Finding Neutral

When talking about fitness and posture, you’ll often hear people refer to a neutral spine, but finding neutral can be harder than it seems for a natural position our body is supposedly supposed to have.  Most often in fitness when instructors say neutral they are referring to the low back and pelvis, but all our joints have a neutral position.  Experimenting with where your neutral is in the low back and pelvis is usually the easiest place to start.  So let’s experiment with finding neutral in different positions.

Neutral Lying Down

The easiest way to find neutral is to lie down on the floor with knees bent, feet on the floor.  This is the easiest position to find neutral because you can actually feel the floor (or not feel it).  When you press the lower back toward the floor, known as imprinting, you can usually feel the floor touching your lower back.  Conversely, or neutral you should have a slight arch in the lower back.  There should be some space between your spine and the floor.  There doesn’t have to be a lot of space and everyone’s neutral can be different.  Generally, the rule is that you should be able to […]