fire lifts our bodies if we are sensitive.
A better position increases Inner Fire, pulling you up more…

Fire needs oxygen. Therefore, it is crucial to breathe correctly to have proper Inner Fire – good vital energy.

Deep, proper breathing aerates your Inner Fire in a similar way as blowing into your Inner Fire aerates it.

Conclusion

To have a healthier back and joints, it is essential to use tensegrity actively.
Tensegrity is built up by Expanding and Inner Fire – both synergies with each other.