Releasing the Grip of Modern Life
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article where I referenced the riddle, "What has four legs in the morning, two at midday, and three in the evening?" The answer is a human. We start crawling, we walk upright, and later we lean on a cane.
That last stage? It’s etched into our imagination as a rounded spine, hunched shoulders, and a head that seems to fall forward and tilt up; what we associate as an “old” posture. But here’s the truth: that posture is not inevitable with age. It’s simply the unreleased grip of modern life.
The front of the body (the chest, ribs, belly) is where we curl inward when we’re stressed, tired, or protecting ourselves. It’s the pattern of freeze and fawn written in muscle memory. And it’s reinforced every time we:
Hunch over laptops and phones
Round forward at a desk for hours
Drive long distances
Absorb the emotional weight of daily stress
Over time, this forward pull compresses the organs, limits the diaphragm’s range, and restricts oxygen intake. Breath becomes shallow. Energy dips. And here’s the kicker: the body reads that posture as danger. That physical stance sends a feedback loop to the brain: We’re under threat. The brain responds by releasing more stress hormones. And the cycle goes on and on.
That means your posture isn’t just a side effect of stress, it becomes a source of it. A loop. And living in that loop accelerates aging - not just in how you look, but in how you feel: fatigued, inflamed, out of breath, and worn down.
I am thinking about this a lot lately because I am teaching The Myth of Aging series, and this week we’re focusing on freeing the front body from this grip—softening the belly, chest, and shoulders so breath and movement can flow again.
Through these slow practices, students can become aware of tension they didn’t realize was there and teach their system what it feels like when it’s relaxed. This softening restores space in the ribs so the lungs and diaphragm can work fully, finding a pathway to releasing the feedback loop of stress in the soma.
Youthfulness is not just about looking good or standing taller, it’s about feeling lighter, more vital, and finding flow and safety in your nervous system.